Cloudy Rejection?

[stlgevo51]

http://www.railpictures.net/viewreject.php?id=799715&key=155871481

I don't know why this shot was rejected for cloudy. It looks sunny to me. Am I not seeing something or what? I really don't understand.

[Joe the Photog]

It looks like diffused sun, like the thin layer of clouds we see in the sky that is visible is also covering the sun. A true sunny shot, we could tell. Not a big fan of the composition here. My eyes go right to the tree.

[stlgevo51]

Maybe that was it. There was a thin layer of clouds around, but before the train I looked and the sun was still above them. Maybe it moved enough to get below the clouds.

As for the composition, is there a way to reshoot this scene?

[Eugene]

Hi Jake

I took some of the bottom and also cropped quite a bit off the right. I pumped the saturation by +25 and reduced lightness by -3. You might want to try adjusting the colour to get more blue out of the sky as well.

My 2 cents worth :-)

Eugene

[KevinM]

Hi Jake,

I don't have PSE installed on this PC, so I can't see a histogram that would tell me how much additional processing this shot could stand for the purposes of making it brighter.

As-is, the shot has the look of a picture taken under a high overcast....meaning a later or veil of cirrus clouds. Yes, it is sunny, but it's as if mother nature put a neutral density filter over the sun, reducing the amount of light it is casting on your train. Cirrus clouds can make the difference between a great shot and one that is just so-so. This is not a bad shot, it's just that the site (RP) has decided that for pictures of common trains, they want brighter sun.

Look at the histogram. If you can brighten it, take one more swing at it before you put it aside. Take your time and do it right. If it still doesn't make it, move on. Further attempts just increase the friction between you and the Screeners. If you like the shot, find another outlet for it. If getting shots on RP is your primary objective, you will need to find better lighting conditions.

Trust me, RP should be just one of your objectives when you shoot pictures. If it's the only objective, you will rapidly get frustrated with the hobby because so much will be beyond your control.

[stlgevo51]

Thanks guys. I never just shoot for RP. Usually I always shoot for myself (I went to see the new BSA unit and this came before it). The shot is on a couple other sites as well.

Eugene- The problem with your crop is that I wanted to have the old fire station in the shot. Now that is eliminated. I will reshoot soon. I might try to get a little closer to the station.

[troy12n]

I think maybe they hit the wrong rejection reason, there is plenty of light, its just not at the right angle for you (not full nose light). It's actually quite pleasing light, not harsh bad angle (think high sun) light, look at the shadows, I think if the angle of the train into the sun was better, it would have had a better chance.

[Eugene]

I figured you might have wanted the fire station in the shot - but it doesn't work from the angle you were shooting from. I am thousands of miles from the location, but from what I see, maybe if you move to the right and shoot through the two trees, you could still keep the fire station in.

Eugene