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Steel Road
Steel Road
cycleboy


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Road (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Canon EOS-20D
Location: Near Tajiguas, California
Date: Jan 15, 2006
Aperture: 13.0
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/400
Galleries: Landscape, Transportation
Date Uploaded: Jan 16, 2006

 Hi and thanks for the comments. My 2nd challenge and this one did much better than the first. It helps a lot to think "shoot for the audience".

This is the only image I got because I was nervous about standing on the tracks for very long. Trains come by doing about 60-70 and they are very quiet until they are upon you!

The tree in the sunlight was on purpose to give a shadow effect and break up the brightness a little bit. The original shot before cropping had a bit more tracks in it, but I actually preferred the tracks off center - seemed to really lead the eye around the bend. The horizon may be a little off level, but it is hard to tell for sure. I am not sure if the tracks themselves are level in that spot.

This was a luck shot - I was checking for surf and on the way back to the car saw this view and thought of this challenge.

Statistics
Place: 57 out of 230
Avg (all users): 5.6007
Avg (commenters): 7.0000
Avg (participants): 5.3378
Avg (non-participants): 5.6985
Views since voting: 866
Views during voting: 341
Votes: 273
Comments: 13
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 01/31/2006 12:29:49 AM
HI from the Critique Club...

First IMpression: High contrast, interesting, and...what is that tree doing?

Composition: I read your comments about the picture. Your reasoning makes sense regarding the tree but for some reason I feel like it would have been a stronger image without the tree. I think its the proportion(or apparent proportion) of the tree in relation to the other plants and the telephone wires. Because the line of the wires seems to mirror the tracks, the tree breaks that line up, making my eyes jump around the picture. I understand wanting to diminish the sun in your picture, but I wish it could have been accomplished another way. The rails and their position in the frame work very well. I do think it is good that you didn't just end up with the tree on accident, you thought about its placement. This shows that you put some thougth into the composition.

lighting: ONe opinion as expressed above, otherwise this "into the sun" image works well. I definitely like the way the light defines each railroad tie and the moutning brackets holding the rails. Very Cool. Its very high contrast, and almost monotone or duotone in color.

Challenge and Scoring: 5.6 is a very respectable score. After reading your comments, it seems most were very positive. In reality, this image is not as "clean/neat" as the images that typically score well(this statement is not meant to be taken literally, just as a general observation of the DPC voters.) Keep shooting and have fun.

PM me with any questions.

mark
 Comments Made During the Challenge
01/24/2006 01:36:11 PM
Love the sun glinting off the tracks and the lilights of the railroad ties. Really draws me back into the picture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/24/2006 11:17:50 AM
nice drama
 01/24/2006 04:31:25 AM
Beautiful lighting and exposure.

Unfortunately, I find the composition distracting -- specifically that the rails are off-center (frequently a good thing, but when you have parallel lines like that, it's nice (to me, anyway) to have them come from the corners of the image... I also wonder if maybe your horizon is off -- the front-most tie seems to be OK, but the overall image feels to me like it's tilted to the left... not certain.

Still a nice image. I give it a high 7.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/22/2006 08:45:25 PM
I really like the light on the rails, but that one silly tree is in the wrong place.
 01/22/2006 10:52:39 AM
Nicely balanced, clear and focused, darn that sun very hot. were you able to take more with the sun in a different part of the sky?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/21/2006 04:47:49 AM
Classic, maybe a little too much sky, but still very good
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/20/2006 11:53:46 PM
Chromey. I like the neutrality and the sunglints. Good idea.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/19/2006 04:14:03 PM
You bring the tracks to life with the daring maneuver of pointing directly at the sun. Some will probably penalize you for that, but for me it turns a 5 into a 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/19/2006 03:04:56 PM
nice silohuetting and execution
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/19/2006 07:26:59 AM
Strong leading lines, well exposed, 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/18/2006 12:55:10 PM
very good
 01/18/2006 03:48:42 AM
oooo, I like this.


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