Composition/Cropping opinions, please

[Magog]

Good day all.

The shot below was taken a couple of weeks ago, at the North Norfolk Railway. (EOS 60D, 17-85mm lens, ISO 160, f5, 1/50s ). The shot as taken, I think, conveys the size of the loco (although small by the standards of our North American cousins!). The crew in the cab give some scale, with the slope of the reversing rod leading the eye towards the fireman:



However, I began to wonder if a crop might give a different perspective; this time showing the fireman looking out for the signal to proceed, while the driver (engineer) is at the controls. More human interest than mechanical.



Any comments or criticisms folks?

[Manfred M]

John; your second crop tells a totally different story than your first one; the first one is more about the engine and the second one concentrates on the crew. Two totally different interpretations of the same image.

The issue I have with both images is that the bright sky is what really catches and holds my eye, and that doesn't help in my view. I find that the choice of B&W works in a period sort of way, but suspect that the shot might work just as well or even better as a colour image, given that the black paint on the engine is already highly monochrome.

[Magog]

Thank you Manfred.

I had tried to lower the brightness in the sky, but obviously not enough!

There were two reasons for the B&W conversion; one, as you point out, was the period feel. The other was that the station car park is adjacent to the platform, and there was a refection of a bright red car on the cab side (you can see the light patch below, and slightly to the left of, the first 4 in the loco number). I was not confident enough in my Photoshop skills to remove it.

[Shadowman]

Both work well, I prefer the first.

[NorthernFocus]

John; your second crop tells a totally different story than your first one; the first one is more about the engine and the second one concentrates on the crew. Two totally different interpretations of the same image..

Ditto.

[MrB]

The second crop is the better one, as it is complete as a photo about the crew, whereas the first does not show enough to be about the engine and the fireman is too close to the edge of the frame in that composition.

Both images seem over-exposed to me. E.g. Reducing the brightness of #2 by the equivalent of one stop, together with applying a decent chunk of contrast, makes a much better image, in my view.

Cheers.
Philip

[bnnrcn]

Hi John,I like #1.I agree with Philip about reducing brightness and increasing contrast for a better result

[pnodrog]

It's #1 for me as well.

[FootLoose]

I prefer the 2nd. The steam is more prominent in that crop, which conveys a better sense of the power of the engine to me. I wonder if it might be even stronger if you extended the frame a little more to the left to include a bit more of the wheel?

[IzzieK]

#1 for me too, John...