Question about angle on a shot

[Heymon]

This one was rejected for bad angle (and underexposed, which I can fix), but I was thinking the sky and scenery were compelling enough to overcome the standard "going away" aspect of this shot. Just curious what others thought about this and what more might be done to make a shot like this work. Thanks for any advice.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewreje...&key=275786275

Andre

[Joe the Photog]

It should either not be back coupled (such as a DPU or a light engine movie) or needs to be meeting another train. In any event, our eyes are lead down the train and then to..... well, nothing.

[cblaz]

It's a going away shot of a SD70. The light's not good enough for a glint shot either. And that's some grade the train is climbing.

- Chris

[troy12n]

Originally Posted by cblaz

It's a going away shot of a SD70. The light's not good enough for a glint shot either. And that's some grade the train is climbing

Come on man, it's an SD9043MAC!

Actually if you had a fisheye, this might work

[N. Herring]

Originally Posted by troy12n

Come on man, it's an SD9043MAC!

Actually if you had a fisheye, this might work

you need to reread the UP rosters 8343 is an SD70ACe

[Heymon]

Thanks for the input so far. I'd just like to mention that the photo was a wide angle shot intending to give some emphasis to the SD70ACe radiators while incorporating the rest of the locomotive, sky, and tracks. I think the distortion is already pushing the envelope a bit, so a fish-eye might be too much for this one. I understand the ding for going away, but my hope was that other factors mitigated that, maybe not enough.

There was no intent to make it a glint shot, so perhaps the reflection of the sun becomes a minor distraction instead of an asset as in a glint shot. The angle of the tracks is a by-product of the wide angle. Here is one in the database that is wide angle with a similar uphill slant:

PhotoID: 315785 Photograph © Steve Schmollinger

Mine could be leveled for the tracks, but trying that gave it a distinct downhill feel that was unbalanced, I thought (you'll notice the base plate of the locomotive frame already angles down). It seemed better with the tracks and locomotive lines converging toward somewhat of a vanishing point in the distance.

Does the shot work on any level for anyone? I'd like to at least take away some aspect of this to use on future attempts at getting angles that are a bit different than the usual perspectives, but I am still working on trying to be a little more creative when I have the opportunity to spend some time with a static locomotive.

Andre

[JimThias]

Originally Posted by Heymon

Here is one in the database that is wide angle with a similar uphill slant:



Mine could be leveled for the tracks, but trying that gave it a distinct downhill feel that was unbalanced, I thought (you'll notice the base plate of the locomotive frame already angles down). It seemed better with the tracks and locomotive lines converging toward somewhat of a vanishing point in the distance.

One thing you'll notice with Steve's shot is that the verticals in the center of the frame are level. Try to level your shot off the verticals in the center of your photo. This might jack up the distorted end of the locomotive, but the rest of the image will have a better feeling of being level. You could always do some minor distortion correction as well.

[JRMDC]

"minor distraction" => major distraction

vanishing point will exist regardless of whether you rotate for level, so rotate to level!

I like the emphasis on the radiators. Putting aside RP and going away and non-glint and what have you, I find the shot out of balance, the right side is too tight. It would not be so were there something down toward the vanishing point to balance the large presence of the radiators on the right.

[Chase55671]

I thought it was cool! Not RP worthy, but still cool! I think the sky, along with the wide angle make for a dramatic scene.

As stated, it's not RP worthy, but I'd probably keep it for the personal archives.

[Heymon]

Thanks for all the advice. Especially valuable was the advice on leveling. I had problems trying to figure out any way to level this other than the tracks, so now I know to use the center of the frame for reference.

Just an aside, one of the things I do with the photos I like but that don't (or won't) make it here is to use them every year in a calendar. I send them to Costco and have a wall calendar made for my office for about $20 and it looks pretty nice. I had to return one once because the photos came out too small, and the people at the return desk asked me if I bought it in the store. When I told them I took the photos they asked if I did this for a living, which was some slight validation for me. I'm sure a lot of you already do the calendar thing, but I thought I'd mention it just in case.

Andre

[EMTRailfan]

Future reference, you might want to make sure you crop off your rotation wedges (dead white space) too.