The age of the train

KenCo · May 19, 2006

First post in here......
This railway is the oldest surviving railway in the world...
The Railways original purpose was the movement of coal from nearby collieries to ships on the River Tyne.

The oldest part, c1647, was the Lobley Hill section, it had over 300 years of coal traffic when closed in 1964. The surviving 1725 Sunniside to Causey section is now the World's Oldest Working Railway and the Causey to East Tanfield section dates from 1839.

Marley Hill engine shed, built in 1854 and in colliery use until 1970, is where the loco fleet is maintained.
Run by a group of members/volunteers it still runs today.
It also boasts the oldest surving railway bridge in the world......

Thanks for looking.
C&C appreciated.
Ken.

mysteryscribe · May 19, 2006

Needless to say it is a great shot... I am sure someone will find something technically they could have done differently but I personally like the shot a lot. I might be one of the last people still shooting pictures who rode a troop train in the usa... All trains passenger and freight fascinate me. Steam even more because of it's unique characteristics. I would love to have seen this shot and printed with retro equipment but it doesnt take a thing away from this image no matter how you did it. it a GREAT shot.

Holly · May 19, 2006

Was this taken in B&W Format?? I think Id like to see this in COLOR.. Some times the color of these trains can really tell you the age of it etc... IF its not repainted etc... IF you have it color Id love to see it

danalec99 · May 19, 2006

mysteryscribe said:
I personally like the shot a lot.

Likewise here. This is a great piece!

KenCo · May 19, 2006

Thanks for the comments....and appologies, I have only realised the critique is for problem shots. Other forums I have visited use the critique section for shots you think are good but hope others may provide help for making better....saying that I do find converting to bw a little difficult and expected comments on the conversion and or the noise.
If you like this can be moved to the appropriate section.
Sorry and thanks!
Ken.

Arch · May 19, 2006

This is a great shot imo...... i think your conversion is fine..... there is a good range of tones and contrast, so i dont see any probs there. The only noise i see is in the smoke and that also doesnt take anything away from the image..... good work ken i like this one alot. :thumbup:

markc · May 19, 2006

What a wonderful shot!

The only thing I might change is a crop. As it is now, the subject is right in the middle, and my eye is having trouble with the extra stuff in the upper right. It's distracting me from the train. I could post a crop idea, if you don't mind, just as something to think about.

KenCo · May 19, 2006

markc said:
I could post a crop idea, if you don't mind, just as something to think about.

No problem mate, edit away....although I must admit I like the inclusion of the two guys on the platform.
I also completely forgot to give you the exif which I don't have at the moment (working from a laptop at the mo) But believe it was shot with the Sigma 70-300 probably at about 70mm, Iso 800 and f4.5 I think.
It was a victorian themed weekend and as usual I got loads of shots. All the staff dressed in the apropriate costumes, which really helped set the mood for photographs.....I feel quite fortunate with a lot of the shots not to get any/many general public in most of these shots.

Holly....The colour didn't really do anything for me and because of the themed day I fancied shooting at Iso 800 just as an experiment and thought B/W would fit the theme. It was a very dull day and because of this colours were poor. I may give it another go processing for colour and if I get something I'd be happy with I'll post it up.
Oh and the colour of the train is actually black with a red bit were the buffers ???are. I did get many other shots and when I get back to my other computer I'll post some of the other shots...but in the appropriate forum.
Thanks again for the comments.
Ken.
Ps. Sorry for any spellings...the keys are rather close together.

danalec99 · May 19, 2006

KenCo said:
I have only realised the critique is for problem shots.

Not necessarily, Ken. If your intention is merely a 'what do you think of this shot?' the other galleries would be more suitable. If not, one needs to explain the issue(s), so that the viewers can address those points.

markc · May 19, 2006

Thanks! Here's one idea:

It's still a bit centered, but feels more balanced to me. One of the problems I had with the original was my eye kept coming down to the track at the bottom. I wasn't really looking at the train.

Here's another one:

This one keeps the two guys in (and unfortunately the pole, which I don't care for), but I think it works. Even with the pole, I like it better than the first edit. It keeps all of the important elements (train, smoke, guys, track), but I don't feel my eye being drawn down and it's more comfortable to examine the upper half of the image.

It's probably too tight a crop for some people, but that's my tendency. You might want to play with something between this and the original.

mysteryscribe · May 19, 2006

i personally liked the man in the background... without him it loses something for me but.... only because i saw it with him in it...

The conductor who I think that is was such an integral part of the train experience I was tickeled to see him in there.

Oldfireguy · May 19, 2006

The people in the background seem to be wearing period clothing which adds to the shot. I think I would have left them in.

Either way it's a nice train shot.

KenCo · May 21, 2006

Thanks Mark for taking the time to edit this. I'm not sure I am that conviced though as I do like the detail in the foreground tracks, especially in the larger version and the fact the track goes into the corner of the frame (but what do I know) I do agree about the signal post.....I think sometimes I just try to fit too much into the frame.
Will study this for a while and if anyone has any comments regarding the crops...I'm all ears.
Thanks again.
Ken.

Kevin D Burns · May 23, 2006

OK my 2 cents.
The original is awesome. the crops take out the train switching tracks witch is a great part of the photo. i.e. (The train pulling off to the side picking up and dropping off) Then getting back on track. "Dramatic"
when shooting trains it is best to keep as much of the action in the frame. the crops don't do any justice as the crops leaves the mind wondering why the train is at an angle.
The 2nd crop is OK but still with the tight front crop the missing track makes the image loose the power of a train on journy. IMO and please no offence to any one.