Weekly #535 - Public Transport Competition

Good to see such a great selection and above average number of entries this week and pleased it was a topic that got you searching through your archives. I will say that the word transport was noted but the word public before it seemed to be overlooked by some, or perhaps there is some confusion as to what constitutes public transport. Wikipedia suggests 'Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, or mass transit) is a shared passenger-transport service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, carpooling, hired buses, and transportation network companies, which are not shared by the general public without private arrangement.'

Ignoring the 'Public' part of the subject could eliminate some of the entries before the judging starts. My take on this is, for example, a bus or train in public transport has a specific schedule to keep to with regards its route and timings. People know when to expect it to arrive and can just jump on without having to book (and maybe wait in an orderly queue until it does!) However a service such as a school bus may use that same bus that was used for public transport earlier but this time the general public cannot. So I can appreciate there are some grey areas to take account of. Consequently I've not been too hard making this distinction when assessing the submitted photos albeit have considered it and made mention where I felt it appropriate.

Just to point out that all the comments on photos given here are purely my own personal opinions, some may agree with them, others may not!

So where to begin? First in this week was:

Flying Scotsman - vic cross
It's a fabulous subject which (according to the exif) was photographed on 4th June 2016. Not only was the flying Scotsman heading from (I believe) London Victoria to York and close by was Tornado (the subject of another entry) heading from King's Cross to my home town of Scarborough so a great day for steam enthusiasts. I deduce Vic's photo was taken somewhere between Corby and Oakham.
The composition of the photo is fine but a little 'flat' contrast wise.
Given this service is a pre-booked charter service it may not be true public transport by definition but hey, its a great shot to have.

Zenith Cruise Ship - Mudge
As I like to do, I've tried to work out where this was taken! My best guess is at Cartagena or near by. For the uninitiated like me, that is in Colombia, South America. It's a super shot comparing the size of the ship to the people on the quay with the mooring ropes leading up to the ship. A powerful photo of what I presume was a holiday reminder of the cruise ship. But is it public transport? Could anyone turn up and jump on? I somehow doubt it.

Express transit - Perspicador
Well I don't know exactly where this was taken but guess a Nottingham tram lives in Nottingham! Compositionally this isn't too bad, perhaps the tram is a bit central in the frame so maybe the gantry poles on the right could be cropped off as it is a bit distracting or maybe a slightly different viewpoint may have made it less prominent. At least you don't appear to be standing in the middle of the track waiting to be run over this time! No doubting it's true public transport.

Hovertravel - GlynM
It's the Isle of Wight!! If I remember correctly this service was initially run by British Railways!
Glyn's action photo of the craft is very competently taken. Somewhere I have a contemporary postcard of this service and this photo is pretty similar to that official postcard of the craft. Fully agree this is Public Transport as I've turned up and jumped on without having to book.

Air Taxi - i-Berg
High end transport this, not your packed 7.30am commuter train from Sevenoaks to Victoria!
This is a fine photograph of the plane taking off with a shutter speed suitable to capture the prop blur well. Broome advertise charter services but I have no idea whether they run any scheduled services where you can just turn up and fly. Technically a taxi service (air or otherwise) isn't public transport as it is not shared by the general public without private arrangement.

Trans Pennine Winter - davidtrout
A chilly looking train trip in Northern Britain. I don't have to guess where this was taken as you've told us!
All I can say is I really like this well composed photo taken under quite harsh conditions (just as well it was taken with a Pentax then!) I so wonder why it has a lump of cheese stuck over its coupling. No doubting this fits the public transport brief fully.

The Party's Over - johnjm
This could be an interesting photo but suffers several issues to put it in contention. Firstly, the subject is somewhat hidden by various items of unrelated clutter! Secondly, it is suffering from either camera shake or a focus issue or some other lens aberration which is more pronounced on the left hand side which makes me wonder if the lens isn't decentered. Without the exif info its hard to suggest anything further regarding this but if the lens is a new purchase it would be definitely worth investigating this. Thirdly, is the bus still fulfilling the role of public transport? I suspect not as it is travelling round providing a venue for kid's parties. I agree it was a photo worth taking and something different so if you get the opportunity, go back and try to get a closer shot. Have you seen this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AuhAdvKGbc about it?

all aboard - stu62
The exif shows this to be a fairly recent photo but I've no idea of the location for this one. It's been taken with a fairly long telephoto lens so the boat must have been a fair distance away. Probably it would have been worth getting another shot a few moments later when I guess the boat would have been closer. I would have suggested cropping this all round it but it doesn't seem to have sufficient clarity to achieve that. Alternatively cheat with some added foreground matter to frame the boat! I don't know but I guess the boat will be running a regular turn up and jump on scheduled service daily, if so the photo fits the brief.

