Karen Botvin  


Strasburg Train by Karen Botvin

November 2024 - Strasburg Train

November 2024 - Karen Botvin

Original

About the Image(s)

I don’t do landscapes very often but this past September I went back home for a visit with family and friends to Lancaster County area in Pennsylvania. One of the places I wanted to photograph was the Strasburg Railroad station. When I arrived it was very early morning and just starting to rain. I took a few images but was kind of disappointed in what I had. When I got back to FL I played around with this one and I really liked the outcome. In LR, I cropped the image increased the exposure a bit and lifted the shadows. I dropped the highlights slightly, added a bit of clarity and ran it through denoise. In PS, I removed the electric wires and pole as well as the roof top from the building across the street. I also lighten up the windows of the first car. Then I played around with adding a few textures and also clipped a mask to the bottom of the image to get that raggedy edge. I worked on the tree in the background. First, darkening it, then thought maybe to remove it, but I finally settled on leaving it as I thought it added some depth to the image. What are your thoughts? Is it too much? Could I have done something else?


This round’s discussion is now closed!
4 comments posted




Piers Blackett   Piers Blackett
Your editing is effective but possibly merging towards altered reality. I love your antique effect on the scene which gives a sense of nostalgia possibly reflecting what you saw. It reminds me of the Eerie Lackawanna trains in the 70s while I was in NYC. I'm not sure about the sharp transitional lines in the foreground though?   Posted: 11/04/2024 20:57:22



Jim Wulpi   Jim Wulpi
Hi Karen,
Your submitted image, to me, is too much of a conflict between the sharpened, denoised, polished train and the background that you imposed around it. I can't suggest an alternative because I'm generally not oriented towards that type of manipulation.
It certainly looks like you had fun playing with it and trying various options.   Posted: 11/04/2024 21:42:56



Shirley Pohlman   Shirley Pohlman
Karen, I believe you did a great job of rescuing a disappointment to make it a nostalgic image. I think it would be a perfect Christmas card, with the Polar Express theme. The colors are welcoming, and I like the wacky way you edited the bottom left. I also think a train enthusiast would love this in his hobby room. Fun!   Posted: 11/05/2024 00:12:11



Tor Nenzen   Tor Nenzen
I like that you left the tree in the picture - it provides a balance in both composition and colour. The copper plate background is a nice idea. I feel that the right edge of the train is cropped in an awkward spot - I would experiment with cropping the right edge more. Cool pic!   Posted: 11/06/2024 18:25:32