Cisco Bridges: a new layout concept

[Scottl]

My camera issues have been resolved, for the better I think. My Canon Rebel 4Ti body was easily fixed and is back in action, so that is a relief.  However, the discussion and suggestions in this thread https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=37139.0 sent me down a path of learning much more about photography and some of the ways to step up my results.  So I took the plunge and bought a prime lens (Canon 50mm/f1.8 ) and had a chance to test it out today.  It was not too expensive (under $200) but the early results are nothing short of remarkable.  It is a very sharp focusing lens and the focus motor is fast and silent, which will be nice for video when I get to that.  The light gathering is excellent and it cut exposure times of layout shots with my modest lighting set up substantially.  While the DOF is narrower, I discovered that the Canon live view utility will allow me to take a sequence of manually-controlled shots for focus stacking. I have a friend who uses CombineZP for microscopy and has given me some excellent advice to use this free stacking software.  So this will allow me to try some focus stacking for free and to hopefully take this one step further. 

Here are a few shots with the new lens:



These shots reveal some tuning that needs to be done on the bridge railing... 

[Santa Fe Guy]

Very Nice. That new lens sure does make a difference.
Rod.

[LIRR]

I've said this before i believe, but I'll say it again: superb work on that bridge. This is a great scene.

[svedblen]

+1

I've also said it before, I hope, and say it again. Outstanding!
That mountain in the background of the first pic really looks high.

[Scottl]

Thanks everyone!  The vertical here is 28.5"or about 72 cm between the canyon and the backdrop.  I really love how you can realize scenes and proportions in n scale!

[Scottl]

I've been travelling so work on the layout has stalled.  I have had a chance to take more photos with my new lens and I am starting to play with focus stacking.  And running a few trains when the chance arises!

[basementcalling]

Looks real enough to go rafting.

[Scottl]

This location is upstream of a place in the river called Hells Gate.  I'd pass on a rafting trip 

I have been experimenting with focus stacking and the results are quite promising to date.  In this example, I took 12 identical shots using the Canon Live View utility on my computer.  I set the aperture to f/8 which resulted in a 1/4 second exposure, and I was able to move the focus point through the scene progressively and precisely with the computer.  I used the RAW + JPEG file mode because I still prefer RAW format, but stacking requires JPEG.  I stored them a maximum quality JPEGS.

I then used CombineZP, a free stacking package (it does more than focus stacking, exposure stacking for instance).  After a few keystrokes (and watching my machine whirl for a bit) I had eight combined images, each using a different algorithm.  They were mostly similar, but some differences emerged.  Total work time now that I know what I am doing, about 10 minutes per image excluding the lighting set up.

So while this is far from perfect, here is a first example of this focus stacking process:



There are some artifacts that emerge in detail, especially on the sulphur cars in the distance, but the overall effect is excellent.  By comparison, I am used to taking shots at f/22 with exposures up to 8 seconds, and with distant and foreground areas quite out of focus.  This scene is about 5' deep and the camera is about 4 feet from the front of the scene.  Even in this test image I think you will agree the focus is noticeably improved.

More experiments to follow, but a promising and free workflow. 

[Scottl]

I did not generate a comparison image ( ) but here is something similar to compare the focusing. It is also taken with the standard kit lens that came with my camera so there is a noticeable softness evident even the areas that are in focus.

[Santa Fe Guy]

Wow Scott that is a huge difference well done. I've done a bit with Helicon however I'm not willing to pay the price. The free Software you are using along with the new lens looks like they are working very nicely.
Rod.

[Scottl]

Thanks Rod.  It is a work in progress but I'm not sure how I feel about the sharpness of the focus-stacked image.  It is almost too sharp, especially the background.  I need to figure out how to tone it down a bit I think.   Like you, I was reluctant to pay for Helicon Focus but CombineZP is a way to experiment to see what is possible.

[robert3985]

First off, this is (as everybody knows) a fabulous LDE.  However, here are some pointers about focus stacking and depth of field.

First, f22 is way too small an aperture and you are going to get noticeable diffraction using it.  Yes, it WILL make more things in focus, but it isn't the sharpest aperture on your lens.

Usually f8 is the sharpest aperture, and has the least amount of varying distortions, but I'd experiment with one stop above that, and one below just to make sure. 

If you don't want to experiment, the just choose f8, and you should see a distinct improvement in most image characteristics.

Secondly, although you may want your distant cars to be less sharp, if you were to put yourself in the prototype scene at this point with your camera set to f8, the photo would probably look about like what you have as far as what's in focus.  It isn't focus and sharpness that's detracting from the realism in your photo, it's a lack of prototype atmospheric haze.  Except on rare ultra-clear days, the water and dust in the atmosphere makes things in the distance look less contrasty, which is why distant hills, mountains and other distant objects start looking bluish, or even lavender colored...and the blacks are a colored gray, as opposed to the same blacks closer to you.

The way to get this is to get your stacks properly combined, then using an airbrush tool, choose a broad, feathered spray pattern with only about 3% opacity (density), then with large, sweeping movements on screen, swipe across the image hitting the more distant objects with progressively denser coloration.

This is a very subtle effect, and a little airbrushing with your photo editor will go a long way.  Luckily, you can play with this and correct what you don't like until you get an effect that looks like what you want.

Depending on the features of your photo editor, you should be able to mask areas that you don't want to modify, but in this photo, the position of the train is ideal for freehanding your airbrushing.

Okay, in some photos, you may not want the backgrounds to be in focus, as that often detracts from the main subject in the foreground.  I use Helicon Focus (I paid for the pro version) and it will combine your stacks, even when the background is out of focus, making the foreground, and however deep you want to go in focus.  Just don't include the shots you took of things further away that you've focused on in the final stack.  It's pretty simple.

HF has a mobile app that allows me to hook up my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S5) to my Nikon D7200, and using my phone's hi-def screen, choose the nearest and most distant focus points, and then it will automatically calculate the focus points and take photos at much finer and consistent distances than I can do manually.  However, I have learned that a lot of photos, focused at closely spaced focal points, usually makes for a better combined stack, with much less artifacting...and when I say "...a lot..." I mean like 30 to 40 photos.

Here are a couple of photos showing pre-Photoshopping and post-Photoshopping:

Photo (1) Pre Photoshopping:


Photo (2) Post Photoshopping:


I decreased the contrast, lightened everything up a bit, masked the cars on the rear of the curve and lightened them more too.  Also painted in sky and cloned grass onto the unfinished part in the foreground.

Hope this assists you!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[GaryHinshaw]

First, f22 is way too small an aperture and you are going to get noticeable diffraction using it...

Usually f8 is the sharpest aperture, and has the least amount of varying distortions, but I'd experiment with one stop above that, and one below just to make sure. 

I set the aperture to f/8 which resulted in a 1/4 second exposure, and I was able to move the focus point through the scene progressively and precisely with the computer.

[robert3985]

@GaryHinshaw,

Thanks Gary for pointing that out...I missed it completely!

Cheerio!
Bob Gilmore

[Scottl]

Thanks for the advice and the great example Bob.  I have a list of permutations to try with the focus stacking including a "mega" stack of 30 or more images.  I think you are right though that the distance coloring is the challenge.  Lots of ideas, but it will all have to wait as I gear up for a trip to the real thing next week.