Can anyone help with this photo reject?

[Aaron]

http://www.viatrain.net/cphelp

This photo was rejected. I would like some pointers to help me get this photo accepted. In my personal opinion I think that it is an awsome shot, however I cannot seem to get it into the site. If there is anything you guys may suggest to help me get it in that would be great. Thanks

[cmherndon]

It's overexposed, and the contrast isn't that good on it. You'll probably need to play around with the levels and contrast in Photoshop. Also, use the clone stamp tool to get rid of that little marker to the left of the train. Try doing that, and you MAY be good to go with it.

[chris crook]

Darken the trees in the background and it would do wonders for the pictures. As for getting rid of the marker, do you want a picture of the scene or do you want a picture of how you wanted the scene to look?

[Aaron]

I should darken the trees. However myself, I really have a problem "doctoring" photos. I want my pictures to be ones that I took, not created. That is my personal opinion of fixing photos. Just a side note, has anyone noticed that Photoshop has become a verb these days??? ex. I photoshoped this photo, or Try photoshoping this photo... :lol:

[BNSF_or_SOO]

Yep photoshop has really allowed some photographers to cheat alot nowadays. The only "cheating" I do with photoshop is to get the dust marks off of the image after it has been scanned. Dont take the marker out, for your own integrity. How in the world did you get the lights on the lead unit to be so bright?

[Aaron]

That picture was taken close to sun set, and the sun just peered thru the trees to light up the sceen, and because the lighting was already kinda sketchy the headlights look bright. It could also do with the fact that I am looking almost dead on to the unit!

[oltmannd]

I like it just the way it is. The overexposed background is fine - IMHO, as would an out of focus background or one distorted by heat, haze, fog, snow or rain.

I play around with cropping it vertically and got a nice looking result- totally different from the original, though.

[Shearman]

I've been a professional photographer for 30 years. Darkening the trees in this shot in Photoshop would not be "doctoring" the photo or "cheating." It would be no different than the "burning in" that any competent darkroom worker would have done when printing this photo in a conventional darkroom. That's simply a matter of exposure control, like setting the exposure properly in the first place, developing properly or using the right paper to print the shot.
On the other hand, taking the marker sign out of the picture would be "doctoring" or "cheating." "Doctoring" and "cheating" are when you take things out of a photo or add things that weren't there. Whether that is ethical depends on the purpose of the photo -- taking a stray lightstand or strobe cable out of the corner of a studio advertising shot is one thing. Taking a person out of a news photo like the Soviets used to do after someone fell out of favor is something else.