Steam Railway Success - Smug Mode On !!

[350wedge]

Woohoo I cant believe it!!

Just recieved my copy of Steam Railway magazine and low and behold I've managed to get a Highly Commended in their Annual Photographer of the year competition

Out of 5000 entries I've managed to get into top 6 which for me is a best result ever in a big competition. Only little downside was getting my name wrong on the caption, they managed to put Tom instead of Tony... Ahh well never mind, i'm still super chuffed (no pun intended!)

The Magazine hits the shops tomorrow i think so any steam enthusiasts out there please take a look...!

This is the pic that got the Commended, although out of the shots i submitted i thought the others were better and more atmostpheric..! The pic below is cropped more tightly than the actual shot submitted.

[nick_bbb]

Congratulations, you must be chuffed!

Edited by nick_bbb on Thursday 19th April 14:37

[trooperiziz]

It's a good photo, and I do like it, but I'm not sure why it is commendable?

I'm not being disrespectful, i'm genuinely interested as to why this shot would place higher than 4994 others? Not being an art critic i'm not sure what the judges would be looking for and why this pic ticks the boxes?

Does anybody here judge photo competitions and can give some insight?

[350wedge]

trooperiziz said:

It's a good photo, and I do like it, but I'm not sure why it is commendable?

I'm not being disrespectful, i'm genuinely interested as to why this shot would place higher than 4994 others? Not being an art critic i'm not sure what the judges would be looking for and why this pic ticks the boxes?

Does anybody here judge photo competitions and can give some insight?

Believe me, I'm a little suprised too although in the mag it does look better than on screen and as i say the pic here is more tightly cropped and isnt as sharp as the original.

Les Nixon was the judge and i'm not about to argue with his choice though...lol

Here are a couple of my other entries which i think are miles better...

[TonyHetherington]

Totally agree - I'm confused as to why that shot beat 4994 others? As said, I don't wish to be disrespectful to your photograph and equally want to offer my congratulations you must be absolutely ecstatic....but, the atmospheric shot of the steam (landscapre photo) is just a fantastic, really amazing shot.

Nevertheless, very well done to you sir

[350wedge]

I will put the actual picture up when i get home so you can make a proper comparison, the pic here doesnt really do it justice....Comparing the pic here, directly with the mag shot in front of me the screen shot looks pants...lol

Some interesting comments from the judge though, apparantly its a 'Charming Vignette of No 6023 King Edward II at Didcot'

Edited by 350wedge on Thursday 19th April 15:24

[te51cle]

Judges are odd creatures and their tastes vary wildly - just like other human beings ! There may have been a lot of shots of trains in steam but comparatively few with them laid up in a shed. I expect that your image stood out from the others by being different, its also nicely framed by the bunker and buffers of the other engine which leads the eye into the funnel, then the pipework leads the eye down to the name plate. There's also some nice dusty shapes and textures to explore down towards the bottom of the image which give their own atmosphere.

The scene appealed to you so with good composition and exposure technique shown you got a result - well done !

[350wedge]

Right here we go.... This is the actual version of the photo submitted, as you can see its not quite such a tight crop as the first one posted...

Tech details for those that may be interested..

Taken on Canon EOS 1D MKI
Lens Canon 17-40L
1/13sec shutter speed at F4.5 (handheld)

[CarMac]

Well done.

[spitfire-ian]

You are right, that does look 100 times better than the picture you first posted

[crmcatee]

personally I prefer the landscape one.

Nice though...

[trooperiziz]

spitfire-ian said:

You are right, that does look 100 times better than the picture you first posted

That actually makes all the difference! The framing really makes for a better picture

[spitfire-ian]

[anorak mode]But why is a GW King class painted blue? [/anorak mode]

[350wedge]

spitfire-ian said:

[anorak mode]But why is a GW King class painted blue? [/anorak mode]

The answer to that is because KEII was painted in Blue for a period of time in the late 40's/ early 50's. This colour scheme was abandoned in the early 50's though and returned to GWR Green. The engine was originally turned out in GWR green originally though.