Tough & Rugged II: Leaping to Lisbõa, a photo from Algarve, South

Photographer's Note

It is almost dusk, the electric lights are already switched on and the Villa Real de San Antonio – Lisbõa express train is ready to leave under a cloud covered Algarvian sky.
This stock of 4 stainless steel carriages is fronted by the rakish and powerful 1900 series diesel locomotive. It’s built by Alsthom in France and is the equivalent of the SNCF 7200 loc.
Due to the combination of the low sun, the dark sky and the bright locomotive it’s a dramatic scene. I shot it with the wide angle converter (16 mm) – the effect is that the train seems to be ready to virtually jump off the tracks. And who’s shadow is that on the platform? Not much as a selfportrait I'm afraid ;-)
I guess I'm starting a Portguese railroad series here.

PS-E2 tech: rotated , corrected for some of the barrel distortion, levels, cropped, saturated (master and red , saturated and despeckeled the sky, fill flashed selected shadow parts, sharpened (the whole pic and parts with the sharpen brush) and saved for the web.
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added on 8 Febr 2005:
A link to a photo from Fernando (Galmeida) of the speeding electric brother of this locomotive is here

carper, jurgen, orme, Didi, nwoehnl, Georges, eleparc, jhm, Rinie_Hoff, digi-mom, Xalkida, sunny, Galmeida, HNIK, Uhu, Hormon_Manyer, mcenteesalas heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

carper (96) 2004-04-03 11:55

Gelukkig ik heb nog wat over,

Prachtige foto Bert. Ik vind deze veel beter dan die van gisteren, misschien een persoonlike smaak en daar valt niet over te twisten. Deze compositie is wel goed, de diepte, het mooie rood,en de indrukwekkende kop van de loc. Echt goede foto goed gedaan

[2]

jurgen (2074) 2004-04-03 12:08

Very contrasty image. I like the intense red of the locomotive against the blue sky. It seems blue though it is cloudy. You captured the light posts all lined up, so we can only see the first post, a nice effect.

[2]

orme (7219) 2004-04-03 12:10

Beautiful strong colours, Bert - they really made the thumbnail standout. I also like the perspective of the shot. Well framed. Good note.

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Didi (61589) 2004-04-03 12:24

J'apprécie la perspective de cette image bien colorée. La motrice diesel contraste parfaitement sur cette bonne composition.

I appreciate the perspective for this well coloured picture. The diesel motor locomotive contrasts perfectly on this good composition.

lost (694) 2004-04-03 13:28

Boa foto.gosto das cores..e da moldura que colocaste..mt bem

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nwoehnl (122) 2004-04-03 14:23

With yesterday's posting, I was kind of hoping it might turn into a new series, and there we go ... I'm fond of strong colors, so that's the first thing for me to enjoy here. Then you are using a really good angle to take this shot, having the front of the engine pretty much fill half of your frame, and creating an "infinity" illusion for the rest of the train. Another specialty is how you included the light posts: we only see the pillar of the first one, but the lamps of those in the background as well. Great shot again, Bert. If your camera were visible on your shadow, you could add this into Jeppe's "photographers at work" theme ;-))

[2]

luis_paulino (904) 2004-04-03 14:43

Gosto da foto. A perspectiva é interessante e e a profundidade de campo está muito boa. Consigo ver o fotografo na sombra.....!!!! Tenta converter toda a foto para P&B deixando apenas o comboio com cor (vai ficar o máximo).

Georges (11185) 2004-04-03 15:14

Belle presentation avec une superbe diagonale crée par ce train. La dominante de rouge donne un bon contraste avec l'ensemble de l'image.
J'aime le fait de voir votre ombre(Shadows) sur le sol. Bravo c'est bien fait et bien mis en scene.

Intruder (3099) 2004-04-03 17:22

very nice shot Bert, the colours are fantastic and the timing is very good, right in your face! i also like your shadow and framing, well done

[2]

apivaz (1902) 2004-04-03 17:34

Boa foto, este tema é sempre agradável e quanto mais antigos melhor, a prespectiva e a profundidade de campo também estão muito bem. Sem candieiros ainda ficava melhor mas paciência.

