Folks —
Trackside with Trains.com Vol. 121: Severe weather, is now live. You can view it here, and vote for your favorite shot here.
Best,
Two stood out for me in terms of capturing the smallness of mankind in relation to Ma Nature, and that would be Andy’s and Alex’s images. Alex gets my nod by a slim margin, but I am not biased in favour of steam. [:-^] Still, the snowflakes creating the image noise effect against that warm-hearted steamer is quite special.
-Crandell
I gave my vote to Andy this time. Without question, those clouds are scary! I feel sorry for Mike, though–most railfans don’t dress for weather like that, and his vehicle is probably still drying out!
For the other three, the weather looked nasty, but not particularly severe. Drew, the snow in your shot was downright repulsive–so while the photo itself may have been a turn-on, I was definitely turned off by the total effect.
This episode especially, everyone be sure and “blow up” all of the entries. With something as minute as raindrops and snowflakes, a lot of effect is lost in the thumbnails.
Carl’s right - you can’t judge these shots by the thumbnails.
I grew up on the northern edge of Tornado Alley, so “severe” usually means summer when it comes to weather, but none of the summer shots really did it for me.
Living in snow country tends to innure one to the white stuff, but Alex’s shot really summed it up. I’ve worked our Polar Express trains in weather that would make Santa take a day off, and that fit the bill perfectly.
I actually went with Drew’s shot. While it’s not as neat looking as the rest, I can relate to standing by the tracks, in the snow, as a train screams by doing 60 mph. I’d estimate that your shot was taken right before that wall of snow slams into your back, or was there not enough snow for that? [;)]
This week I must vote for Drew’s cold snow scene…I really don’t like cold & snow of Winter {originally from western Pa.}, and Drew’s photo of his scene reminds me of what cold Winter feels like.
I do appreciate all the other photos…I just sense more “severe” in Drew’s photo.
I voted for Andy’s shot this week, probably based mostly on the “wow” factor. When I first saw the photos it was the one that I said “I wish I’d been there to photograph that too!” I always like the dramatic effect storm clouds can lend to railroad picture.
I do however admire Mr. Yuhas’ photo this week - 1/80th of a second at night of a moving train and you came away with a pretty nice picture! I’m amazed! Sure it may be a high ISO shot, but it’s still rather impressive.
Noah
Going with the theme of “severe weather” and not mere inclement weather, I ruled out a few shots immediately. They were very nice photos but didn’t meet my definition of severe. The dilemma I have is choosing between Drew’s CP going into the whiteout or or Alex’s snowflake veiled steam shot.
Drew’s looking down the track to where the train is going was refreshing and gave me the feeling of a sense of trepidation with what could be in store for the crew. I loved the photo from the start and didn’t think I needed to go any further. Then comes Alex’s steam shot. It appears the engineer could be peering out the window with his face in the snow. The snowflakes are more plentiful and there is more of a sense of desolation which makes the weather seem more severe to me. Drew, you got trumped by steam with an otherwise easy winner.
Honorable mention to Mike Yuhas who is always pushing the envelope for an exceptional shot with the rain through the head and ditch lights. Unfortunately, the rain is transparent enough to make the rest of the shot look blurry instead of rainy; even though I know the blurriness is from the raindrops. I guess it is the snow’s opacity that makes those kind of shots work better.
Hmmm? UP and rain… UP and rain… oh yeah, I remember! There it is… Mike’s winning photo in Volume 70! A must see for anyone who doesn’t remember or hasn’t seen it yet. Beautiful photos this week guys! Keep’em comin’!
In Andy’s photo it looks like the storm is coming right out of the two white hoppers, love the big sky overwhelming the train
Enjoyed the pictures this week. And especially good to see Mike Yuhas - (Of “How do you pronounce Mike Yuhas’ Name” fame) - back in the mix. I always enjoy going to his website and seeing the great train pictorials.
Drew, what can I say? I’m sure tired of seeing red engines and white snow! But I’m saying that with a smile on my face . . . You poor guys who live in the snowy north. I live on the Georgia -Tennessee border and that’s as far north as I want to live. I’m just toooooo warm blooded - I would die with all that snow around!
