I am Frustrated with Rail Pictures!!!

[Andrew Blaszczyk (2)]

Originally Posted by JRMDC

I didn't know that people smudge license plates. I'm not sure why one would want to. Can someone point me to some shots in the database where the license is smudged? Also, I wouldn't mind reading some discussion as to why or why not to do it.

PhotoID: 128145 Photograph © Christopher Blaszczyk

PhotoID: 163851 Photograph © Andrew Blaszczyk (2)

Yeah, streets are public property, but I just find it corteous to protect the driver in case there is something "illegal" happening. I guess I'll stop doing it now. LOL

[a231pacific]

TV news regularly obscures license plates, since people, who are not public figures, have certain protections against invasion of privacy, as do people accused of crimes or the victims of crimes.

As long as a photo was taken legally, posting a photo that incidentally displays a license plate number, on a public forum such as RP is not an invasion of privacy.

If you choose to make a comment about the driver of the car, such as "this jerk just ran the crossing" then you probably should obscure the plate as you may have made a potentially libelous statement.

Michael Allen

[Andrew Blaszczyk (2)]

Originally Posted by a231pacific

As long as a photo was taken legally...

Well, there can be some cases where this could be questioned so...

If you choose to make a comment about the driver of the car, such as "this jerk just ran the crossing" then you probably should obscure the plate as you may have made a potentially libelous statement.

Less the word jerk thats when you SHOULD leave the license plate visible.

[Joe the Photog]

Originally Posted by a231pacific

TV news regularly obscures license plates, since people, who are not public figures, have certain protections against invasion of privacy, as do people accused of crimes or the victims of crimes.

I've never obscured a license plate in my five years in the news business, but if I'm shooting for news and getting exteriors of a house where a crime took place, I usually try not to shoot a close up of the cars where you can make them out. Not really sure why since usually the reporter says something like, "this house on Robin Street was..."

But if I'm shooting traffic on a street or at an intersection for TV news, then it's fair game. Makes no sense to try to block it out when there is no expectation of privacy in public.



Joe

[John West]

I'm jumping in late on this long thread, but I'd like to put in a plug for the original cropping. I think the stop sign and details like the house steps add to the ambience of the street running scene, and the fact the train is as far back as it is allows the other elements of the picture (cars, rough pavement, buildings, etc.) to play an equal part of the image. The original version has some image quality issues, the revised version seems a lot better, but I wonder if the revised version is too "square" for RP's standards. If it were me, I'd go back to the original cropping and try to improve the image quality. I think it is a nice image.

[Mike B.]

Originally Posted by Ween

I'm of the opinion if it's something tangible in the shot, it's staying there (unless it's a flock of birds in the sky that looks like specks/sensor dirt). Using the logic of item not applying to trains, then that would mean poles, powerlines, people, etc. are fair game to be digitally manipulated out...

You edit out birds?

[Carl Becker]

Well, I wasn't experienced at the time and the cropping/angle isn't very good, not to mention the shot is unlevel, but if the rules were different and removal of wires/poles/etc was allowed, I might have submitted this one (at the time) without the wire showing. I took this last year with my dad's camera. Obviously due to the poor angle/crop and also that it's unlevel not to mention the unerasable wire in the shot, this one just sits in the hard drive for reference.

[becker]

That bridge that he is describing is hard to get a nice shot of. The wires cause problems from the highway bridge and the ground near the bridge is uneven. A nice shot is practically impossible. But, he wanted to try, so I gave him a chance.

I was able to get some other decent shots, though, and it was a good day railfanning for us overall.

PhotoID: 166836 Photograph © Louis Becker

PhotoID: 166495 Photograph © Louis Becker

PhotoID: 166493 Photograph © Louis Becker

PhotoID: 166490 Photograph © Louis Becker

PhotoID: 166489 Photograph © Louis Becker

[Ween]

Originally Posted by Mike B.

You edit out birds?

Yeah, when they're in the shot but far enough away where they look like dirt or specks. If there's detail (i.e. they're close enough), they'll stay. I've discussed this in previous thread, so before we get on the merry-go-round of questions again, please do an advanced search with my username and keyword bird or birds...

[Mike B.]

Originally Posted by Ween

Yeah, when they're in the shot but far enough away where they look like dirt or specks. If there's detail (i.e. they're close enough), they'll stay. I've discussed this in previous thread, so before we get on the merry-go-round of questions again, please do an advanced search with my username and keyword bird or birds...

I was just asking...

[Ween]

Originally Posted by Mike B.

I was just asking...

I was just pre-empting the 'Why do you do that?' questions I was anticipating...

[Mike B.]

Believe it or not, but I'm not out to get you.

[Ween]

Originally Posted by Mike B.

Believe it or not, but I'm not out to get you.

I know, but everyone else is...at least that's what the voices in my head are telling me!

[AJP]

RAILPICTURES IS ANTI UK no point in entering if you have a great shot from UK!

[JRMDC]

Originally Posted by AJP

RAILPICTURES IS ANTI UK no point in entering if you have a great shot from UK!

Take your pathetic attitude and get off this forum and this website so that we can continue to enjoy great UK railroading without your whining buzzing faintly in our ears.

Or better yet, fix your attitude and get out there and take some great pix of UK trains, like so many of your countrymen do!

PhotoID: 138987 Photograph © Richard W. Jones

PhotoID: 186321 Photograph © Alan-Crotty

PS If England, Scotland, etc. are countries, can we call the citizens of the UK "countrymen"? Maybe "kingdommen"?

[JRMDC]

Took me a bit but I tracked this one down

PhotoID: 173332 Photograph © Alan John Crotty

[PLEzero]

Originally Posted by AJP

RAILPICTURES IS ANTI UK no point in entering if you have a great shot from UK!

If you say so.

PhotoID: 167494 Photograph © Richard Stevens

PhotoID: 169606 Photograph © Richard Stevens

PhotoID: 157199 Photograph © Nathan Stockman

PhotoID: 172871 Photograph © Jason Cross