Too dark on a rain shot?

coborn35 · 01-15-2017, 04:00 AM

http://www.railpictures.net/viewreje...70&key=4851270

Looking for thoughts on this one. I like it personally, because of what I endured getting it, and I am wondering if brightening it any more than I have will spoil the doom and gloom feel I think it has?

John West · 01-15-2017, 04:43 AM

Looking at the image I can understand what you might have gone through to get it. And it is not a bad image. Good composition (maybe a touch too tight on the bottom), the bright headlights provide a focal point, and appropriately moody. But it is very dark. I generally like moody shots, so I probably would have let it in. But I can understand why it was rejected. If you have room on the original, you might add a bit more space at the bottom and try lightening it up a bit, and if you like the result try resubmitting on appeal with an explanation of your changes. Unfortunately what you endured getting doesn't count!

KevinM · 01-15-2017, 01:38 PM

Perhaps this shot does need a little brightening, but what it really needs is for the shadows to be opened up. The screener's issue is clearly with the numerous dark areas that show little or no detail. These include the trucks, the cab windshields, the couplers, etc. If, instead of shooting this, you had just stood there and watched the train go by, paying close attention to detail, I think that there was enough light for your eyes to see the details in these areas. The photographic representation of that scene needs to show some of this detail. Of course, you will need to be careful doing this. Depending on what camera you used, the result might be the appearance of noise.

Anyway, I agree with John about the shot being tight on the bottom...and maybe just a little tight all around. Another technical point is that a slightly slower shutter speed might have produced just a little blur in the rain and it look a little more like a falling rain. I have discovered through experience that using fast shutter speeds in the rain makes your photo look more like a dust storm than a falling rain. I have a photo of a steam engine in a deluge from years ago that I don't dare show anyone. The conditions were quite dramatic, but the shutter speed that I used was so high that there was no blur at all in the large rain drops. It looks more like a $%&* storm than a rain storm.

Edit: Here's an example that shows the level of shadow detail and rain blur that can be achieved with the right camera settings, processing....and luck! When all is said and done, if the shot still gets rejected, you probably didn't add enough luck.