Attempt at a locomotive detail shot

[Heymon]

I didn't want to put "bad cropping" in the subject title since that seems to be a bit cliche these days, but that's what this one was rejected for:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewreje...&key=295359339

Frankly, I expected a rejection but not for cropping. I am not particularly adept at detail shots, but I am intrigued by this part of a Shay locomotive and wanted to try to capture it in some sort of context.

I am guessing the crop is too tight and they want more of the locomotive, and if so I am not all that interested in chasing after this. I just wanted to show this running gear in detail somehow but not the entire locomotive. My angle included the cab and the rails just so it was evident what was being photographed, any tighter and I don't think it would have been interesting.

Any thoughts on this attempt are appreciated.

Andre

[mark woody]

Originally Posted by Heymon

I didn't want to put "bad cropping" in the subject title since that seems to be a bit cliche these days, but that's what this one was rejected for:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewreje...&key=295359339

Frankly, I expected a rejection but not for cropping. I am not particularly adept at detail shots, but I am intrigued by this part of a Shay locomotive and wanted to try to capture it in some sort of context.

I am guessing the crop is too tight and they want more of the locomotive, and if so I am not all that interested in chasing after this. I just wanted to show this running gear in detail somehow but not the entire locomotive. My angle included the cab and the rails just so it was evident what was being photographed, any tighter and I don't think it would have been interesting.

Any thoughts on this attempt are appreciated.

Andre

I like the shot, if this is what you wanted and you like it well done. I would love to see a shay in action one day.

[JRMDC]

I'm not sure about the crop, but I am not a fan in several dimensions.

light: This looks like fill flash. Nonetheless, the bright spots are the sky and especially this stripe of ground below/behind the engine. They detract, they take the eye away. And the half blue half white sky does not help.

perspective: The overall angle is OK, but the implementation is poor. You didn't quite square up to the engine, you are aiming a bit right of perpendicular. I can tell because the horizontal lines are not parallel to each other or to the edge of the shot.

In some sense this is a roster shot of an engine component and so it has to be closer to perfect than this is.

[Heymon]

Originally Posted by JRMDC

I'm not sure about the crop, but I am not a fan in several dimensions.

light: This looks like fill flash. Nonetheless, the bright spots are the sky and especially this stripe of ground below/behind the engine. They detract, they take the eye away. And the half blue half white sky does not help.

perspective: The overall angle is OK, but the implementation is poor. You didn't quite square up to the engine, you are aiming a bit right of perpendicular. I can tell because the horizontal lines are not parallel to each other or to the edge of the shot.

In some sense this is a roster shot of an engine component and so it has to be closer to perfect than this is.

I actually agree with you in part, and was half expecting a rejection based on the angle or light. I will make an attempt to defend, just for discussion's sake:

On being squared up, I think I am more squared than it might appear, but I would agree that appearance means a lot in a photo. Unfortunately, that locomotive is filled with a variety of angles, but if you look at the crankshaft area at the bottom, it is pretty much level and even across. The locomotive frame is not built level itself, the driveshafts leave the crankshaft at odd angles, and the central component is canted back compared to the cab. Since this was a wide angle, some distortion is going to be evident at the edges, but I think the squaring is okay. That doesn't mean it is aesthetically pleasing, though.

On the light, it was an accessory flash so more power was available, but it does look like fill the way it came out. I wonder if a brighter flash would have helped, though, because I was so close to the engine that it might have blown out the details in the center. I should have tried it. I saw the sky, but felt that this was a minor flaw and less distracting than you did. The light at the bottom...I thought it added a bit more than detracted since it gave some point of reference, but since you mention it if the area behind had been in shade or something that might have helped.

But this was a bad crop reject, and I have become quite curious about what that flaw might be, and which way they would want me to go?

[jnohallman]

Actually, since your focus is on the running gear, I'd be tempted to crop much closer, although I think the angle at which you chose to shoot might complicate that. The cylinder arrangement on a Shay is pretty unique, but also readily identifiable to most railfans as belonging to a locomotive, so I don't think you really needed to include that much of the rest of the engine. I'd almost go just for the cylinders and rods. As an example of the kind of closer crop you might want to try, I submit the following image I shot of another geared steam engine:

PhotoID: 254193 Photograph © Jonathan Hallman

Jon