LHF NS ES40DC at sunrise.

[NS9710]

http://csxt4701.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1374679

[JCagle]

Don't think that I'm being harsh here Trey, but here is my opinion trying to be objective. I'm not a firm believer that a picture needs to fit the RP profile to be a good picture, but I do think there are some elements that need to be present. The first thing that strikes me is that it's a rather boring shot of dash 9. Not every shot needs to have perfect nose light, but it is a bit dark compared to the harshly lit side. Other than that it's just a train going through some weeds pushing some hoppers. There's nothing with the setting that tweaks my interest and would make me want to look at it in depth or more than once. It's just sort of boring. The only story it seems to tell is that there was a train there. The foreground is dark and boring with just rails, and the stacks of ties aren't that exciting or pleasing to the eye either. It doesn't really matter what we think though as long as you like it.

[Michael Knight]

*Bad Cropping: The composition of the photo is poor as it relates the cropping of the image.

*Overexposed: Poor exposure

*Too Much Noise: This is the equivalent of digital grain.

*Lack of/Not Enough Contrast

[Hoydie17]

Eh, first thing that jumps out to me is that it's overexposed. . . . realizing that the harsh lighting is partially from the sun position, one should make sure to adjust their exposure settings accordingly.   I cannot see the EXIF data, so therefore I cannot make a recommendation for future attempts. 

In the future, I'd suggest that those requesting "critiques" try to provide more info about the photo in question, specifically, what are the technical aspects of the image?  Exposure, ISO, F-stop, focal length, etc, only then can one get a in depth technical critique of an image.  Composition is only a third of the battle in photography, the larger third is post-processing, and the smaller third is the technical execution.

After that, the foreground clutter doesn't do much for me, the weeds growing up between the tracks are a bit distracting, and the shadowed in tracks also take away from the overall image. 

The location is rather non-descript, short of you telling me in the caption, I could be standing in Manassas, Virginia or Buffalo, NY or Bakersfield, CA and wouldn't know any better.   Railfan photography is about being able to relate to a photo, it's not just about the train, what is it about a photo that makes it easily recognizable?  A street sign?  Familiar building?  Station?  Signals?   

Now, that's not to say every photo should be taken with a location identifier, as that wouldn't be practical, but ask yourself next time, "How can I make sure the person looking at my photo knows where I am?"   It's often hard to do this when you're in a location you visit routinely because many things that can be recognized as unique to a location are probably things you take for granted.   This is where a photographer's ability to remove himself/herself from her surroundings emotionally is key, how do YOU know where you are?  What are the things that tell you you're standing Burkeville, VA as opposed to Crewe, VA? 

What's good about this one? 

-  The concept, catching a hammerhead running GE is cool in it's own special way.  Trying to capture this big ole Super-Cat doing yard work is neat as well. 

Essentially, the premise for the photo, I'd give a B, the excution, a C - at best. 

[NS9710]

Okay a few things here.

I have a Kodak EasyShare C813, it's a point and shoot 8.2MP, so I really have no control over the details of the shot [ie: ISO, shutter ect] but what I was trying to do is get a few pointers of how exactly I can improve on the image as it relates to the image, and the locomotives lighting and just the image as a whole.....

[Michael Knight]

Okay a few things here.

I have a Kodak EasyShare C813, it's a point and shoot 8.2MP, so I really have no control over the details of the shot [ie: ISO, shutter ect] but what I was trying to do is get a few pointers of how exactly I can improve on the image as it relates to the image, and the locomotives lighting and just the image as a whole.....

Your camera model is a big part of the problem. From what I've heard about you, Trey, you are a serious rail enthusiast. That said, you need to have a serious camera that allows you, as the photographer, to have control over various settings including focal length.

Of course, I'm by no means suggesting that a better camera will necessarily yield you better images by itself, but a better camera would certainly allow you to experiment, learn, and grow in your photographic endeavors.

[NS9710]

Okay a few things here.

I have a Kodak EasyShare C813, it's a point and shoot 8.2MP, so I really have no control over the details of the shot [ie: ISO, shutter ect] but what I was trying to do is get a few pointers of how exactly I can improve on the image as it relates to the image, and the locomotives lighting and just the image as a whole.....

Your camera model is a big part of the problem. From what I've heard about you, Trey, you are a serious rail enthusiast. That said, you need to have a serious camera that allows you, as the photographer, to have control over various settings including focal length.

Of course, I'm by no means suggesting that a better camera will necessarily yield you better images by itself, but a better camera would certainly allow you to experiment, learn, and grow in your photographic endeavors.

I can't really gripe about the camera too much, it is everything I need, and I peeled back as to what I USE to be, I no longer get as much in-depth as I use to. and I had an XT but it's got gel or something down inside it so everything gets hard to use and the buttons don't want to respond like they should, and I needed a quick and easy replacement and that's what I got. One other thing I have noticed is that all my images have "Grain" in them, and I'm not too sure why..