Announcements > Past and Present Photography Contest

UPDATED: Joint team submissions will be accepted.

Our 2009 annual photography contest will run for one week, beginning October 16 and ending October 24, 2009. The topic will be "Past and Present - How things have changed". This years contest will be a little different from previous years. We want each entry to consist of two railroad related images, one from the past and one from the present, both taken from the same location showing the changes that have occurred. In addition to the images, each entry should include information describing the changes.

Prizes:
Two grand prizes: $250 and 1 year membership extension to Trainorders.com
Four Honorable mentions: 1 year membership extension to Trainorders.com
We are also awarding at least 7 three month membership honorable mention prizes.

Rules:
1. Each entry should include two images taken from the same location, one from the past and one from the present. Images should be posted in a message to the appropriate discussion forum as it relates to the images.

2. The "past image" must have been taken a minimum of five years ago.

3. Each entry should include the dates for both images, as well as a description of the location and the changes that have occurred.

4. A maximum of THREE entries allowed per member.

5. You may enter the contest with another photographer. They do not need to be a member, but they do need to authorize the submission. Submissions are subject to verification that both photographers authorized the submission.

6. Model railroad images are not eligible for the contest. We plan to hold a separate contest during the Winter just for the model railroad forum.

7. Only one prize will be awarded per member. For joint submissions the prize will be split between both photographers.

After October 24 we will choose the winners and announce them on the forums. Prizes will be awarded immediately.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Thanks for excluding me.

rovertrain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Thanks for excluding me.

So, I don't comprehend. How does this exclude you. Just curious?

Rob

Not everyone has been shooting for more than 5 years.

Just because you haven't been shooting long doesn't mean things don't change. For one thing, you can always go to a local library and get archived photos to use and I know that you can get old photos for newspapers. All is not lost. Use your imagination!!! Don't give up!!

The Iron Horse

Oops just read the rules. Has to be your own. Well, things do change in a short amount of time, anyway.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/09 11:26 by theironhorse.

Yea, Im out of this contest. Ive only been shooting for 3 years...So i'm out!

Yeah, things do change in a short time, but I haven't been shooting for five years. I'm only 19 and didn't even get my first camera until I was 16.

Todd,
I think the idea is great, but you need to choose a topic a little more age and user friendly. Especially with the boom in digital in the last few years, this is the time when a lot of people started to pick up the camera for the first time.

I think this is a popular style of posting (then and now) so it's a natural for a contest. Just because a percentage of photographers don't have material to post doesn't mean that Todd should change the rules. What if the topic was "trains and extreme weather"? It could exclude me because I don't have any shots to enter. Many people complain about how these photo contest clog the forums. By focusing the contest to a more specific entry criteria, we should get less volume and hopefully better, more interesting content.

Ryan Wilkerson
Fair Oaks, CA

You can go outside, wait for some bad weather and take a picture. The contest subject is announced over a month in advanced, so if you don't have the material you can go shoot over the course of the next month. I can't go back in time.

The point about this contest is to allow everybody to participate.

I don't think the contest purpose is to make everyone eligible, it's to generate interesting postings that visitors will find interesting so they visit more. You can still post an interesting thread that shows a location 9 months ago vs. today for a comparison, it just won't be up for an award. The 5 years is arbitrary but I think that most photos that will win an award will have a 10+ year gap.

Ryan Wilkerson
Fair Oaks, CA

RyanWilkerson Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I think this is a popular style of posting (then
> and now) so it's a natural for a contest. Just
> because a percentage of photographers don't have
> material to post doesn't mean that Todd should
> change the rules. What if the topic was "trains
> and extreme weather"? It could exclude me because
> I don't have any shots to enter. Many people
> complain about how these photo contest clog the
> forums. By focusing the contest to a more specific
> entry criteria, we should get less volume and
> hopefully better, more interesting content.


I could not have said it better myself. The intent of these photography contests is to generate discussions during a traditionally slow time of year on the web site. We get complaints every year from people who don't like the forums taken over by the contest. This will mitigate that while meeting my goal for holding the contest.

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

I'm with rovertrain on this...not everbody has material that is 5 years old, even the people that do have 20 year old slides may not have ones that they can duplicate today (i.e. lines that are gone, inacessible locations, or from places that will just get you flat out arrested). You also have to take into account that people that shot slides 20 years ago may not even live on the same side of the continent to even take a present day shot, so there goes a few more guys that could have otherwise participated. Then you have dirty or scratched slides to deal with, or shots that just plain were never even close to being contest worthy, like some of the craptastic stuff that I took 5 years ago when I was 14. I think it's way too specific and unfortunate for people who would have otherwise been able to participate.

It doesn't make me mad AT ALL about the forums being taken over. I love seeing all the photos from all over. I just don't think it is fair. I PAY to use this website. I want to be able to participate in things like photo contests. This is like saying, "Well screw you!"

It's not right. I want to be able to post pictures and compete for a prize, like a subscription, but thanks, now I can't.

I will however, let you know when I get my time machine working.

rovertrain Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I will however, let you know when I get my time
> machine working.

Let me know too.

Thanks,
Alex Ramos

I guess I was a little too early, but here's something I posted just two weeks ago that show an example of how a past-and-present photo can be taken POST year 2000! I do wonder if that post gave Todd any ideas... ;)

My before-and-after pics of streetcar, taken in 2002 and 2009.
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,2004248



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/09 15:11 by F40PHR231.

YBA55 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Not everyone has been shooting for more than 5
> years.

True, and later on there will be a model contest that excludes a lot of folks, including me. So the rules are the rules and we live with them. Your day will come too.

Rob



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/09 16:03 by SilvertonRR100.

theironhorse Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just because you haven't been shooting long
> doesn't mean things don't change.
>
> The Iron Horse
>


I took the liberty of editing out some of what theironhorse said, but the first statement remains true.

Have signal bridges been replaced in your area? Have stations been moved? Have tracks been religned or removed? The list is endless. It doesn't HAVE to be a drastic change - something subtle can be just as important.

I can think of a dozen or more things that have changed in my area in the past two years alone.

Go through the photos you have and check out the locations now. I'm sure you'll find something. It may not win the contest but it'll give the rest of us a new perspective.

> All is not lost. Use your imagination!!! Don't give up!!

'Course, now if rovertrain or Trainboy92 or other 'newbies' (no offence meant) win, I just might have to complain about the contest being rigged...nudge, nudge, wink, wink...just kidding, folks!

Edit:
Hey Todd, I guess my old and new photos of the Agawa Canyon Tour Train with CN SD57i's and ex-Ski Train F40's won't qualify, huh (the new was taken in Sault Ste. Marie and the old was taken at the canyon)? Rats!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/03/09 16:14 by TheCurator.

If you read the rules, the photos have to be at least FIVE years apart. Sure there have been changes with small things in the last three years, but it doesn't count towards the contest.

There is no offense to the newbies comment. I don't care that I'm young. But the rules would have to be broken for me to win this contest.

Really cool concept and I was excited until I read the rules. I've purposely replicated dozens of old photos throughout the years and could easily get permission from the original photographers to use their images.

Sure things have changed in many areas over the past few years, but nothing like two images captured 20 or 30 years apart could illustrate. Skylines changing, urban sprawl, yards closing, etc. Those are the kind of images I envision as contest winning material. I just can't see two photos showing an old and new signal taking home a prize. My .02 cents.

Jeff H.

Anyone have any cheese???