Wow, Volume 99 of Trackside with Trains.com. Who would have ever thought that this modest little digital railroad photography column would last so long? Thank you to all our readers for motivating us, the employees of Trains magazine and Kalmbach Publishing Co., to keep going trackside for the purpose of pleasing you, the reader.
This week, Trains Managing Editor Kathi Kube is joined Trackside co-creator Mike Yuhas. Together they share 12 all-new photos.
I must have been the first to vote as well as the first to comment. Kat’s is more colorful, but I saw more drama in the shadows with Mike’s shot, and it got the vote this time. A nice moon helped (I remember having the yard at Wood Street illuminated by a full moon while I was sitting on an engine waiting for a derailment to be cleaned up).
I still think Kathi picked the wrong shot… That shot of the Cabbage on the bridge was really neat, as was the P42 in the same location! That shot of the WSOR switcher by the farm buildings was also excellent!
I have to say neither of the shots really jumped at me this week, but I’ll go with Kathi’s sunflower shot. It’s a nice change, as I often visit the Teen Railfan Place on the Trains.com General Discussion board and there’s a lot of photos of IC locomotives just like that one there…[:-^]
Bergie: Do you guys have anything special planned for Issue 100? Or is it a secret?
As is typical for this column, we’ll do something special, but we’ll be flying by the seat of our pants (i.e. we don’t know what the “special” thing is just yet). [:-^]
Here’s all I can tell you at this point… I’m leaving for Montana on Friday. Am I stockpilling photos for a return to Trackside, or just going out there to go hiking? Hmmm… let me see… you do the math.
…Must vote for Mike’s night shot. I happen to like well done night shots. Just one item that distracts from a railroad night shot in my opinion though…The headlight is not on…nor any running lights. I realize Mike most likely had no control over that. I just think the lights being on, on an engine gives the picture life.
Regrettably, I step away from Kathi’s momentum. A tad too much yellow for my taste between Armor and SUnflower. Now, if you;d have picked any of the WSOR switchers, then it would have been much harder.
Off topic: Where;s the e-newsletter? I had to hunt for this the old fashioned way.
When I first saw the two thumbnails, I thought it was going to be a tough choice. Then I opened them and was slightly disappointed in Kathy’s shot. It seems a tad bit overprocessed to my eye. It’s beautiful composition and a neat subject with the sunflowers, but something in the colors and image quality seems a little off.
I ended up voting for Mike’s photo. With the grain complex and the moon, I just like the shot a little better.
Both series of photos were really nice though. The WSOR’s MP15ACs in fairly fresh paint sure does make for a nice photo subject.
I voted for Mike’s great Illinois Central night shot.I really was floored by it.
Kathi ran the wrong photo.Either her killer sunrise shot of the P42 or the UP meet under the coaling tower were bettter,and the choice would had been much tougher.
I make it a point not to look at any of the comments until after I’ve submitted mine.
This contest was like the presidential election…choosing the lesser of two evils.
Neither shot struck me as attractive. They’re both far too cluttered and seem to be poorly composed. While the UP view is colorful, there’s simply not enough train and too many distractions. The night shot would have been a lot better if the structure and tanks didn’t look almost like they were a part of #6034.
Sorry, but it’s my opinion that these are two of the weakest entries since the contest began.
I wound up holding my nose and voting for Mike’s CN nighttime shot.
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