Weekend Update 10/29/17

[Scott Lupia]

Peteski, the short story is tungsten lighting and an iPhone 7!  Photo stacking would be a bonus for these shots but wasn’t used here. 

Scott

[SecretWeapon]

Standing on PA 611, watching all the trains go by ...

(Attachment Link)

Scott is a great modeller. So life like.

[peteski]

Peteski, the short story is tungsten lighting and an iPhone 7!  Photo stacking would be a bonus for these shots but wasn’t used here. 

Scott

Thanks. Knowing how the photo was taken is even more impressive!

[bbussey]

@bbussey , could you give us more details how this scene was shot?  Natural lighting or indoors?  Focus stacking?  What camera?  The composition, camera location and angle all seem to be the very important parts of this very successful photo.  Of course none of this could have happened without the model itself. Excellent job Scott!

Peteski, the short story is tungsten lighting and an iPhone 7!  Photo stacking would be a bonus for these shots but wasn’t used here. 

Actually that photo was shot with a Nikon D90 through an 18mm-70mm lens and is untouched.  The tripod was set below the table top and the lens was angled up at the overpass.  The majority of the still photos that day were shot with the Nikon at f29 and between 1 and 3 seconds shutter speed, while all of the video was shot with a pair of iPhone7 cellphones mounted on tripods mounted on dollies with coasters.  Shot indoors under 2,100w of tungsten daylight lamps with a pale blue paper backdrop mounted on the far wall for sky.  But Scott created the awesome venue, of which I'm overjoyed to be privileged to use for media settings.  Scott purposely mapped the orientation of the track and terrain so that the front of the module is significantly lower than the track height in order to allow for dramatic photo and video angles such as this.

[Scott Lupia]

Aaw man!  I thought that was one of the iPhone photos!   We took many that afternoon!

Scott

[jgiovenni]

Consist run by...

EMD GP35


ALCO C424 and EMD GP35


GE U25B


hope you will enjoy, ciao!

[peteski]

Actually that photo was shot with a Nikon D90 through an 18mm-70mm lens and is untouched.  The tripod was set below the table top and the lens was angled up at the overpass.  The majority of the still photos that day were shot with the Nikon at f29 and between 1 and 3 seconds shutter speed, while all of the video was shot with a pair of iPhone7 cellphones mounted on tripods mounted on dollies with coasters.  Shot indoors under 2,100w of tungsten daylight lamps with a pale blue paper backdrop mounted on the far wall for sky.  But Scott created the awesome venue, of which I'm overjoyed to be privileged to use for media settings.  Scott purposely mapped the orientation of the track and terrain so that the front of the module is significantly lower than the track height in order to allow for dramatic photo and video angles such as this.

Thanks Bryan. Either way, that is one awesome photo!

[Scott Lupia]

While Bryan was trying to accomplish things I was playing around and getting in his way.  This video clip is my excursion train pulled by the PRR K4 #1361.  The train is pulling west up the Pocono grade at Henryville, PA.  The excursion train consists of EL business cars, an NH Pullman Bradley, and a Lackawanna Parlor car.

The second video shows the same excursion train near the top of the grade.  The 1361 is really struggling now as the main is made up of constant reverse curves over the last several miles in addition to the nearly 1.5% grade. 

Scott

[Cajonpassfan]

Scott, great videos, especially the second one, love it when people run at proto speeds. Very lifelike...
Why do people typically run so fast?

Giovenni, nice scenery work...very believable. I like your vegetation and rockwork.

While not N, I'll attach something for our NP friends, a W&R Northern Pacific "Weed Destroyer" a friend just acquired and weathered. Got to love it, and its name

Now back to regularly scheduled programming.
Otto K.

Well, can't upload, uploader full. Will try again later.

[mark dance]

I love the way the foliage frames that video...looks awesome!

Work continues on the Nelson station.  Still several weeks to go because of the complex roof but the end is in sight (finally!)

Finished the interior details (well, what is visible anyways).









Made the two ventilation dormers, which were a royal PITA.



And figured out how to paint and install the shingles and flashing.  The distinctive red roof was a feature of the station for most of its life...recently it has been painted black as it begins life as a community centre.  I have learned flashing covers all sins!









Have a great Sunday!

md

[Cajonpassfan]

Mark my gawd, that's a lot of work! Already looks amazing...
Otto

[peteski]

Scott, great videos, especially the second one, love it when people run at proto speeds. Very lifelike...
Why do people typically run so fast?

Well, can't upload, uploader full. Will try again later.

Did you try the gallery instead?  I now upload all my photos there.  https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=42854.0 I especially like the drag-drop option.

Why we run our little trains so fast? In my experience I can cite 2 reasons:

1. Because when viewed in-person they do not  look like they are moving too fast. Honestly!    Only when you view the layout in a video or in live camera view (like a live-video camera mounted inside a loco) from a N-scale person's perspective, the real scale speed violation becomes very real.  As an example, We were running one of the live-video camera equipped trains on the layout, watching the engineer's-perspective view on a living room TV (using a radio throttle to control the loco).  We were driving the train at what seemed to us to be a realistic scale-speed (about 40-50 Smiles/hr. There few other people still in the layout room, working the operating session. After a while they yelled over telling us that there seems to be something wrong with out train because it is really crawling!  IN their perception what to us looked to be realistic speed was way too slow when viewed in-person.  SO we asked them to tell us when the train gets to what looks to them to be "realistic speed" and we cranked up the throttle.  When they tols us the train was running at their "realisitc speed" to us watching the video feed it looked like a roller coaster speeding down the track! It seems that the same applies to videos of model trains.

2. Because we have an ops session in progress and we need to get to our destination quickly!  Yes this was more tongue-in-cheek reason.

But I also think that in smaller the scale it is more difficult to operate in realistic speeds. For example, to me, it seems easier to keep the speeds down on an 0 scale layout than on N scale one. This is probably due to the fact that the scale distances are much longer in larger scales, and it is easier to stay closer to scale speeds when driving physically larger models.

[arbomambo]

another step in weathering the wood side cars...an airbrushing of 'dust' to fade and accent the 'wood' panels...

[peteski]

another step in weathering the wood side cars...an airbrushing of 'dust' to fade and accent the 'wood' panels...

Bruce, the way the dark weathering wash accumulated away from the bracing (on the top photo) looks kind of wonky (to use a technical term).
And of course the darkening of the extra wide and deep board gaps on the reefer exaggerates the look of boards separated by gaps one could stick their hand through. At least to me - others find this acceptable.

Disclaimer: this is meant simple as my own observation or constructive criticism as in "better modeling through peer pressure".

As far as the reefer goes, this is one of those pet peeves of mine I just can't live down. Such a promising model of a sorely needed model which ended up looking like it does. The darkening of the gaps just exaggerates the problem. Try this type of weathering on MTL wood reefer and you will see a drastic difference.  Actually, the top photo of the MTL car with horizontally-engraved boards shows that difference: the board gaps look much more believable, even with the darkening wash.  This critique is not directed at you Bruce, but at the manufacturer.

EDIT:  at the increased apparent distance (by me shrinking the photo sizes).  the reefer actually looks good. Must be the 6' rule. 

[wcfn100]

At least to me - others find this acceptable.

Not just you.  I mentioned this issue when these were first released.

I'm actually concerned that weathering will make these cars worse.  The huge gaps between the boards may not work well with normal techniques that envolve any sort of wash.  While I'm hoping someone will try it. I don't want to see a $30 car ruined in the process.

Jason

Jason