Tehachapi, BC

[Philip H]

Ok, here's a quick redo: cut out a portion of the sky, taped the seams better (those were bugging me too DRD!), and reshot with a better crop:



Comments?  [Ok, I admit that the drooping sky is an intentionally biased device introduced to sway the voting.  ]  FWIW, it actually looks pretty cool in person, but I'm more than willing to hear out the contrarians.  I think keeping the edge thin will be key: this means using good paper stock for printing, and cutting the backing board a fraction of an inch shorter.

Great to have a focus group!
-gfh

And the Future MC Fujiwara of the Week Award goes to . . .

Nicely done sir.

[Scottl]

I retract everything I speculated about regarding cut outs.  That looks fantastic- the blue sky is almost perfect, just a little lightening near the horizon for the smog.  Awesome!

[3DTrains]

Gary - amazing how the cut-out portion makes that scene POP!

[mark dance]

Nice! 

I guess I am going to have to take the 5 minute bike ride and see this again in person! 

md

[3DTrains]

Mark - we're working on new earthquake technology to move you and Gary closer to So Cal. 

[Scottl]

The fault is moving So Cal northward anyway. 

[GaryHinshaw]

Ok, as requested, here are some more shots from different angles.  To do this justice I decided it was finally time to come to grips with the DSLR and the Helicon software.  I definitely need more practice with this camera, but the Helicon is truly plug & play and highly recommended.  Click on the shots to go to Picasa for larger versions.

First up is a crappy shot intended to show the setting; this was taken from quite a bit above eye level, but it shows how the backdrop looks from a very different angle (and before I trimmed the rest of it):




The whole plateau is on a gentle upslope towards the peaks themselves, and I think you can get that sense a bit with this angle.  You can also see how the photo is set 3/4" off the wall by the shelf stringers, a configuration I've had in mind since the beginning.

Here is the view an up-close operator would see; this gives a better sense of the resolution of the backdrop print (note, e.g., the vehicles on the highway).  I may still retake these photos, but this version is ok.




Here is a lower angle looking down slope (with the sky fully cut away now):




Here the mountains look odd because there is a gentle curl in the paper which makes the top bow out; that will be corrected.  I think the plateau needs to be about 2" lower, but I like the height of the top, so I'm thinking this needs to be another 20-30% larger overall.

Finally an eye-level shot from about 5' away:




This one is my favorite so far.   
-gfh

P.S. The stringers will be trimmed down.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

The fault is moving So Cal northward anyway. 

Yeah, pretty soon L.A.'s going to be pulling up next to S.F. 

Backdrop looks great!
Like one of those crisp clear days when the distant mountains seem cut out from the sky.

Wait, that might have sounded bad, but those of you who've seen the area know what I'm talking about.  I hope. 

I wonder if lightly sanding the back around the tops would thin it down and blend it even better?
As in sand it thinner before cutting.
Or maybe a little sanding around the back edges to "fuzz" them slightly to dissipate the hard line of the cut?
Just thinking out loud.

But very cool!

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Never mind: now I see that they're not going up against a wall. 

[Scottl]

Gary, I think this is going to be very effective, especially given how high this all is relative to most viewers.  I personally think the sizing of the mountains is spot on.  It seems to me that the real challenge will be blending the 3D scenery with the backdrop, which is challenging to make realistic with flat landscapes.  But so far, this looks very convincing. 

Oh, by the way, the four locos and the stack train are awesome!

[3DTrains]

The whole plateau is on a gentle upslope towards the peaks themselves, and I think you can get that sense a bit with this angle.  You can also see how the photo is set 3/4" off the wall by the shelf stringers, a configuration I've had in mind since the beginning.

Gary - I'm not sure the sloped photo will translate well. Our eyes are trained (fooled) into finding straight lines, and the slope of the photo's terrain might wind up looking like the graphic wasn't applied straight.  You may be forever telling folks who view it that "it's supposed to be that way." If you align the horizontal features to the room's horizontal lines, it might give you a better effect when viewing the subtle grade, else align the features to the track profile.

Just a thought.

[chuck geiger]

Pelle called and said you suck Gary

[GaryHinshaw]

If you align the horizontal features to the room's horizontal lines, it might give you a better effect when viewing the subtle grade, else align the features to the track profile.

Just a thought.

Mark Dance stopped by this evening to have a look and we agreed with you - it's more level now.  I'll still probably print it a bit larger in the final version.

Pelle called and said you suck Gary

  This is the same scene he has made famous.  Of course the truth is, this backdrop requires no talent - beyond having an eye for the composition, but even that is pretty simple.

I'm off to California for 5 days (alas not Tehachapi), so no modeling for a while....

-gfh

[C855B]

I'm off to California for 5 days (alas not Tehachapi), so no modeling for a while....

Stockton? Nah, that would be too much coincidence.

[nscalemike]

Gary,  thats looking really good there,  can't wait to see some landforms start taking shape between the tracks and backdrop.

Mike