Mike and Jim Wrinn’s rainy pictures were OK, but I didn’t sense the drama in them that both photographers spoke of. In fact, without Jim’s story, I probably wouldn’t even have considered that his picture had anything to do with “severe weather”.
Alex Mayes picture was certainly dramatic but after I read his story, I was disappointed to find that it was - for all extents - posed. It was a great STEAM and SMOKE picture, I’ll admit that, but I was a bit disillusioned that it was staged.
To me, if any picture was a harbinger of dangerous weather, it was Andy’s picture. Having grown up in the tornado belt of the midwest, I spent many days and nights watching skies just like that one - sometimes as a little boy, terrified because I sensed the nervousness of my farmer father as he scanned the turbulent clouds, always mindful that it only took one storm to wipe out a years work or a life long homestead.
I imagined this crew, watching the sky behind them, racing away from danger as quickly as they could. This picture portrayed the drama of severe weather to me in a most convincing manner.
Andy gets my vote.
This is not an easy task. Steam is always good. Steam & snow better yet. But for some reason I kept going back to Mike’s shot. I finally gave it my vote. Looks like this week I am in the minority voting.
Oh well, can’t win them all.
Larry in Wauwatosa
None of the offerings was what I expected.
I had memories of UP photos taken during major lightning storms in the midwest that I’d seen sometime in the past, and was expecting something along that line.
Lacking LIGHTNING…I voted for Mike Yuhas shot…mainly because of the heavy rain that was highlighted by the headlight and ditch lights.
TJB / Nashville, TN
Severe weather and trains- I think ice, snow, blizzard. I almost went with Drew’s, until I noticed the railheads showing on the adjacent track. I would sure have rather walked that train than the one I did out of Garrett, IN in the early 70’s. If I remember right, 6 in. in 4 hrs. with 10 in. already on the ground, and more on the way coming toward us as we headed westward. Alex’s drifts along the track testified of the 2 ft., even without his commentary. Hard choice, Drew and Alex were the top two, but I had to go with Alex.
It was a toss up for me between Drew’s and Alex’s photos. Both heavy snow falling. As I don’t get snow where I come from the weather looked more severe than the others. I have heard a lot of what it is like in snow storms and can be very trecherous. Wish I could have voted for both but had to go with only one so I picked Drew’s.
As a self-described “sucker for steam”, I find myself this week NOT voting for one of the two steam shots. Jim’s Cumbres & Toltec photo did not actually display any severe weather; his description was needed to provide that information. While Alex’s Heber Valley photo run shot of UP1068 had plenty of severe weather, the airborne snow detracted from the photo (my opinion, others may disagree). Drew’s CP SD40-2 in the snow was, for me, just a reminder of what we Midwesterners have to look forward to in a few short months. And while Andy’s storm clouds over the DM&E freight were dramatic indeed, my vote this month went to Mike’s UP shot. The combination of available light on the side of the train, and the heavy rain in the headlight/ditch lights, made this my choice for best ‘severe weather’ photo.
I enjoyed all of the photos.
I voted for Alex Mayes photo. It looks cold, wet, dark, and miserable - what I think of with severe weather.
Enjoy
Paul.
First, I really appreciate the theme this week. Railroad work happens at all hours, in all conditions, and people don’t realize it. There’s some well-earned pride when you roll along through an ice-covered world and realize everyone but the railroads is unable to move. This, to me, is when railroads are at their best, but you have to witness it to understand.
Also, my compliments to everyone, especially Drew: your rainy night photograph has such great lighting!
Hmmm. Alex,Andy. Alex,Andy. Steam and snow,SDs and awesome clouds. Steam and snow won.
I am sure more would have voted for Jim Wrinn’s shot if sound files could be added to the contest photos. You can tell the steamer is struggling. Between weather that makes photographers struggle and weather that makes locomotives struggle, I went with the locomotive and voted for Jim’s shot.
Dave Nelson
A hard working steam train in a bad snowstorm is certainly a sight to see - but in Alex´s photo that´s its sole purpose. In this case I prefer a real working railroad over a staged photo train and voted for Andy´s shot. The extremely clear air and the towering clouds looming above the tiny looking train create such an extremely tense and threatening atmosphere - you can almost grasp it. Great shot!