Please Critique this photo

[Mayhem]

Hello Everyone, I took tons of shots of this scene trying to compose it as best I can, I took it straight on, to the side, and down low. Something is not quite right with this shot, how could I have shot it better? I should also mention that the train was moving VERY slowly for about 10 minutes. :)

[Marko]

For me it's mainly the sharpness on the front of the train.... it's off. The leaves on the tree to the right of the train are sharper than the train itself. Focusing on a moving target, even when the target is moving slowly is hard. I'm guessing this was handheld and I can see from the exif data that shutterspeed was 1/400 but the focal length was 200. The shot would likely have been steadier and sharper if it were on a tripod or the shutterspeed was upped. (but would still have been soft somewhat because the focus was not super sharp). Additionally most of this image could benefit from a boost in contrast. The colours at the front of the train (the focal point) except for the lights look particularly dull.

The comp is quite good here and i really like the lower angle.
Hope that helps - Marko

[Bambi]

marko gives a very good critique here. the biggest issue is the sharpness.

[Iguanasan]

I have to agree with Marko. I was looking at this one and couldn't quite put my finger on it and thought I'd come back to it later and then I read Marko's post and voila, that was it for me. Now if you just had someone with an 8' or 10' reflector shining some light on the front of that train as you captured it with a clear focus then it would have been perfect! :) For me the front of the train is the subject and because it's a little dark and a little out of focus it's just not doing it for me. Composition and point of view is excellent.

[Mayhem]

Thanks everyone! Very valuable comments!