Squidbait said:
Doc,
I'm consistently impressed with both your modelling and your photography! Nicely done! Could we get some technical details? What's the model? Obviously you've spent quite a bit of time detailing it (to good effect!), but what did it start life as?
And what are you using to shoot these pics? You're getting great depth-of-field for what appear to be quite close-up shots... my little digital doesn't render that nicely that close... and your lighting is great! Have you covered your photographic technique in another thread I haven't found yet?
Once again, thanks to all.
Squidbait, the loco is a modified Athearn Mikado, one of four in service on the Grand River & Northern Lake Erie (Erie Northshore). Outwardly, she's almost stock in appearance, as I've always admired the lines of most USRA locos.
You can read more about her and her sisters here:
Boosted output from an amplified Mike...
My camera is a Kodak C330, which I got last April. However, my old computer was incapable of retrieving the pictures from it, and I've only recently been able to view its output. This should help improve my results, as the first attempts, first seen very late last year, showed 601 pictures, of which 126 were totally unuseable, while another 34 might be salvageable with some editing. Of the "keepers", many are duplicates, too. I have since shot a few pictures for which I documented the settings, and viewing them
has helped with setting up subsequent photos.
My photographic technique is more-or-less "shoot-and-hope-for-the-best". sign1 The first camera that I used was an even cheaper Kodak that I borrowed from my daughter. It had almost no options: disable the flash and allow either more or less exposure. I like it better than this current camera, as it was very simple to use and gave excellent depth-of-field, although this one is better for extreme close-ups. Unfortunately, she won't part with it at any cost. Hopefully, I'll get better as I get more comfortable with the camera and its capabilities. The lighting is simply the layout room lighting: sixteen 4' double fluorescent fixtures, using cool white tubes, and installed above a suspended ceiling. The camera compensates for the colour shift caused by the lights. The camera is either on a tripod or sitting directly on the layout, and since it's digital, it's very easy to shoot pictures by placing the camera directly on the layout where it would be impossible to see through the viewfinder. I get a lot of rejects this way, but they cost nothing, and occasionally I'll get a unique view that even I have never seen.
This view is taken from the middle of the Maitland River: the aisle is to the left and rear of the bridge. Both of the locos, and the camera used for this picture, belong to my good friend cn nutbar, who often visits for photo sessions.
This shot, with the camera sitting on the mainline behind the Lowbanks carshop, at left, looks in the same general direction as the previous picture. For that view, the camera was beyond the row of trees, behind the structure just visible between the stockcars and the red building at the right side. Again, the aisle is to the left. Btw, the unusual "cloud formations" in the background are to support the as-yet-still-unbuilt
second level, and you can also see some "Northern Lights" at the top of the frame.
Wayne
, NICE SHOT!!!:thumb: , and thats a GREAT looking Mikado:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:. i REALLY like the canvas "sunshades" on it, NICE TOUCH!!!
