Railfan photography

jamesinclair wrote:What could they say? The example I showed was taken on open land, so trespassing couldn't be an issue

If you're standing on the ballast, you're trespassing, whether there's a fence or not.

Umm, I didn't write that. That was jamesinclair.

But yes, if you are on the ballast you are on the right of way, which is not public property.

Hmm, don't know how that happened ... guess that's what I get for trying to edit out a typo. Hope you don't sue me for libel.

Do people other than me have trouble posting pictures on railpictures.net? Can anyone find something wrong with this picture?

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg14 ... 0_0107.jpg

It probably is either
"overexposed"
"undersharpened"
"Poor lighting (Backlit): The image is backlit or doesn't feature enough nose light on the subject"
"Poor Esthetic Quality: This rejection reason means that the photo is of low esthetic qualities, or is simply not the type of material we are wishing to publish"
"Bad Angle: The angle from which the image was composed is poor. This can include extreme angles below or above the subject, uninteresting angles on roster shots, and images in which the train is going away from the viewer."
"Blurry"

I hate that site for not letting me post me unique pictures. I have pictures like none other in the database , yet I always end up getting a screener who is a pain in the @55! They rejected all 5 of my pics. And then they say I need to resize (again) a photo of perfectly acceptable resolution.

>.'P

In regards to Railpictures.net, once again, it's a simple concept - if you don't like them, then don't upload your photos there anymore. Poof, problem solved!

MassBayMC1131 wrote:Do people other than me have trouble posting pictures on railpictures.net? Can anyone find something wrong with this picture?

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg14 ... 0_0107.jpg

Besides being backlit, the composition really isn't that great. I like the idea of the rails leading your eyes to the train, but there's too much dead space to the left especially. If it was more head-on with the signals on either side and the space nicely filled, it'd be a different story...but as it stands, I'd say go back and try again. Those who refuse to learn from their mistakes are doomed to a life of failure.

MikeF wrote:

jamesinclair wrote:What could they say? The example I showed was taken on open land, so trespassing couldn't be an issue

If you're standing on the ballast, you're trespassing, whether there's a fence or not.

I didnt know that. I guess I wont be posting the pictures I took on the tracks (shortly after this train moved on. It was obvious no other train could come, because that would cause an accident)

jamesinclair wrote:I guess I wont be posting the pictures I took on the tracks (shortly after this train moved on. It was obvious no other train could come, because that would cause an accident)

That's a dangerous assumption. The train could have backed up, or another train could have been following behind it. Expect a train on any track, in any direction, at any time.

MassBayMC1131 wrote:Do people other than me have trouble posting pictures on railpictures.net? Can anyone find something wrong with this picture?

http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg14 ... 0_0107.jpg

Since you asked...

- The composition just isn't that good. Poor balance, lots of dead space in the foreground. Lots of miscellaneous bits on the right and left of the shot that don't really look well together.

- JPEG compression artifacts are visible everywhere.

- The color is a bit off. It has a washed-out cell phone camera look.

- Auto-focus artifacts are noticeable on the rails. Everything in the center of the picture is much sharper than the left and right. If you had somehow (and I don't know how you would legally or safely do this - this is purely hypothetical here) filmed the train from directly ahead on its own track and blurred the tracks on either side, then it might have worked. However, your focus seems to ignore the natural lines of the scene.

Adriel wrote:I hate that site for not letting me post me unique pictures. I have pictures like none other in the database , yet I always end up getting a screener who is a pain in the @55! They rejected all 5 of my pics. And then they say I need to resize (again) a photo of perfectly acceptable resolution.

Imagine what their bandwidth costs would be if they allowed people to post any and everything rail related without quality standards of some kind? Imagine how quickly people would be turned off visiting the site regularly if it was merely a dumping ground for everything in someone's library?

Oh, I totally agree. However, I picked what I thought were some of my best shots, and they were rejected. My beef wasn't with the site, but that screener in particular. Whatever. Lol.

As Conrail4evr wrote, "...go back and try again. Those who refuse to learn from their mistakes are doomed to a life of failure."

I concur fully.

But back on topic. Does anyone remember the topic?

Well, one thing you can pretty much be assured of, if you try hard and produce good work you may get photos posted on the internet or published in a magazine, but if your portfolio does not prominently feature steam and/or western scenery, it isn't likely to attract much attention in this hobby.

MX

mxdata wrote:Well, one thing you can pretty much be assured of, if you try hard and produce good work you may get photos posted on the internet or published in a magazine, but if your portfolio does not prominently feature steam and/or western scenery, it isn't likely to attract much attention in this hobby.

MX

Interesting thoughts. I often come across those dramatic shots from the midwest or west and think to myself "hmmm." Such shots cannot be created so easily in New England, where I'm based. I often struggle to find a spot where I can even get the sun shining on the entire length of a commuter train, let alone a mile-long coal drag with 20 miles of prairie in the background and snow-capped mountains on the horizon! But I won't complain, and I don't mean to belittle any western rail photographers. I'm just saying that we work with different conditions out east...and sometimes with very interesting results. I still think I manage to capture the essence of railroading in my photos, even if the subject is neither historically meaningful nor impressive in magnitude. My friends are impressed, anyways.

There are places in the East just as visually stunning as those in the West, just fewer in number.

Loyd L.

I think the East (especially the north east) has the market cornered on the shots of hillside of colored trees with a train under them. Can't easily get those out west.