By: Chuck Miller
experimental photography, Photography

More detail to A CO Railfan’s Dream

I never settle for “just good enough.” If I make something, I’ll try the next time to make it better. It’s evolution and creation as a co-existence.

Such is the case with A CO Railfan’s Dream, one of my entries for Competition Season 2026.

A CO Railfan’s Dream. Nikon Df camera (37 images), Pentacon Six TL with Kodak Portra 800 film (3 images), both cameras using Meyer Optik Görlitz Orestegor 300 f/5.6 lens. Photo (c) 2025 Chuck Miller, all rights reserved.

I truly love this image and its surreal mixture of film and digital capture.

But the detail in the film shots – the illuminated train over the trestle – needs some tweaks. It looks muddy and grainy.

So a few fiddles with some image sliders, and …

Now I have this.

A CO Railfan’s Dream 2. Nikon Df camera (37 images), Pentacon Six TL with Kodak Portra 800 film (3 images), both cameras using Meyer Optik Görlitz Orestegor 300 f/5.6 lens. Photo (c) 2025 Chuck Miller, all rights reserved.

The trestle is clearer, the blend between the trees is more distinct; yeah, this works for me.

And I’m sure that by the time I prepare my images for Iowa / Altamont / the NYS Fair / the Big E, I’ll feel more confident about this capture.

Trust me. Better to take this now and be happy …

Than just take my original and wonder if I could have improved on it.