I just posted the latest installment of Trackside with Erik and Mike in our new section within the Railroad Reference area of TrainsMag.com.
Read Trackside with Erik and Mike Volume 56
Voting for Trackside with Erik and Mike now occures at the top of the Trackside with Erik and Mike section. Click here to vote.
Please feel free to add your comments regarding this week’s photos here.
Thanks, Erik
Bergie,
Maybe I didn’t read the story well enough…but…I know which shot you’re using for the competition, but which of Mike’s is the shot he’s using for the week?
Edit:
Nevermind…guess I looked at a “Beta” version of this weeks competition.
Went with Mike this week. Bergie, I liked the timeless wedge, but the lighting was a little dull to me, and the smokebox was too dark. I liked the contrast between the moving and non-moving parts of Mike’s shot.
Still, as always, a great effort by both parties. Thanks for sharing!
I’m not sure I know what you’re referring to, Chris. I don’t see anything now. [:-^]
But seriously, yes, the cat got out a little early. Stop being so “on top of things!” [:D]
Bergie [:o)]
Y’know… that night shot with the “Builder” in the background was a bigger challenge for Mike than the daylight ladder assisted wedgie [;)]. I might have gotten that shot of 261, using a small diameter lens that fit through the fence. But Mike’s night shot took some planning and experience and just plain luck!Also, I hate going up on ladders.[tdn][^]
In sticking with the “I always vote for steam” assessment strategy I used last month, Bergie gets my vote this time.
Way to smarten up and grab the “steam junkie” voting bloc, Bergie! [(-D]
Pop Z
I had to go with Mike’s this time, although both were excellent.
Both shots have minor technical flaws…Erik’s is a little dark, and the wedge…which is sometimes the only shot you can get…Mike’s is tilted a little…
So I decided to print both out…and showed them to my 13 year old daughter.
I asked her which one made her think about “railroads” or “railroaders” the most.
She picked Mike’s shot, and for the same reason I did, it made her feel lonely.
Which is how a lot of railroaders get, riding an “old horse” and stuck out waiting for a hot shot to pass, or just staring at a red board, spending time wondering when they will get home.
So the emotional appeal won out…
Ed
I really liked the feeling with Mike’s shot, as Ed mentioned, it captured that ‘lonely feeling’, but I voted for Bergie’s shot, just an old steam fan, every time! Keep up the good work, both of’ 'ya!
Beard support or not - Erik gets the 261 ROCKS nod this time. Can’t dock him for the silver streak in his shot [;)]- Amtrash insists on it being there. BTW - was this the P42 [:P] that popped a fuel injector and had to be towed out of Milwaukee ??? [:o)]
I also gained a bit of height for a couple 261 shots - a rooftop perch using a Saturn quadrapod.
Really isolated vibrations from the train rolling by 6 feet away at 60 mph! [8D]
I didn’t vote. Erik, you shoot yourself in the foot. That vertical shot of 261 is superb. The smoke fills the top of the frame, more head-on gives a stronger sense of power. Never mind which one is sharper. The composition get my vote. Too bad you didn’t submit that one. The horizontal shot is dull, another wedgie, even if it is a shot of 261. Besides, it shows more of the Amtrak diesel and that breaks the mood.
Mike, if you had entered the 1600 ISO handheld, I may have voted for you! I like the newspaper-esque quality of it as well as the little details that all of the sudden pop out at you, like the railroad worker with the lantern, and then the engineer in the shadows of the cab. That was good stuff, not to mention the quality of using handheld. The photo you entered was cool, but it also seemed to have the feeling like you caught a fast mover by luck. (which reminds me of a “wannabe” shot that I would get) yours of course had great exposure, etc. I wonder what it would have looked like with a point of view about 45 degrees to the right? Maybe not as good… just wonder… Question for you Mike: Not being familiar with the area where you took the photo, was the airport behind and to the right of your point of view? Looks like you got a nice light trail of an aircraft (probably a prop) taking off. Erik, 3 wedges in one! Smoke, Tree line, Consist, wow! loved the reflection on the side of the Northern. Too bad the consist was like a poorly patterned quilt, but, you couldn’t control that. I also like the engineer hangin’ out the door, not too mention the fact that it was a steam shot!
I voted for Bergie’s photo this time, but Mike’s sure is good, too. You guys love to make it difficult for us, don’t you. [:)]
Bergie, that 6 foot ladder idea is an old one. I was lucky enough to be in college at the University of Texas (1966-69) when Russel Lee was on staff there. He suggested that I keep certain accessories with me in my old station wagon beater for the inevitable obstacle that always block that one special shot. One of these accessories was a 6 foot ladder.
Other items were small bean bags to stabilize my camera or a long lens, colored chalk to mark (in an unobtrusive way) trees and/or rocks to help me find out of the way places that I wanted to revisit, and emergency snack food wrapped in plastic for those long periods of waiting for a train, the best light, etc.
It is difficult to vote against live steam…but Mike’s night shot takes the prize for me.
Both were great shots
Close vote. I love steam & it is unusual to see any these days. But when you know it’s coming & have the time to set up, it’s not that difficult to get the shot. On the other hand, nite shots are always difficult to do. So I voted for Mike’s shot this time. Besides the Amtrak, did you also catch a slow rising aircraft in the background? A while back, TRAINS Mag ran a series of b&w nite shots & some of those shots were long enough exposures to see star movement. Nice work both!
Larry in Wauwatosa
Because I prefer diesel over steam, was gonna vote for Mike’s Alco until I spotted the Amtrak P-42 behind the 261 tender. I think using the GE “streamlined” power as the helper in a steam powered consist is a brilliant idea, angular SD-40’s just don’t fit in with passenger trains. So, with the smooth sided helper in there keeping the consist consistent, I had to vote for Erik’s photo. You guys are really learning how to use those cameras, it’s getting harder to choose as both photo’s are usually of equal quality. Larry in Blaine in Pacific Northwest (the sun’s still shinin and its September!)
both shots were great but I voted for bergies this time.
stay safe
Joe
Wow, I can not believe how clear Mike’s night shot is and without a tripod or support! I had to vote for Mike’s. The contrast is just so GOOD.
Stay Safe,
Jim
I’m probably going to get thrown off the forums for this…
…but I think both photos were rather dull and boring.
I agree with the poster that said he liked the “grab” shot of the local switcher, with the associated details like the switchman; at least that image conveyed some feelings for those of us that have walked in those shoes. If Mike had submitted that one, I would have voted for it. His submitted shot was ok, but I would have liked to see the entire locomotive.
I also agree with the poster that liked Erik’s portrait (vertical) shot of the steam. If submitted, I would have voted for that one. Like Mike’s, his submitted shot was ok.