Vintage Tramway - RightOnTime
First a welcome to the forums and its good to see you joining in with the competitions.
Your first entry certainly captures a historic element of public transport and I've deduced this was taken at the Merseyside Tramway Preservation Society. So this is recreated historic public transport.
Now this is very much a personal view but I feel I want to see clear detail beyond the driving controls, same as what the driver would have seen, or at least I would hope so! Choosing such a wide f1.6 aperture has certainly isolated the controls and if that was the intention it has worked but I do feel I'm missing that outside view. Certainly the controls would form an ideal frame to show that passing tram. I'd be curious if you took another similar image with a greater depth of field showing both elements clearly. In any event, a competent first entry and well done for that.

Driver required - pipinmels
I can't quite get the context of this shot. Is it in a museum or is it still in service? Oddly the view through the window gives little away and there are some strange distracting reflections in the glass that I can't make out and under the 'steering' wheel. Notwithstanding I can appreciate why you took the shot as it isn't something one sees every day. In actual fact the contrasty conditions encountered made this a very tricky shot to attempt and unfortunately it doesn't quite work for me.

Boris Bikes - smudge
Boris Bikes, waiting there to be used! Now this is a super pattern picture, well seen and well taken. The lighting looks very contrasty yet highlights aren't blown and shadow details remain clear. Well done!

Push me Pull me - tyronet2000
Like the bendy bus submitted later, this is a bendy loco having a tug of war with itself! These fish-eye effects can look strange seen in '2D' but in reality they form a much truer to life image when viewed close up. This particular photo taken against the sun could do with some processing to bring out the shadow detail which forms a large part of this image. This is the type of shot where taking raw images can help cope with the high contrast range.
While the loco itself isn't public transport we can see the carriages it is hauling (just!)

Going up or Down its all the same - ken2390
Well done and thanks for thinking of something different that perfectly fits the theme. Given the cloudless sky and steep cliff sides everything important is well exposed. The cliff side in shadow is not important and doesn't detract. I reckon the picture's composition is pretty good based on the rule of thirds and there is nothing to detract the viewer. My home town has these too and boasts the oldest one in the UK dating from 1873 and still in use, but I won't hold that against Hastings! Another good entry!

The New Red Rockets - go4IT
Thanks for the background info about this. It's interesting to see what happens elsewhere, however I wish the shelter wasn't hiding a large part of the view of the 'Red Rocket' unless there were a few members of the public in a queue waiting to board it, which would strongly link it to the theme this week! Technically its fine though.

60163 Tornado - stephen-s
This is a truly lovely photo of Tornado taken on April 29th this year. It's nicely detailed and sharp. But is it all that we are told?
'The Great Britain X' was a nine day tour with this the first leg starting at King's Cross and ending at York where a diesel loco continued the service on up to Edinburgh. Which leads to the point, can this really be in the Tyne Valley given Tornado's leg ended at York?? The published service notes state the York to Edinburgh was diesel hauled as the proposed steam loco for that leg (46201 Princess Elizabeth) was unavailable. If anyone doubts that fact, there is a You tube video featuring the service here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAcqLRr7cEg
Not withstanding, does all that matter in the context of a PU comp? Possibly not but what has to be considered here is that this was a pre-booked charter service so on this occasion, regretably not public transport. I think most of Tornado's trips have been pre-booked charters other than when it hauled some scheduled Northern Rail services on the Carlisle-Settle line for a few days and of course, it didn't exist at all in the days of steam so it doesn't have that historical heritage other locos may have either.

Final Destination - johnriley
It must have been an interesting visit, though tricky to get shots of individual vehicles. Well the buses are lined up looking to be in readiness to start another day's service, even if that wasn't to be. I believe they may use some of them occasionally for heritage events when a shuttle bus service is provided. The only real give-away that this is a museum shot is the display board visible.
You've definitely captured the mood of an operational garage when perhaps on a normal visit that wouldn't have been possible. Technically it all looks spot on to me!

