Competition 415 :: Voting

[Jordy]

http://www.railforums.co.uk/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=139

Votes in by 1900 next Sunday please

Cheers

 

[odol]

No. 3 for me this week. Thats a good picture, excellent staff and good composition.
My congratulations to the author.

 

[CallySleeperKid]

1. Without a doubt.

 

[Pumbaa]

1. Although the angle at which the shot is taken makes the train look like it's descending!

 

[Crossover]

Tricky one this week - Its either 1 or 12, both very good shots though quite like the moodiness of the steam in 12

 

[Multiple Unit]

Quite Like No 4 that the one Ive voted for nice exposure for a night shot.

 

[mumrar]

This week I forgot to enter, so I'll be able to give more info on the entries and my thoughts for once.
#1 - nice rainbow, but the single line and train spoil the shot by being so dark, it's not for me.
#2 - a good location, but the sky being so bright, and the telegraph pole behind the loco take an edge off it.
#3 - A good choice of train, it's a shame the trees and their shadows make it seem a bit tight. A contender.
#4 - doesn't even fit the category, and the exposure is ruined by the presence of those lights anyway.
#5 - Nice to see my home town put in an appearance, but photographically the shot does nothing for me.
#6 - was either a pendolino/mk1 prototype, or the horizon needs straightening. Shots from trains are rarely alluring.
#7 - Nice for traction, but I vote on photo merit, and the poor light and wide framing don't do anything much.
#8 - Very nicely exposed, an unusual angle but a pleasant scene. A contender.
#9 - I don't really do going away shots, and the balance of the shot is all on the left.
#10 - would benefit from having waited longer for the train, small trains are fine in a majestic landscape, but it's lost here.
#11 - different for the country, but nothing remarkable at all about the shot.
#12 - Not a pleasing angle to see the train from I'm afraid.
#13 - Very well exposed, nice effort to get lineside, and cracking steam and plus marks for it being freight rather than passenger. This one has my vote this week.

Please don't take any of the above as anything other than critique.

 

[gingerheid]

A couple of these are ambitious in terms of fitting the criteria!

 

[CarterUSM]

I like 3 very much,neat and tidy.

 

[Aictos]

Quite Like No 4 that the one Ive voted for nice exposure for a night shot.

Agreed,

 

[atomicdanny]

My opinion is completely out of line, and not needed

 

[CarterUSM]

Chin up mate. no need to quit. Keep trying, it is not the end of the world.

 

[curly42]

As long as you like your photos,that's fine - don't worry about what others think.I'm sure Mumrars critiques were based on his personal views,and whilst he's fully entitled to them,that doesn't make him right.
I agreed with a few of his opinions and not with others,but at the end of the day the results speak for themselves.
Keep taking photos if you enjoy doing it - after all,you're taking them for yourself.

 

[D1001]

How does No 4 qualify for this competition? - it's not what I would call 'single track'

 

[Jordy]

Congrats to EltonRoad

01 - EltonRoad
02 - 90019
03 - D1001
04 - Kitz models man
05 - LM Class 323
06 - GNERman
07 - atomicdanny
08 - 37372
09 - curly42
10 - D9521
11 - sellis89
12 - steve 46010
13 - matt

 

[EltonRoad]

Thanks for the votes.

Rannoch Moor is an incredible place to take photos, both railway and landscape, and I'd been wanting to do this for ages.

In response to mumrar, I was aware the train is in shade, but I still felt the overall effect was quite good, hence I entered it. I do wonder if mumrar could hold back on his opinions just a little. They are after all, only opinions, and I suspect could upset people quite easily.

 

[Jordy]

I don't think there is any need to hold back the opinions, as you said, they're only opinions! Anyone is welcome to voice an opinion and I think mumrar's feedback is quite constructive.

 

[90019]

#2 - a good location, but the sky being so bright, and the telegraph pole behind the loco take an edge off it.

At the time, I wasn't thinking about any of that, just took a photo when the train came, and tried not to fall off the fence

 

[Oswyntail]

... They are after all, only opinions, and I suspect could upset people quite easily.

I like Mumrar's thoughts. After all, the photos have been submitted in competition, so i would suggest that the owners should consider being upset a part of the price. There have been some contributors upset because they have received no votes - should we be making sure everyone gets one to avoid upsetting them?

 

[curly42]

Start everyone off with one vote instead of zero,maybe ?

