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To keep discussion going on some compositional commentary regarding
SPORRS site shots:
Dave Cohen wrote:
>
> Robert Palmer's CNW F-unit on a commuter train under semaphores is one of
> my favorites, but the scan is too magenta and too dark in my opinion. The
> 'wrong side of the sun' doesn't bother me there though with an F-unit.
The way I'm seeing it on my monitor, the overall cast of the image
reminds me of what I am calling the "patina" of slides shot during the
passenger era in the fifties. It may be the magenta Dave refers to; it
may be the wrong-side lighting of the train; it may be the way the motor
itself is actually weathered, but it looks good to me.
>
> Chuck Donaldson's CNW unit leading a train at the John Day river bridge
> has major impact and the water looks wet on my computer screen, but I don't
> like how it's leaning to the left (water hasn't drained out of my monitor
> yet though).
I and several friends have been battling the camera tip problem for
years in the case of hand-held shots. It looks okay in the viewfinder,
but when you get the slide back its tipping slightly. I've never been
able to determine for sure, but I suspect the culprit is a combination
of motion caused by releasing the shutter (on my old bodies, there was
about a 1/8" range of motion on the shutter release button), and a
tendency to watch the train move through the scene, rather than
concentrating on the overall appearance of the scene. One guy taped a
note to the back of his camera body saying "Don't watch the train!"
> John Reay's NYS&W B40-8 Southern Tier shot has some bolted rail in it that
> I think fascinates me with a telephoto, but the shot doesn't have much
> punch with the haze and lighting.
I'm thinking that locating the viewpoint a little farther to the left
and waiting until the train leaned a little more into the curve might
have spiced up this shot a bit. The only drawback might have been that
he would have lost the semaphore.
> Jan Lindahl's SJ Dm3-class side-rod 2-8+8+8-2 electric with an iron ore
> train fascinates me, probably because I didn't know anything like that
> existed, and you hardly ever see freight (and it's an ore train!) behind
> electrics of any kind, at least around here.
The only thing that bothers me about this shot is that the contrast
seems a bit high, particularly with regard to the white tops of the
motors vs. the surrounding vegetation. What kind of film was being
used, Jan?
> Charlie's shot of the BNSF grain train-turned-stack train is spectacular,
> great composition, but the focus is soft (I gave up on Velvia in that light
> after Astia came out - Provia works too).
I didn't notice them in the thumbnail, but the clouds hanging in the
valley make this shot. They soften the whole image up, which makes me
not mind the slightly-off focus that much.
> Bill Seigel's East Java, Montana BNSF 500mm shot is great, I like the focal
> length (and that lens - I miss mine!), and I even like the film he shot it
> on (Kodak E100SW), which I no longer care to use, but I was bummed by the
> shot being so tight. I almost couldn't use it because I had to crop a
> little to make it fit the 408x600 space, and that nearly clipped off the
> locomotive.
Aside from being hard for you to work with for scanning purposes, I love
the tightness of this composition. It didn't catch my eye in the
thumbnail, but I loved the enlargement. It is the snaking form of the
train in this particular instance, combined with the tight quarters
defined by the signal and box, that makes this shot for me.
One other comment on a shot that someone else had commented on: John
Reays shot of the CP MLW's at Port Hope, Ontario. I love the color
provided by the late evening light. Alas, in this case, the slightly
soft focus does bother me. Late light makes nice sharp shadows, and
you'd like the main subject to be equally sharp.
It's nice to get some of this discussion going regarding actual images
on the website.
Patrick Lenahan
Dallas, Texas
-> SPORRS: 'Serious Photographers Of Railroad Related Subjects'
-> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs/
-> Message © 1998 SPORRS® - All Rights Reserved
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