Oh, the sting of rejection........

[ssmith1627]

Submitted my first two to RP today.  I've taken a few hundred pics now and I have a few that I like so I thought I'd give it a try.   I have no ambitions here.  Just having some fun and learning.   Even still, I sure didn't enjoy the rejection !  haha

My two submissions.  Feel free to pick them apart.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ssmith1627/Trains#5269998360476283714

http://picasaweb.google.com/ssmith1627/Trains#5271263626063554178
(the 2nd with the road at the bottom cropped out)

Admittedly, I did no editing of the pictures other than the cropping.

Steve

[Michael Knight]

Those pictures are nice, Steve...especially for a beginner. I wouldn't put too much weight to Railpictures' standards or website, for that matter.

Feel free to register for your own JREB.org Gallery album. It's free, and you may post all the train pictures that you want.

In addition, you might look into a website by the name of  rrpicturearchives.net.

I would study pictures that you find in railroad books and magazines. I recommend that you become a subscriber of Trains magazine, if you're not already. Study pictures long and hard and work to emulate your favorite scenes. Practice makes perfect, and this phrase certainly applies to railroad photography.

[E.M. Bell]

As far as standards for RP goes, Ill throw my two cents in here. 

Your first photo of 112. It needs to be rotated a couple of degrees to the right (clockwise) to level it up a bit, crop out some of the dead space at the bottom and a little to the sides, sharpen and adjust the light and color saturation a tad.  That would help it a great deal.

the photo of the 706 needs to be cropped a bit, perhaps enough that you will not make the correct size out of it without pixalation.  Get the road out of it (dark and shadowed) and reduce the dead space out of it.  Sharpen, adjust the sat and light a tad.  If the train was a bit closer to you (but not in the foreground brush) it would help.

I played around a bit with both in photoshop, and this is what I came up with as examples.  The are smaller due to the cropping but reworking the originals straight out of the camera would work better. 

[Michael Knight]

Steve, I find that I often have to rotate my images slightly to make them completely level. So, it might be a good idea to add leveling to you processing checklist.

Hats off to you for the excellent composition in your first photo. You really tied the scenery in with the train nicely. What crossing did you take that picture at?

[ssmith1627]

Thanks.  That gives me a lot to think about.   What software do you guys use for the editing ? 

That first picture was taken on the West End right off Rutledge Pike.  Spring Hill, I believe the road is.  Probably less than 2 miles from the yard. 

Steve

[E.M. Bell]

I use Photoshop 8 (or whatever the new version is) but also keep a older version of it as well.  That one program, while pricey, will do just about anything one could want to do to a image.  They also have a "Elements" version out that is cost effective and will do just about as well with normal editing ect. 

I also use a program called neat image, which is great for noise reduction, special sharping jobs ect. I have been using neat image to help with the restoration of the Moss collection that I have been working on for almost a year now. (ill get back to that project  this winter...I promise!)   

[cjr9703]

I think the one with the train in the distance is a winner; the trees are pleasant to view, and the lighting is nice.  

As for the other, it's fine, but (for me) the front of the loco is a litte dark, but it's not too bad.  The sky is great in that one, and the trees on the left  help frame the scene.  

Overall, I think they are great efforts, and I like them.

[cjr9703]

Actually one more thing:

The one with the train in the distance is just a little blurry.  Again, not a major deal breaker, but just an observation.  I'm not really sure what the camera focused on, but if it were me in that situation, I would override the camera and select the focus point manually on the train. 

Keep shooting! 

[ssmith1627]

The one with the train in the distance was rejected for this reason:

- Composition/Balance: The composition of this photo is poor relating to the overall balance of the image.

I'm not sure I even understand that one.  Any thoughts ?

It is interesting to me in viewing the same pic on different machines with different software.  Sometimes the pics look a lot sharper than others.   Even setting them as the desktop background.   If I do it from one program, it's sharp.  If I do it from another, it's a blurry version of itself.    I haven't figured that one out yet.

Started playing around with Elements last night.  We'll see what I can learn !   Thanks guys.

Steve

[cjr9703]

The one with the train in the distance was rejected for this reason:

- Composition/Balance: The composition of this photo is poor relating to the overall balance of the image.

I'm not sure I even understand that one.  Any thoughts ?

Hi Steve,

I've come to the conclustion that rejections like 'Bad Cropping', or 'Composition/Balance' come down to particular screener tastes.  Though the screening team has similar judgement on many standard shots, images such as that seeme to be hit or miss.  I personally don't see anything wrong with it, but some screeners hold steadfastly to the 'rule of thirds' and will reject most anything where they feel the train is positioned too close to the center of the frame. 

In my past experiences, I've gone short of losing my mind trying to crop or frame a picture to meet their unknown panel of screeners, so if they don't take it, I just put it away.  Plus, it's my picture, I'll frame it the way I want.  Your image is the perfect type to save for a while and revisit later.  You may find that you see it differently after taking a break from it.  If you do wind up reworking  it, it doesn't hurt to give it a try and upload it again after time has lapsed.  Actually now that I think about it, nothing ticks them off more than someone who keeps trying to get the same picture accepted over and over after it's initially rejected.  I believe that's sure-fire way to get on their bad side; yet again, I believe it's kind of easy to annoy them. 

(ya gotta play their game -- if you want to!)

[ssmith1627]

Yeah, it may come down to that.  Not wanting to play the game.  This is just a hobby for me and no need to get that serious about it.

I do want to learn.  Plus I can post my mediocre work here for you people !  haha

Thanks for all the feedback.

Steve