Spoony (3539) 2004-04-03 17:47

I recognize it... it´s a very peculiar kind of portuguese train.
Nice shot Bert.

eleparc (24063) 2004-04-03 18:04

Bert, Waouh! the light is just GREAT! What a pity your shade is getting in the way... it is ok, and I am sure that next time you will think about it;-) The diagonal line is just perfect too and the colors and tones amazing! Great DOF too! it all makes for a great photo, be it for the shade...Bavo bert i love it!

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jhm (211738) 2004-04-04 6:37

Ik heb het reeds gemeld van treinen weet ik niet veel af, maar mijn zoon is specialist in dergelijke zaken, maar deze foto is inderdaad mooier dan gisteren omdat er veel meer diepte in steekt zeer goed gesneden. Prachtig werk Bert.

Hanssie (11022) 2004-04-04 8:28

Heavy train !
Heavy colours !
Heavy photo !

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pamastro (7296) 2004-04-04 13:28

Very nice colors! And great perspective. The lighting is beautiful. And I really like the way the train seems alone. The platform seems being so empty and what looks like a broad empty field to the left. Like those old locomotives that had to stop in empty places to refill on water. Very nicely done.

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Rinie_Hoff (9340) 2004-04-04 18:03

Hi Bert, beautiful light and angle. It's indeed as if it's gonna jump right out of the frame. Very nice perspective. The light is really beautiful and together with the sky it adds to the dramatic scene. Very Nice!!

[2]

dominique (11414) 2004-04-05 16:28

Which contrast, of the powerful colors and this gray sky at the bottom, it is a good composition.

Clochette (8076) 2004-04-07 18:18

Wow ! Strong red !! ;-)
Very nice framing. The perpective is beautiful, good composition in a diagonal line.

cmartos (242) 2004-04-08 4:29

Awesome. The perspective is great and the choice of the super wide angle is clever and optical distortions are perfectly managed and corrected. Colours are very saturated but not to much and sharpness is very well controlled. Composition is great to and I agree, the train seems to be ready to jump out of the tracks. Outstanding result. Congratulations.

Xalkida (11744) 2004-10-11 6:52

Excellent POV and colors! Interesting lighting! I can see your shadow at right of the photo! :)

Excellent job!

sunny (3069) 2004-10-11 9:08

Wow! What a great BBB! (bold, bright & beautiful..;-))
Amazingly bold red with strong depth and perspective and really superb light, Bert!! Very charmingly catched element on the pavement too..:-))
Spotted with some delay but really excellent job!

Galmeida (12559) 2005-02-07 5:26

Comments: I create a direct Link of my guidelines "Sea train" to this shot of the brother locomotive. Thanks for your friendly help, and work!

Critique: Nice composition and also a nice train carriage composition. Good colors, perspective and contrast.

If you want see the loco brother in mouvement please check out this Link

Well done!

HNIK (1104) 2006-01-13 14:26

Hi Bert!
What an excellent perspective you captured!!
Great with very good colors and well composition.the cloudy sky is very suitable for this shot.and we can see your shadow too :)
Very nice and perfect,i like it
Best Regards

Voltri (1777) 2006-06-25 13:46

Bert, I wrote in my note to your other Port train photo that you definitely an expert in taking this kind of photos. The train is well captured, 10 sec before departure, I suppose? :)
My only concern is the frame, it looks a bit ... too strong, I'd say. But still, GREAT PHOTO!

Hormon_Manyer (394) 2007-09-27 15:58

Hi Bert,
I know this locomotive from my son's rail cards, so immediately caught my attention when looking at it. Very nice colours - this orange tone is almost like the Dutch Oranje, isn't it? :) Very good POV and sharpness, too. Congrats, tfs. Best regards from Hungary, László