Tram - Simonmac
Thanks for adding the exif info. Have I seen this one before, or was it another similar? With regards to the competition theme this is spot on. The lighting is rather handy with the subject caught in the sunlight, but I don't feel you've made the best use of it. I feel the dark lower quarter area of the photo makes the subject look very distant so taking something off the base would make the subject appear closer. And wile in the cropping mode, just a little off the sides too perhaps but not a lot if at all. The tonal levels of the image seem fine, just bring the subject closer to give it more impact!

Sheffield Supertram - paulb531
All the 'characters' in the window made me chuckle. The panning to get the tram sharp while leaving the background blurred has produced a very successful image. If it were mine I may be tempted to crop off some of the blurry background, having all of it doesn't add anything. I'm surprised an exposure time of 1/50 produced so much movement blur.
Now perhaps it all happened in a blur, but the strongest point in a photo tends to be the intersection of the thirds and that coincides at a point where there is a blank space. Along with all the background 'blur', this makes the photo wanting something else. If the door had been there rather than over to the left it would have made for a more satisfying image (perhaps.) Alternatively, a closer view of the window characters would have made a really fun photo.

Bulging transport - Noelcmn
We've had a bendy loco, now a bendy bus/coach, but not the usual type which are designed to bend! I'm presuming this has been made from several images stitched together. It makes for a bit of fun to make an ordinary photo into something that looks different. So a really interesting experiment and technically fine, is it really making a statement about public transport? I don't think so.

Abstract tourism - drofmit
A bit of blue sky thinking outside the box! It's a clever idea and anyone seeing you take it must have looked on in wonderment not seeing anything there to take! The tone/colour range is lovely and I do get it! In the context of public transport, I doubt any of them are created by public transport vehicles though.

The New Orleans - MikeInDevon
A novel boat that I haven't seen before, so thanks for sharing it. You've even managed to get some public visible in the shot so brownie points for that! Also, you failed not to cut off the dummy smokestacks which I normally find I've done after its too late to retake it. Indeed the photo's crop is just right. Wow, now is there anything that could be better? Well if anything, and its a small thing caused by the lack of clouds reflecting the light, perhaps a slight boost of the shadow area closest to you.

Generally in almost all the photos, the actual 'public' were missing and given the theme was public transport that was something of an omission! I trust you appreciate that the public cannot just walk on to a chartered service, hence chartered services aren't public services. If you'd chartered that aircraft at Broome, for instance, you'd be a bit miffed if others climbed in and sat next to you like they might on a number 20 bus to the town centre. But I appreciate the difference is subtle and in any event can be a grey area.
When I said about 'thinking outside the box,' what I was thinking was perhaps a queue at a bus stop with the bus nowhere in sight. Or the railway station on a strike day with crowds on the platforms but no trains! A type of documentary statement about public transport.

It was really good to have so many entries to choose from and this has been a real challenge to judge! Particularly deciding if the transport isn't actually 'public' which any winner would have to be. Unfortunately not everyone can be on the podium. So well done to:

1st - Trans Pennine Winter - davidtrout - A really moody shot, well planned and taken in adverse conditions.

2nd - Boris Bikes - smudge - Great pattern picture, well spotted and would be a good example for inclusion in a photographic textbook.

(both 1st and 2nd are almost equally good but I can only select one of them unfortunately.)

3rd - For the 3rd spot I can't really decide between these as they're all good too:
Hovertravel - GlynM
Vintage Tramway - RightOnTime
Going up or Down its all the same - ken2390
60163 Tornado - stephen-s
Final Destination - johnriley
The New Orleans - MikeInDevon

HM - To everyone else.

Thanks once again for taking part. Over to David for next week (and I hope he'll explain that lump of cheese, if he even knows himself!)

Thank you for your very thoughtful and detailed comments.

Awesome winning shot, with a ton of drama to captivate the interest. Congrats Davidtrout, worthy winner. And extended to the Smudge, which shot I thought had it in the bag, its lovely, wonderfully composed. And of course the 3rd placed winners and HM's. Thanks to our Judge and host, JAK, for the comments/critiques and especially for being so forgiving and gentle with us deviants when it comes to interpreting the english language. In any event, Public transport in Africa can be anything . Super challenge, and heartening to see so many entries. Now to see what David comes up with. Btw, mine is no stitch, but a 8mm Fisheye shot.

