Nostalgia & History > Can photo ineptitude look good?

There are a few things wrong with this picture. It’s a hand-held telephoto shot, so it’s not in real sharp focus. If I’d had the time, I might have used my tripod. It’s taken from the “dark side”. But there was no clear shooting angle from the “sunny” side. And I should have shot a horizontal format, with the nose of the lead unit further back.

But put 3 boo-boos together and get a half-decent action shot? Go figure. The super-elevation and exhaust plus the sub-par focus all combine to give off a sense speed & brute power. Three wrongs make a right, right? Maybe I should write some song lyrics... ;^)

1. UP 2870 is westbound with train 117, a direct descendent of legendary passenger train #17, the “Portland Rose”. Check this out: ( Toto Tuesday: UP #17/117 Metamorphosis (trainorders.com)).
Photo info: February 7, 1977 in the Eureka Lake area of Manhattan, KS. The Stagg Hill Golf Course is not quite a mile ahead of the train.

Thanks for looking back!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/23 05:52 by santafe199.

---

Looks great to me! In-your-face action! I'm still divided about whether I like the shield-on-the-nose logo or this nose with the road name and numbers. On the wide cabs the shield and wings looked good, but on hood units I tend to like this treatment they were doing before the nose shield. 

Gateway97 Wrote: > ... I tend to like this treatment they were doing before the nose shield ... 

I concur! Back in the days when a UP paint scheme was "Dependable". And as railfans "We could Handle It"...
(Uh ohhh, I'm probably headed to 'cornball pun jail' for that one... ;^)

Lance/199

 

It does look good.  It conveys the feel of a train "moving on" from past days.

santafe199 Wrote:
> Three wrongs make
> a right, right? 

As the great philosopher Ty Webb once said, "Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left."
/Ted

It looks good, and certainly a lot better than the 'properly composed' telephoto curve shots.

TAW

Ty Webb (a very wise man) once said: "Danny be, BE, BE the ball..."

:^)

One of the reasons I am reluctant to post any pictures is the tendency of many railfans to prefer form over substance. (This comment is not directed specifically to members of Trainorders. There are other sites whose members can be vicious in their critiques.)  

I like it!  Now go back and take it again.

zoohogger Wrote: > ... Now go back and take it again ...

(HEAVY chuckle ~ snort ~ guffaw on that!!!) Oh man..... what I wouldn't give to "go back" and reshoot some of my slides from 1977.
And from '78, '79, '80, '81, '82,
(have you got a minute???) '83, '84, '85, '86,
(let's see now... when did I quit shooting slides? '87, '88, '89, '90, '91......................

;^)
 



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 01/28/23 11:43 by santafe199.