Railfans, train chasers, foamers, unite!

Okay, not really. But listen up: I have something for you.

Railroad photography isn't something that is usually considered "ground breaking" or "avant garde" in terms of artistic or aesthetic value; most guys who like trains and taking pictures usually just wanna grab a couple shots of the manifest, double stack, or ore train running through their territory. Some do it just to have pics, some do it to catalogue units they've seen, and then there are the anal-retentive individuals like myself who try to make it look as if we're shooting to land on the cover of Trains magazine.

And that's where this challenge comes in.

Through the end of November, I am submitting a formal challenge to every railfan in this group to boldly go where they haven't gone before. And that means anywhere related to your railroad photography: new territory, new angles, new ideas and concepts, new everything.

This isn't a contest, but there are prizes involved--points, journal features, and even a couple subscriptions to give away--for those who show effort above and beyond the norm. It goes without saying that this isn't just an excuse for me to feel self-important: far from it. I haven't done much at all with this group the last year, and I figure this is a great way for me to get back involved as a staff member without taxing myself of all my spare time.

Rules:
1. Gotta be a member of the group, mkay?
2. You have to have at least 5 previous railroad photos for reference
3. All submissions must be new photos/deviations (you can't submit stuff you've already taken prior to today's date as "new" --> 10/14/11) and must be placed in the Railfan Nation Photo Challenge Folder in our group gallery in order to be considered for the contest.
4. Entrants are limited to one submission per week (to encourage you to submit your best work).
5. All judging is ultimately done by me, however I will gladly accept recommendations and suggestions from my fellow staff members and deviants.
6. Contest ends at 23:59 CST (05:59 UTC) November 30th, 2011 (or December 1st for those of you past eastern standard time).

For each entry, simply place "Railfan Nation Photo Challenge Entry" in the comments, and send me (I am *factorone33) a note with a link or thumb to the deviation being submitted. There are no limits on prizes or rewards, and exposure will certainly come at the end when I compile all the entries and put them together in a blog entry for the group.

And that's it. The contest starts at 00:00 CDT (06:00 UTC) 10/15/11. Annnnnnnnnnnnnnd Go.

-FO33

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