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My photo's subject was the UP "Paranoia Special II" business train at West
Oakland, in California on the night of May 21, 2002. I had to do a night
shot after it stopped in Oakland since I missed it by about five minutes at a
location to the south--a location it passed in daylight. I used a Canon FD
300mm f/4 lens on my AE-1 Program camera body to avoid trespassing. I do not
have mirror lockup on that body, so I am surprised that the shot is not
blurry, since the telephoto lens greatly amplified the vibrations of the
mirror. Of course, I used a tripod and cable release. The exposure was two
seconds at f/5.6 on Fujichrome Astia (ISO 100).
Mike Johannessen
| Critiques |
|---|
Sam Reeves:
Here is another night shot. Mike's exposure is right on, and is still
very rich. However the problem of shooting with daylight balanced film
under sodium vapor rears its ugly head again. This could be easily
corrected by three methods, one using CC filters at the scene of the
shot, or going into Photoshop and tweaking the balances to blue, and
last, use color negative film and print out the yellow through your
enlarger's filtration. Some prefer that yellow glow of the sodium
vapor, however it will not be acceptable in a commercial application.
People will want that color to be right. Ever look in a UP or SP
company report, with the Steinheimer stock shots? The colors look
daylight balanced without any cast. So it could be something Mike can
think about next time on a night shoot. The scene itself is great.
Here we have a passenger train winding up at the port where containers
reign supreme. I like the inclusion of the loading towers since it
gives a lot of meaning. Once again a tough subject to shoot, but Mike
did well.
Wes Carr:
Maybe it's because the image seems a little too dark to me, but this
image makes me question what the photographer wanted me to see in it.
I mean, I know it's a passenger train in a city at night... is that all
that I'm supposed to be seeing?
Steve Crise:
Taking into consideration all the limitations placed on Mike to get this
shot, it still leaves me flat. I don't even have any suggestions on how I
would have done it better if I had been there. Good exposure and all that but
there seems to be a lack of a central focus to the shot. You can't see the
front of the train, and you can't really see the rear either. I other views
were available at this location, I think I would have settled on just a close
up view broadside of the dome cars dome with some harbor lighting in the
background. Tough one Mike, I think you did your best considering the
situation.
Paul Birkholz:
Very cool night shot. The clean passenger cars provide a nice reflection
of the available light, but my favorite part is the background of the stack
train and container cranes. I think I always end up at those cranes
because of how dark the right side of the image is and the rear of the
train. Follow the light? This would also be a very interesting shot with
a set of engines here with just their running lights on and the number
boards lit.
Frank Caron:
I'm somewhat luke warm to this image, I feel it could have been exposed
just a bit longer, the dark areas to the right of the foreground are a
bit of a distraction in my opinion. If I were shooting this scene I
would have exposed it a bit longer, perhaps finding a elevated position
capturing cars or trucks with light streaks all around the cars. The
dynamic element of the image is the giant cranes looming in the
distance, this provides a nice backdrop.
or
Sam Reeves
I find the lights in the background a little distracting, but then, if
they weren't there at all it would leave a big void. Does Oakland have
much of a skyline? Assuming it does, (and I'm showing my ignorance of
your area by not knowing) would you have had the opportunity to frame
the shot with some lit-up, bigger buildings in the background?
*** Note: after receiving everyone else's critiques, I realized those background lights
were the lights from container lifts in the Port of Oakland. So I'm a little slow... ***
On the plus side, it appears to be well-focused and I do like the way
the light reflects off the sides of the cars. I do like the warm-ish
tone... even though it's quite dark, the colors that are present lean
toward the warm end of the spectrum (i.e., red and orange), which I
like.
Mike, I've seen plenty of great photos that you've posted on your
website. I just don't feel that this happens to be one of them. Maybe
if the exposure had been longer I might like it more....I'd love to be
able to see more light reflecting from the track in the foreground.
WSC
Steve Crise
Even though I just mentioned that I like the stack train on the right I
think I might have cropped some of it off to very near the rear passenger
car. I think one could take both shots and maybe you did?
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