Weekend Modeling Photo Challenge "Track" Ends Monday September 14th. *Please read all rules as they may have changed from previous weeks* If you notice a typo, error, or confusing statement, please notify Mr. Train or Mystere immediately for correction and clarification. Modeling Photo Challenge Topic: "Track" 1. All challenges close at 10pm Pacific Standard Time, and will be noted with a "Time's up!" post within the thread. 2. Please use the challenge as a motive to take a new photograph rather than using a photograph that you have taken in the past. 3. Challenges are open to everyone, have fun!! 4. Though not required, commenting on other peoples pictures is encouraged. 5. Only one image per participant so please choose the image carefully. 6. Please use the Cutting Room Floor thread for related but ineligible images. 7. Any posts with images taken before the commencement of the challenge will not be included in the poll. 8. For photos to be eligible they must be taken between Friday September 11th and Monday September 14th. 9. Ensure dates and times on your camera are correct. 10. On September 15th, all entries will be put up for a public vote, in which all members of Trainboard may vote for their favorite entry(s), regardless of whether you submitted an entry or not. Voting will be unlimited multiple choice. We look forward to seeing many contributors, remember this is to encourage all photographers to take a shot of the subject rather than post a photo taken in the past.
Mr. Moderator, I think Mike should be prohibited from submitting any photos from any areas previously imaged by him. :ru-tongue: Sorry, Mike, I had tuh......
I took this image to show my main and siding up a stiff grade with a powerful Niagara roaring up it, heavyweights in tow. The track is Atlas Code 100, with the siding painted using Floquil "Rust" and the mains done with PolyScale "Railroad Tie Brown". Between each pair of rails, plaster of Paris and tempera powder paint is brushed into the ballast and then wetted. To hide the other side of my folded loop track rising toward the left hand top corner of the image, I used my hand towel painted and sprinkled with ground foam draped against the far hillside, and ground foam 'bushes' and clump foliage clusters to hide the track that would otherwise be visible behind and in front of the Niagara's nose.
Wow some great work here I don't think I'll be entering this one! Crandell that's a super view of your scenery. The light is very convincing too. Mike
Thank-you, Mike! I always seem to find myself reducing the saturation if I elect to do something with the saturation at all. This time, late last night, I said to myself that I wanted to see what quite a bit more saturation would do...just 'cuz. So, I slid the slide well to the right and was pleasantly surprise do find that I liked the look better...this time. However, I reduced it again to about half of the added value and left it at that setting. I am happy with this one, too. -Crandell
*EDIT* I decided to choose a different photo. Here's mine; Painted and ballasted Unitrack. I should really learn how to achieve greater depth of field. :-/
Enter the AV mode and raise the F number to its highest...maybe f8? Enter M for manual and reduce your exposure to about 1/4 second. Set the camera as little as 4-10" further back from your subject. Get lots of light to bear on the area. Then begin your trials. Chances are good you'll only have to adjust the shutter timing by raising or lowering the exposure number in order to get a sufficiently bright image. You can use a tiny bit of zoom when doing this, but it very quickly negates any improvement in the depth of field that you gained by raising the f-ratio. It is best to crop out the middle portion of the image to get what you want, thus increasing image size. Because your shutter will remain open for a chunk of one second, you must use your automatic shutter timer and prop the camera, aimed already, on a small bean-bag or on a tripod. Even unopened bags of ground foam will do if it is the grasses or bushes and not the clump foliage. Hold the camera so that you can get a focus on the subject with the auto focus, using the camera in M (manual), and then keeping the button partly depressed, situate the camera on the been bag. Depress the shutter tripper button all the way and let the camera do the rest. I use 10 second delay if using bean bag to give the camera time to settle and to stop moving as it compresses the ground foam in the bag. On a tripod, two seconds is all you need. I hope that helps. -Crandell
Scrap Yard Curve Alamo Iron Works identifies this curve as you pass the San Antonio passenger station ahead. Torpedo tube GP9 awaits a turn at the station.
Using the tips from COverton, I took a new photo to get some better depth of field. Since the deadline is not here, I'm changing my entry to this one. Thanks for the tips Crandell!
Mark, I don't need to tell you it is a substantially better result. :tb-biggrin: Thanks for taking me up and trying out my tips. It feels good to see the success so quickly... When I begin to generate a WPF or a competition image, I have an idea what I want to do. But the first four or five shots I take, and then shut off the track power to kill any sounds, and turn off the overhead halogens, I return to download the images and see how they look on the monitor. I almost never get an "Eeeewwww!!", but I never get an "Aaaahhh!" either. Honestly, between camera position, shutter exposure, the placement and intensity of lighting, varying the focal point from front of engine to back at the cab during the semi-depress of the shutter trip button...it usually takes me between five and 10 trips back and forth, each with 4-6 shots stored in the camera. Someone with more skills, and maybe a faster learning ability, than I, would probably be much more efficient. :tb-sad: But, after an hour or so I have something I can live with.
Tomkat, your image is very nice...has a warm late afternoon look to it...although I suppose it could be the sunrise gang hard at work, too. Eithe way, nicely done! Flash, it is very difficult to tell that your image is one of a model. Very nice tones and trackwork. Nicely detailed, too. I could spend a while staring at this image.
There's some really good work shown so far. I'll have a go for fun. Code 100 track. This is about as complex as things get on my H0 layout Mike
