Get Focused Thanks guys! New toy indeed. Downloaded Helicon Focus. Pretty nifty that they give you a 30 trial with all the bells and whistles. After much research and advice, I decided to give it a whirl. Shot a few scenes with 4-5 shots at different focal lengths. There are a few blurry spots, I figure the program has a hard time with low light photos due to the subtle contrasts.
Joe, I've got a couple of ideas for morning and evening light you and I are gonna have to kick around..
Been busy the last few weeks. Operated on Jeff's (4x2dsp) Cascade Subdivision layout on Saturday. Had a real blast! And a little video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXQNv5gAyQs
Well, the "tunnel shots" thread gave me a kick to shoot some more photos... Also gave me a nudge to build an tripod extension arm to place the camera over the layout to obtain some more angles. Picked up a 3' length of aluminum square tube and some hardware. Dug out a cheap tripod I had stuffed in a closet and started tinkering. I tried it out tonight with some success. I still need to balance it and figure out a better mount for the camera. I plan to order a second mounting shoe for my Promaster(solid, well build tripod), modify it and dedicate it to the extension arm. I may salvage the mount from the cheap tripod and use it as the camera mount since parts of the tripod are broken. Stability, plus a shutter release cord makes the long exposures(10 sec. average) practical. I shot this for the "tunnel shots" thread. The camera was placed on some bubble wrap right on the creek bed. The next three used the extension arm. Different camera and light angles. Shot from the opposite direction with the whole bridge in view, same light angle. I shot a similar angle with my old camera with the camera set on the layout itself. I like this method better.
Great stuff. Almost like visiting a tremendous layout. Ahhhhh, the miracles of computer technology. I am always in awe of this stuff, both the layout and the video. I grew up in the mid fifties to a black/white grainy "Howdy Doody" and "Pinky Lee" TV shows and this stuff to me is still "out there". Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman
Thanks for the welcome Jeff. Yeah, the building is done for the most part, just a few finishing touches left to do so I should be good to go pretty quick. Along with the SD45-2s I've almost got three of the ex. UP SD40-2s finished up too. Now somebody just needs to produce a AS-616 and I'll be set. Oh yeah, and if Athearn is listening, acid tanks in N scale would be good too.
Thanks guys:tb-biggrin: The hard part is coming up with new angles and ideas. Need to finish some more locomotives too. The low light angle in the SD9 shots was used to compensate for the lack of "finished" scenery down at the club. Neither area has ballast and the "road" shot has both bare plywood and bare plaster within the scene. Puts a new meaning to "hiding in the shadows."