I was misled by the exif then which has it recorded as 28mm in which case stitching would have been required! I didn't doubt your shot was indeed public transport, but I would hope the bus wouldn't turn up as bent as that!

Congratulations to the Winner and other places. Thanks to Jak for an interesting subject, judging and comprehensive comments

Thanks JAK for the competition, detailed comments and of course my first place. Congratulations to Smudge for his Boris bikes and all the other award winners - is this a record for the number of =3rds you can get on board one bus?
The subject was obviously a good choice, its not often we top 20 in a weekly these days. I was impressed by the number of modern trams in our cities.

Its not Cheddar or Cheshire cheese but a water proof cover to protect the couplings and contacts from the severe weather.
As for next week's topic? Give me a little time and I'll be back.
David

Hi JAK, thanks for all those comments it must have taken you some time! Cheers for the 3rd, I'm on a roll and congratulations to all the other podium winners and HMs.
Regards
Mike

Many thanks John for a fantastic competition. A great inclusive subject with a wonderful set of comments and judging.

Thanks also for putting me in amongst the record number of joint third places .

Congratulations to David for a the super winning image. I was hoping we were going to get one of David's excellent train pictures but the one he put up also had a fantastic weather slant . Congratulations also to smudge, for the second placement, my joint five third placements and everyone else for a great set of transport images.

Glyn

That did cross my mind but I've never seen that before. So not a new take for DMU drivers on cooking breakfast on the fireman's shovel!

The photo I put in is an old cog driven railway that is Public Transport, and is in use everyday of the year. You also wrote we could outside the box, so I thought inside the box. Sorry it wasn't to your tastes.

Thank you too, yes it did indeed!

Thanks for confirming that as it looked as though it might have been indoors, although I couldn't really tell. The various reflections detracted away from the main subject confusing it somewhat. If it had been a museum photo I could understand the lack of photo opportunities but if out in the real world a clear external view may have helped put it in context (at least that was my thoughts not knowing.)
Either a closer view not including the windows may have provided a tighter composition as those reflections have proved to be a distraction, or a wider shot showing the whole cab or whatever it is there. I really can't tell!

Great competition!

Cheers John for your balanced and helpful critique and well done to the winner and places.

All the best.

Great winning Shot by David. Thanks JAK for the competition and excellent feedback. Some very good constructive comments.

Paul

Hi, Thanks for the interesting subject, (joint) 3rd place and congratulations to all who placed or took part... Fair point on the public transport, although anyone can book in theory, it is a rather expensive joyride essentially!

Just for your info the The North Briton was a one day tour, Leicester to York (diesel hauled) York to Carlisle Steam hauled by Tornado. The return leg returned using the Carlisle Newcastle line see http://www.railtourinfo.co.uk/290417b.html.

I was not aware of the other apparently on the same day, that was hauled by the Flying Scotsman to York then the Union of South Africa...

Thanks for confirming that, both services running simultaneously! Sorry to doubt you. Seems I was mixing Tornado up with 4472. (It was very late at night!) FWIW your link has an extra stop at the end (should others wish to view the page linked), it should be http://www.railtourinfo.co.uk/290417b.html
When thinking the theme 'public transport' I was thinking 'public transport', otherwise I'd have just set the theme 'Transport!' Hence my comment 'a necessity of life for many.' A journey behind Tornado isn't exactly a necessity of life unlike the 20 bus to get to work and the Tornado service won't get listed on local council public transport pages, also on station departure boards it would have said 'Charter.' I do agree the distinction is blurred but Wikipedia and other sources make the difference pretty clear.
Having moaned about off topic judging myself, I didn't want to fall in the same trap!
Not withstanding, it was a super photo and would grace any living room wall.

The winning shot is absolutely stunning. Congratulations to all

Wensleydale then?

Nice shot David - congrats to you and the others on the podium.

Thank you John - good comp, as evidenced by the entries (both in number and quality).

Wow. Even though I did not enter this comp, I wanted to say, that it was this kind of ajudacation and detailed judging that HELPED me to improve my photography. This site was the first photo group that I joined, and I went out every week and challenged myself to improve. The judges were really blunt and tough but oh so honest!
I read each and every entry, and I want to tip my hat to John our Judge this week and say, fantastic job Sir!
JAS

Thanks Judith, that's really kind of you. We've been missing your submissions lately!