Hello!
I just posted the latest edition of Trackside with Trains.com and it’s a biggie. This week in Trackside with Trains.com Volume 84, Mike Yuhas is joined by Trains magazine managing editor Kathi Kube and they’ve combined for 14 photos! (In my opinion, some of the best photos we’ve ever shared are in this edition.)
Click here to vote then add your comments about this week’s photos here.
Erik
Mike wins this one. Better luck next time Kathi.
50% when I voted.
Both selections are very good! Mike caught my interest with the steam engine; but, I really like the red engine in Kathi’s photo, with the snow as a back drop. Sorry Mike, but Kathi gets my vote this time. But you both did a fantastic job!!
I voted for Kathi. I would have voted for Mike’s 5th photo, which shows the train racing through Random Lake on its way back to Milwaukee on Saturday, if it had been his entry.
Mike, I loved your shot. But it was staged and you had plenty of time to work a good photo out. Kathi’s action shot wins out to me. You only get one try and it has to be good. But I agree that Mike’s shot of 103 traveling through Random with that blossoming plume would have made the contest a lot harder to judge – I’d still go with Kathi most likely though, maybe.
Kathi’s shot wins it for me as well. Very hard call though. I prefered Mike’s second shot at Plymouth using the vertical orientation rather than the one he chose to use. I was distracted by the odd effect the wind direction had on the steam plume.
The stone bridge action shot is just outstanding.
I don’t post often but always love this feature so want to offer a heartfelt thanks for the enjoyment Trackside brings.
Tough decision.
For a poster-sized version to hang on my wall, I would have to go with Mike’s steamer - it just fits the genre. A beautiful portrait.
But as a picture of railroading, I preferred Kathi’s action shot, and she got my vote.
Welcome to the Trackside competition Kathi! Loved your shot, just wished the focus was sharper.
Mike’s photo won my vote due to: Color shot that looked like an O. Winston Link B&W… something about the few inklings of color that made it even better than a B&W. Time exposure creating a ghostly or as Mike said a “dreamy” quality. The wispiness of the smoke contrasted by the sharp focus on the hard elements of the locomotive, utility poles, etc. An immediate eye catcher!
Thanks to both of you for two very nice photos!
Happy New Year to Trains Trackside photographers and forum members!
Quite a delightful array of photos for this week’s edition of Trackside!
Many of Mike’s shots of the Soo Line 1003 by night were quite eye-catching, particularly with the shots of the steam plumes as the locomotive was at rest. Kathi’s shots of the UP Marsh greatly appealed to me because they were quite relatable, in that that’s the kind of action I typically see in my area along the BNSF (switch trains and such). These things were already tying into my vote decision.
This week, I think I like Kathi’s low angle bridge shot of the Wisconsin and Southern a bit more than Mike’s Soo Line 1003 shot (which is very mystical-looking, and for that reason, very nice). There is a lot more color to break the white snow in Kathi’s shot, and the sky, against that awesome bridge, gives it a very inviting winter feel.
So in the end, Kathi won my vote for this week.
Mike, I didn’t appreciate the spooky smoke that your camera settings produced. I would have much preferred if you had went with the action Soo Line 1003 photos either racing through Random Lake or the going away shot at Saukville. So Kathi Kube’s decent photo of the WS 4009 on the bridge near Richfield got my vote. Kathi, I thought your Soo Line 1003 Adell shot was the best one of all the steam locomotive photos shown in this volume of Trackside. Welcome aboard and I look forward to seeing more of your pretty pictures.
Kathi,welcome and you go girl! You got my vote. I had to look twice as this scene looked very much like a scene of the stone arch bridges on the old Boston and Albany Railroad (now CSX) in Chester /Bancroft/Middlefield , Mass where an empty auto rack train can still stall on the 1.25%+ grade. The concrete coaling tower and four stall round house are still there in Chester (a few miles east, down the hill) as well as the restored wooden depot and small rr museum. My website is www.railmerchants.net Regards, David Thebodo RMI
Another vote for the Kat! Just hope you didn’t get your feet too wet getting a shot like that!
I voted for Mike. The wind swept smoke and steam really caught me. I much prefer diesels, but Mike’s picture really stands out.
I gave Mike my vote this time around because I like what he did capturing the Steam Engine. It was close though because Kathi’s shot was excellent too…that Red engine against the snow was amazing as well.
Ron Dunning, Newmarket, Ontario
Kathi photo got my vote.
This one is was tough, both shots have some interesting qualities. I’m going to have to think about it before casting my vote.
Kathy, you may want to visit this location again during another season as well along with the other one you mentioned you would like to stop at again. But be careful, what is a clean shot in the winter can have some unexpected vegetation in the summer. WSOR’s red really helped this shot out as it provides a nice contrast to the white and gray that is so prevalent in the photo. You timed the shot just right so the vegetation in the foreground did not distract from a solid view of the locomotives.
Mike, your shot is simply amazing. The long shutter speed gave a unique artistic quality to steam and smoke that is not normally seen in steam shots. I’m sure the cold temperatures helped as well. I would like to see this shot along with the last one you presented us of the 1003 going away in monochrome. If you still have the RAW images make the conversion and post them along with the color versions you submitted this week for a comparison. I think you’ll be amazed at how much the two shots are the same, yet very much different.
Brian
WOW! Another tough choice. Both pics very well done. I had to switch back & forth several times before I voted, but Mike’s shot won out. I guess it’s the black & wite look with the little bit of color that won me over. Someone said it was a staged shot, but the result is still top notch. And, I like the billowy look. If the same shot was a daytime pic, I would have picked Kathi’s shot.
Thanks for a great installment
Larry in Wauwatosa
RE: Rocket Man’s posting
I voted for Kathi’s picture because what drew you to Mike’s shot pushed me away.
Mike, if you had shot that shot in B&W, you’d have won hands down. As it is, the color in it almost detracts from the quality of the shot.
And having had to do the snap shot myself, I can appreciate what Kathi went through to get her lucky shot.
That’s what I love about art. Two people can look at the exact same picture / print / drawing / etc. and see two different things in it…and come out with two radically different opinions!
Well, maybe not such a bloodbath after all, Kathi. Great composition, but I’d suggest raising the camera angle just a tad to get more balance between the foreground earth and the sky. Otherwise, a very nice photo, one that I’d hang in my study. Not that Mike didn’t suffer the cold for his shot. But with the lighting already provided, and a fairly simple camera strategy, it seemed the creative juices might have frozen in the Wisconsin winter. My opinion, free and worth every penny.
I must vote for the Lady. Any photographer that can catch a locomotive with a Number ’ 9 ', will always get my vote. What really tops these pictures off is Kathi’s picture of SOO 1003. ‘What a Stack’ photo. Now!, there is power at its best.