 

[mumrar]

Everyones votes represents an opinion. Countless times people ask 'why did I get no votes?', 'what's wrong with my shot?' etc. I'm using clear, concise explanation of my feelings about a photo, which I only do if I have NOT entered my own. My comments are purely photo critique, as explained in my post, but they show what I like in a photo, or what I feel could have been done differently. It is not an attack on the photography. This is a competition, and just as it's unwise for people who can't sing to go on X-factor, I believe it unwise to enter if you haven't put consideration in to your photo. If you don't, your entry will rarely stack up against those that do. I feel the need to explain that none of this is aimed at any individual in particular, it is my feelings of what photography, and a competition for it, should be like. Maybe when I say these things I come across as arrogant? But I'm not. This is my hobby. If I decide it's worth walking half a mile up a hill, cycling 14 miles, or travelling by train through the night, then that's what I will do. It's personal choice, you get out of photography what you put in, and I'd like to think my recent showing on here (do not mistake this for bragging) fortifies all that I have said above.

 

[Ivo]

I am going to defend mumrar here. His advice is more than sound, and certanly hlped me improve. Yes, I am still yet to score. But my most recentenry was far better than the others, and had some good points about it (as mumrar himself suggested). To this point, I even tried to take some photos along the lines of what he had suggested on Thursday night... and failed. But it has given me insparation to improve, and listening to mumrar's advice is a good start.

 

[atomicdanny]

I'd like to apollogise to mumrar, what you said about my picture is very true the lighting is very poor, and I accept that it wasn't a very good picture, I thought that I tried hard enough to get some good pictures, but I might as well not bother to enter any more pictures since they are no where near as good as any of the others.

I just have to accept that I'm not going to be any good at photography no matter how hard i try, so I might as well give up before I waste too much time! The reason why I don't get any votes is simple my pictures don't deserve them. (only my opinion really, since I can't really compete when most people have Digital SLRs )

 

[90019]

But if you don't try, you won't improve.
When I started, I entered crap photos that got no votes (Sometimes I still do ), and after a while, I managed to win two POTWs

 

[royaloak]

Do you have to do everything perfectly first time, have you not heard the phrase "practice makes perfect". At least now it costs nothing to practice with a digital camera, when I started it was film cameras so very expensive to try and fail.
Keep trying, plan the shot and try different things, if it doesnt work delete it and try again.

I have been taking pictures for ahem years and the one time I entered a picture it didnt get any votes, but I only snatched the picture so didnt expect anything else.

 

[atomicdanny]

Well true i guess that Practice makes perfect, I think I have improved since I first used a camera (a long time ago!) or a digital camera (in 2004!), although the only problem with Point and Shoot cameras is that they aren't very good in poor lighting, or where you can't use the flash (You have to have a very steady hand!).

(I really wish though that DSLRs weren't so expensive, £1000 + for a good one compared to my latest one which was £249.99 a point and shoot - casio EX H15)

 

[90019]

Well true i guess that Practice makes perfect, I think I have improved since I first used a camera (a long time ago!) or a digital camera (in 2004!), although the only problem with Point and Shoot cameras is that they aren't very good in poor lighting, or where you can't use the flash (You have to have a very steady hand!).

Get a cheap tripod.
I got mine for £10, and it's perfectly good for what I use it for

 

[mumrar]

atomicdanny - This is exactly NOT what my comments were intended for. Photography is a medium of capturing a moment, a feeling, an event. Little of it comes down to the camera itself, although to a degree it can help. Suffice to say, stick a semi-naked Kelly Brook infront of me and my dSLR, and Mario Testino with a box brownie, with his experience, knowledge and time to setup the lighting, have no doubt his shot would be superior to mine.

Keep trying, experimenting, but mostly you must keep enjoying it too.

 

[Crossover]

#11 - different for the country, but nothing remarkable at all about the shot.

Would like to thank Murmar for the critique - much appreciated. Primarily entered this one as I thought it was something different and would like to get into POTW - seems like a bit of fun and as the saying goes never say never.
The image wasn't taen to be entered in a photo competition and was just a quick pic during my recent visit to Germany...was one of the few diesels I saw as well!!!

 

[atomicdanny]

atomicdanny - This is exactly NOT what my comments were intended for. Photography is a medium of capturing a moment, a feeling, an event. Little of it comes down to the camera itself, although to a degree it can help. Suffice to say, stick a semi-naked Kelly Brook infront of me and my dSLR, and Mario Testino with a box brownie, with his experience, knowledge and time to setup the lighting, have no doubt his shot would be superior to mine.

Keep trying, experimenting, but mostly you must keep enjoying it too.

Fair enough, although I apologise again, I was too quick to jump to conclusions (my own weakness i guess i take things to heart to quickly), but thank you for your advice though, as practice does make perfect I guess, I may not be a professional photographer but hopefully with more practice I should get a little better.

Although the only problem with the competitions in my case is that I have use older pictures (the one used in this one is 2 years old), I have improved since i first started using a digital camera though, I just have to practice more!