3801 Casino Station, NSW / 1st Pic Post

[Greg S]

I thought it was about time I posted a few images on this fantastic forum.
These shot of the 3801 steam train were taken yesterday morning in Casino during their 150 year celebration weekend.


Nikon D70 & 18-70 DX lens.










Looking forward to any comments/critique that may assist me in improving my photography.

Cheers - Greg

[leek]

Welcome Greg...
Some nice images for your first image post...

That is one strange looking train... I don't think I've seen anything like that before... what's with the "windows" at the front of the train - when the driver's compartment is at the back??? Very unusual...

I'd be tempted to do a gritty B&W conversion of the third image... and maybe crop out the 3801 number, but not the crest - focus more on the driver...

[moggy]

Nice shots Greg, being an avid Trainzer I really appreciate these. Leek, cropping out '3801' would be like taking a picture of 10 Downing St. then cropping out the 10. I agree about the B&W treatment for #3. They are not windows but vents.


Bob.

[mdboo]

I like #3...

Nice job

[leek]

Leek, cropping out '3801' would be like taking a picture of 10 Downing St. then cropping out the 10.

Somehow I knew someone was going to say that... sorry for my sacriligious suggestion!!!

They are not windows but vents.

Aha... thanks for the explanation...

[sirhc55]

Welcome Greg - it’s always to see a new member dive in boots ’n all with pics.

Your pics have brought back memories of my childhood in the UK, when I used to stand on a railway bridge to watch and smell the old steamers.

Although I like all of your pics the one that stands out for me is the fireman/driver - shame about the digital watch tho’

[stubbsy]

Greg. Welcome. A great first post.

#1 - this is a good capture, but I think atighter crop would make it better. I'd suggest you see how it looks with the top removed just slightly above the telegraph pole and the bottom chopped where the front of the 3801 touches the platform.

#2 - this is interesting (shame about the kids). "For use with dental commission vehicles only"

#3 - By far the best of the bunch. You've framed this perfectly. The driver is doing something (we can almost hear him shouting) and the colours and lighting are spot on. A great narrative shot.

#4 - I like shots of detail like this and you've captured and framed this well.

Thanks for sharing.

[leek]

Hi Greg,

Sorry to hijack your image, but I thought that I'd show you the B&W image that I had in mind... It would go something like this:
http://jpeake.smugmug.com/photos/38486885-M-1

Let me know if you object and I'll remove it from my gallery at once...

[sirhc55]

John - I actually prefer the colour version but, in saying that, it would look really great in B&W if it was more litho

[leek]

Aw... Even after I cloned out the digital watch - especially for you...

Care to demonstrate a litho version??? I'm not quite sure what you mean...

[Greg S]

Thank you all for your imformative comments.

leek - Thanks for the B&W example I appreciate you taking the time. You certainly have made it a much more interesting pic for the wider audience and the colour version may be a better historical image for the future. I will be experimenting with B&W tonight.

stubbsy - I will try you suggestions, thanks. With cropping what are the rules if any? I have been cropping my images to my common print sizes.
"For use with dental commission vehicles only" had us stumped, maybe someone on the forum could help, any clues moggy.

sirhc55 - Thanks for your comments, I hadn't noticed the digital watch....back to Photoshop

Cheers - Greg

[Killakoala]

I remember when i was but a wee laddy watching the Flying Scotsman roaring through Yorkshire on it's way to Edinburgh, and i thought to myself that i wanted to be a steam train driver. I never realised that dream but when i see pics like that, of steam trains, i yearn for memories distant. (awful prose!!)

What a glorious machine you have captured there. Thanks for sharing that with us.

[phillipb]

Ah! The memories.
I was one of the photographers on the 3801 at the innaugural run after it was restored some 20 odd years ago.
Greg, I hope you don't mind me adding a couple of photos I dug up and scanned to your thread.





These photos were taken at ELCAR workshops in Chullora which no longer exist.

[Wacky]

Nice work! I remember the 3801 ! I was little when it (I'm sure it was the 3801, not Flying Scotsman) did a big trip from Sydney to Kiama...possibly...I have pics of me with the train at Heathcote or Waterfall where it stopped for a bit...if it was the 3801, I'll scan em in and post. BTW, in PIC # 2....wtf is with that black carriage infront of the loco?

"FOR USE WITH DENTAL COMMISSION VEHICLES ONLY"

Dental Commission?? anyone know that this is all about?

[stubbsy]

<snip>With cropping what are the rules if any? I have been cropping my images to my common print sizes.<snip>

Cropping is a vexed issue for which there are some rules, but like all rules they are best used as guidelines rather than being treated as cast in concrete. My view is go with your gut. If it looks right to you with a certain crop then chances are this will appeal to others.

The real purpose of cropping is to maximise the impact of your image by enhancing the composition. Ideally you do this when you take the picture, but that's not always possible. Sticking to the exact size of your prints is a reasonable starting point, but can lead to less than stellar results in some cases.

You'll hear talk of things like the rule of thirds and use of leading lines and the like (a good read on this is here), but at the end of day these are just guidelines. On that same site is this wonderful quote from the renowned photoghrapher Ansel Adams which summarises this nicely:

There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs

I'd also suggest you look at the excellent tutorials on various topics on this site. These are on the front page below the list of who is online. It would also be a good idea to have a browse through Important links thread.

So far as my cropping suggestion here. The reason I suggested this was to remove the dead space above the train to focus us more strongly on the 4801 and the bottom crop was to achieve this too, but also to give the result of a more rectangular image. Good thing is this also ends up close to a standard print size!

[JordanP]

Some great images Greg - good to see you post

[Greg S]

Thank you all for you comments, memories and scan (I would be interested to see more).

stubbsy thanks for your thoughts on cropping, I found most enlightening. I mostly photograph orchids and crop to standard sizes depending on their application and I appear to have unknowingly adopted the same approach to my broader photography. I am off to my collection to experiment

JordanP, thanks Craig, many more to come. Thanks for letting me about this forum.