Also-rans Trackside vol 166

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

Thanks to Larry (tree68) and Dan (CNW6000) for the idea to start a thread like this.

Here are the shots I submitted that were not chosen:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim53171/5808428016/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim53171/5808427522/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim53171/5808427148/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim53171/5807861105/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim53171/5808425858/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim53171/5808425188/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jim53171/5808424782/

Comments and criticism always welcome.

2

Truthfully I was expecting ho-hum stuff here; like wedge shots, head ons with a zillion mm lens, train or engine fills the frame, etc. And the first and last shots sorta are so so in my estimation . But WHAMM!–numbers two through six are really great stuff!!!

!

3

At least 3 or maybe 4 of those would’ve gotten my vote. Nice shots!

4

And Henry6 wrote:

But WHAMM!–numbers two through six are really great stuff!!!## Cool Shots! “Z”

My hat is off to the Trains Staff.

The photography posted here is really great!

WE are most fortunate to have so many contributors here posting some really excellent work!

I’d hate to be one of the judges. I know what I like!

I like most of what I see!

It is really great that those folks will share there work here.

5

Thanks for sharing, Jim. Some very cool stuff here.

Just to clarify, the reader submission is more or less random. We just pick a photo and go with it, so long as it meets our requirements. We use our judgment a little bit, in that we won’t pick a photo if it’s absolutely dreadful, or doesn’t bear any relation to the theme, or if it’s by the same photographer we picked last round. Otherwise, it’s somewhat akin to reaching your hand into a hat and drawing a folded piece of paper.

Part of the reason we do it this way is simply that we get a lot of good stuff, and we don’t want to pick “the best one,” thereby declaring others by implication to be “not as good.” So to anyone who’s submitted in the past but is frustrated for having not been picked, keep trying. We love seeing your stuff, and we’ll get to you sooner or later. In the meantime, I like the idea of this thread.

Best,

6

Well, whodathunk…

Z - #'s 2 and 3 get my vote.

7

[quote user="Andy Cummings"]

Thanks for sharing, Jim. Some very cool stuff here.

Just to clarify, the reader submission is more or less random. We just pick a photo and go with it, so long as it meets our requirements. We use our judgment a little bit, in that we won’t pick a photo if it’s absolutely dreadful, or doesn’t bear any relation to the theme, or if it’s by the same photographer we picked last round. Otherwise, it’s somewhat akin to reaching your hand into a hat and drawing a folded piece of paper.

Part of the reason we do it this way is simply that we get a lot of good stuff, and we don’t want to pick “the best one,” thereby declaring others by implication to be “not as good.” So to anyone who’s submitted in the past but is frustrated for having not been picked, keep trying. We love seeing your stuff, and we’ll get to you sooner or later. In the meantime, I like the idea of this thread.

Best,

[/quote]

And: This quote from the #166 Edition of The Photo Contest:

FTA: "…Andy’s response to my post was:

I pretty much grab a photo and run it, so it’s mainly a matter of luck. Obviously, if a given photo is extremely bad or doesn’t follow the rules, I won’t pick it. Also, if somebody was the chosen reader last round, I probably won’t choose them this round. Otherwise, it’s pretty much a grab…"

Let state fro the record, I am no photographer and don’t take a lot of pictures, I would not want to be in the Trains Staffs position on this. After giving it some thought and not knowing any numbers for photo submissions, It seems like a randomized drawing might be the best way out of a potentially thorny situation… I have said a couple of time that trying to pick a winner is for me, a sort of “eenney, meaney, miney, moe” process. The selections are always good and very enjoyable to

8

Your number was drawn

I call this one “Your Number Was Drawn”. CN M346 prepares to depart Shops. Here’s a link to it on Flickr (http://flic.kr/p/9BjpxC) but the picture is also clickable.

9

Zardoz, great photos! I pretty much liked all of them; but like Larry said, 2 and 3 are really good. Thank you for sharing them with us, and starting this thread, kind sir!

10

Thanks to all that replied. Entering the trackside contest is my first attempt to compete with other photographers.

Henry6–I’m glad I could surprise you. I appreciate the praise!

Dan (CNW6000)–Only 3 or 4 of them!!! (Haha-Just kidding)

samfp1943–I agree; it would indeed be difficult to choose just one when presented with many contenders.

Andy–thanks for the info. I wondered how the choice was made, and knowing it is somewhat random helps my bruised ego. I do have a question: does Trains keep these contest submissions for possible use in the magazine (similar to if I submitted vai the regular method)?

Larry–thanks for the votes!!

Cherokee Woman–Thanks for the kudos. Since I plan on submitting photos each week, perhaps I will start a new thread for each contest.

Now if I can only figure out how to post directly into this forum, rather than making everyone travel over to Flickr. Or do you think it is better to just provide links, so that those with slower connections can open the thread easier?

11

Z - if Flickr provides a link directly to the image, you can just use the img tags. Otherwise you’ve got to find a place that will allow direct links to host your images.

12

Flickr must do something like that, as Dan posted a photo above from Flickr. I looked at Flickr, but I sure cannot see anywhere about how to do it. I feel like such a dunce sometimes; at least I’m old enough to blame it on senility…

13

Jim - some of those are awesome! And I thought mine was good.

I have to figure out how to participate in this too, especially if the selection is random.

Thanks for starting this thread! [:)]

14

Here was my entry for Vol 166:

SP X4449 overnighting at the Milwaukee Amtrak station on 8/3/09 on it’s way back from Michigan.

I was really glad I got these shots, as a photographer malfunction caused me to miss the shot as it sped by me later in the day. [*-)]

http://i995.photobucket.com/albums/af71/EdKnueppel/Trains%20Shared%20Photos/P8034485.jpg

Hope the link works, this is my first official shared image.

15

Ed - [Y] Like!

16

+1