RailRoad Tracks ReEdit

[vipgraphx]

One of my first post was railroad tracks with my intro. I wanted to repost this as I have been working on it and I was able to take out most of the haloing that it had before. There was a comprise in color in the sky but I still feel the picture is strong.


TRAINTRACKSA by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

 

[bs0604]

I love it. I might clone out the yellow sign(?) in the left lower corner which tended to drag my eye from the focal point of looking down the tracks.

 

[Joel_W]

While not a big fan of the usual HDR image, I do like your track picture. Especially from the tracks to the buildings on the left. The right side of the picture just isn't nearly as strong. Might I suggest another photo shoot and move your camera position over the right set of tracks and angle more towards to the left.

 

[MissCream]

My eyes go directly to the telephone wire in the corner, easily removed though

 

[vipgraphx]

I love it. I might clone out the yellow sign(?) in the left lower corner which tended to drag my eye from the focal point of looking down the tracks.

Yeah good idea I will work on that

While not a big fan of the usual HDR image, I do like your track picture. Especially from the tracks to the buildings on the left. The right side of the picture just isn't nearly as strong. Might I suggest another photo shoot and move your camera position over the right set of tracks and angle more towards to the left.

I might try that, I agree the right side is a bit boring.

My eyes go directly to the telephone wire in the corner, easily removed though

Are you talking about the wires or the poles. I could try spot healing it out.

Thanks

 

[vipgraphx]

I took out the yellow post at the bottom and changed the sky color a bit. I thought the sky was to light compared to the rest of the photo.


TRAINTRACKSB by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

 

[Majeed Badizadegan]

I've noticed in a lot of your photos you don't always stick to rule of thirds.
I think from a composition standpoint this image could be improved by rule of thirds.
As someone else mentioned the subjects on right side of the frame are not as appealing as the other side.

 

[vipgraphx]

Yeah you are right something that I need to keep in mind when I shoot. But rules are meant to be broken. Hahahahahaha

 

[bazooka]

I'll counter that with my opinion and say there is nothing special about the imaginary points and lines that are formed by the rule of thirds and I don't ever recommend blindly placing anything on those lines and intersections for no other reason that "it's the rule of thirds!".

Concerning your photography, the tracks and the gravel around them look great. It looks very sharp and natural. However, the uneven exposure of the buildings on the left, the halo above them, the halo around the power lines, and the dark tree on the right is very unnatural and is a distraction in itself, taking away from the photograph. It needs more tweaking.

The composition itself doesn't say much to me I'm afraid. I don't understand what you are trying to get across to me... what was it about this place that impressed you? You centered the tracks so their shape and strong lines must have something to do with it, but what about the sky? It takes up almost half the image. The buildings on the left have interesting colors but they're very small in the frame. The telephone poles and lines demand attention, but there doesn't seem to be any rhythm or pattern... any purpose to their placement in the frame. There is the concertina wire and chainlink on the right but again, very small in the frame.

It's difficult to specifically recommend something different as I'm not there, but I would try to simplify the scene by only including two or maybe three "things" in the composition and then arranging them in a logical way. For example, the tracks, the large building on the left, and the tree next to it. Or the just the group of buildings on the left and sky (no tracks). Simplify the composition and I think you will find that it becomes more compelling.

 

[SlickSalmon]

I'll counter that with my opinion and say there is nothing special about the imaginary points and lines that are formed by the rule of thirds and I don't ever recommend blindly placing anything on those lines and intersections for no other reason that "it's the rule of thirds!".

Concerning your photography, the tracks and the gravel around them look great. It looks very sharp and natural. However, the uneven exposure of the buildings on the left, the halo above them, the halo around the power lines, and the dark tree on the right is very unnatural and is a distraction in itself, taking away from the photograph. It needs more tweaking.

The composition itself doesn't say much to me I'm afraid. I don't understand what you are trying to get across to me... what was it about this place that impressed you? You centered the tracks so their shape and strong lines must have something to do with it, but what about the sky? It takes up almost half the image. The buildings on the left have interesting colors but they're very small in the frame. The telephone poles and lines demand attention, but there doesn't seem to be any rhythm or pattern... any purpose to their placement in the frame. There is the concertina wire and chainlink on the right but again, very small in the frame.

It's difficult to specifically recommend something different as I'm not there, but I would try to simplify the scene by only including two or maybe three "things" in the composition and then arranging them in a logical way. For example, the tracks, the large building on the left, and the tree next to it. Or the just the group of buildings on the left and sky (no tracks). Simplify the composition and I think you will find that it becomes more compelling.

I'm afraid I have to agree with a lot of bazooka's comments. First the "rule of thirds" to which photographers slavishly adhere isn't a "rule" at all, and it isn't about thirds. It's a modern application of the "golden ratio", which has been a compositional guideline since the Renaissance. While useful, there are also a lot of other compositional guidelines that can be used in it's place.

But, in the image at hand, I can't see any compositional structure at all. I guess a better way of saying this is that I don't understand what the photographer is trying to say. In general, the 'railroad-tracks-into-the-distance' style tends to be shot from an angle that's either higher or lower. You're either emphasizing the diagonal of the converging railroad lines by shooting low, or you're emphasizing the foreground-background off-in-the-distance depth by shooting high.

The human eye level perspective suggests that we're supposed to put ourselves where the viewer stood and experience what he experienced, and I can't tell what that is. In B&W, and given the emptiness of the surroundings, it might be a statement about loneliness and desolation. In sharp, saturated color I don't know what is being expressed. These are happy colors, but the scene isn't especially happy.