Hey gang,
Got a quick grab shot of an eastbound UP coal drag heading into the siding at Leyden last night. Thought you all might enjoy seeing it:
C&C always welcome and appreciated!
Very spiffy! The resolution in the shadow area almost makes it look like a HDR image.
Nicely done, Chris.
Thanks, Jim! I actually had more shadow detail that I could have brought out. When I was post-processing in Lightroom, I was trying to decide how much to leave in. I wanted just enough to give a hint of the lay of the land, but I also wanted the overall scene to be dark enough that it was on the verge of being a dramatic silhouette. After playing for awhile, I got to this image and I like how it turned out.
I like the color! Think the smoke had anything to do with it (it looks more or less natural to me)?
One expects the image of the moon to appear larger.
I keep saying it, your “quick grab shots” are so much better than most folks planned and posed projects!
I used to wonder if you ever went anywhere boring, then I realized you simply have the photography skill to make where ever you’re at interesting!
Still waiting for the book…[:D]
Chris, as usual, your “eye” is dead on. This is definitely a “mood” picture and reminds me of similar settings I have been in. With respect to the tonality, you are spot on with the amount of shadow detail. I pulled the JPG off and stuck it into Photoshop and looked at the shadow/highlight correction, and IMHO the least little raising of shadow detail injures the mood of the picture.
This image would make an excellent “salon” print. (As an afterthought, I used channel mixer to take it to mono and it is an awesome image there as well. Man, where is Ektalure X now that we need it?! Add some Rapid Selenium Toner while you’re at it! Sorry, I’ll stop with the nostalgia now.)
Thanks, all, for the very kind comments!
Carl, smoke that particular evening stayed to the north (High Park Fire) and south (Waldo Canyon Fire). I thought I might have some interesting colors from the Flagstaff Fire SW of Boulder last night so I headed back out on the Moffat. Two problems with that theory: 1) A big microburst hit south of the fire and blew all the smoke north and 2) there were no trains around anyways. That’s just as well. While sunsets through forest fire smoke can be quite dramatic, it’s hard to enjoy something when you know that lives are being wrecked by it…
Ed, I think I’ve just been shooting long enough now and know what I like. When I see interesting lighting, for example, I try to make something happen with it. So I guess it’s not a true grab shot in the sense of “I was driving along the tracks and saw this!” but it wasn’t planned either. I was headed home from dinner with a friend, had my camera with me and saw the interesting sky so I did what I could with it. A little more work than a true grab shot, but not much. As for the book… I managed to get the cover shot for the Blurb book that PentaxForums put out for February’s World Pentax Day. When I got the physical copy in the mail the other day, I was instantly addicted to seeing my pictures in/on books. Rest assured that there will be books in the future. It’s not just a dream anymore, but a goal to work towards!
Chuck, I must admit that I had to go look up Ektalure. I didn’t get into darkroom work until Kodak had exited the B&W paper market, so I don’t know a whole lot about their products in that area. It’s still sad (and rather unfathomable!) to think about what has happened to “The Great Yellow Father” in the past decade. I’ve still got my fingers crossed that some of their film products can survive. Some of the newest films like Ektar and the new Portras are exquisite. And is it even possible to think of a world without T
Now that’s outstanding!
I told you to keep plugging away at it, someone would recognize the talent.
So, where do I sign up for the first edition mailing list?[;)]
Good going there…