More natural light photos

[Trainman203]

These are actually lighted from an east facing window at 11:30 am CDT in August.  The sun is almost directly overhead already, something I love about living in the South.  No direct sunlight is coming into the room, it's all sky light from a humidity hazy sky.  

This is a meet between two local mixed trains at Laskey, on of two depots out on the line.  I still need to add some more weeds and underbrush.  The depot is a little structure I bought in 1965 at an NMRA regional meet, it is one of the very few things I have left from those days and will always have an honored place on any layout I might have.

Under the tender of no. 1630 in the hole with the wood rack cars, there is a giveaway I missed that shows that E Z Track is used here.

[Trainman203]

That shadow is  the corner of the room you are looking at, you probably knew that though.  There's not much I can do about it since I am in a room with windows and not in a basement.  Also, I can't really photograph the layout that actually runs in front of the window itself, it's about 6" above sill height.  I don't want to block the light and actually enjoy looking outside anyway.  And also, there's a window AC unit in one of the windows (boy is it cranking now. It's about to break 100 outside.  Summer is our model railroad "season."  

Night time doesn't  matter.  I slip a backdrop board in over the window to take photos, then move it.

What I particularly like about you photos, Doc, are the trees.  Looks like you are using super-trees on foreground areas, I need to start doing that.  Your leaf  effect is real good.  Plus, the gradation of shallow water to deep water in the river too.  

What I'm finding out is how expensive scenery can be.  Right now I am using up a backlog of lichen I've had for years to do a running woods backdrop against the wall. Man, it's coming out to a liittle better than a foot for every bag.  Some of those bags I've had so long they were marked $8.99 a bag, and the moss was starting to break down, but the new ones are 11 bucks and more.

This layout is very temporary.  I'm retiring next year and moving to the Gulf Coast and might can save some of it, but I've got to find a cheaper way to do all  the trees we have in the Deep South, and other places too.

[Trainman203]

Wayne, it doesn't  get below 83 at night here right now!  Of course , all the heat is from a nearly resident high pressure dome that is KEEPING THE HURRICANES AWAY!!!!!!!

I've got to try your tree technique.  What is the poly fiber you use and where do you get it?

[Trainman203]

You are right about too much coarse lichen being in the bag when what we really want is the finely rounded and dense tops of the plants.  I'm going to hairspray some of those bad leftovers and dust with fine turf today to see how it comes out.

Long years ago before the days of ground foam when everyone used the long gone "Permascene" for the earth, I used my mother's meat grinder to grind up the crummy parts of the lichen and make my own turf.  She didn't like that too much.   I don't have a meat  grinder any more, but I bet you could put those coarse pieces of lichen in a blender with water, process them, pour the mess through a sifter, and then dry it and get some  usable ground cover.

Whet color did you paint the concrete bridge piers?

Also, how did you make the river? What color paints are those?  The river does not look like the poured clear stuff you have to mix up and mother-hen in excess to get right.   I think your layout is set in Canada, but the river treatment in general could easily be the bayou  country I am modeling.

[Trainman203]

That really looks good, Wayne.

Boy I wish you could get the paint colors, that's always been my bugaboo.

[Trainman203]

Here's a little better natural light photo at about the same location.  Still got the shadow  though.  My real layout in 2 years will be better all around.  This is my rookie layout.

[electrical whiz kid]

Wayne;
Your work is excellent:  You are NOT by any means, a "rookie".  Your treework is wonderful, looks so real; I almost wish I could be casting into that "river". 
I do have a question:  On the next to the last frame, how did you get that smoke?
Oh; I almost forgot:  I have what is called a "Smoke Tree".  I noticed the "blossoms" on it, and they look a lot like they could be used as "top-cover".  I am picking some-actually, taking a whole several branches, spraying primer on them, and I want to see what happens.  They really look like some promising material.

RIch C.

[rogertra]

Here's a little better natural light photo at about the same location.  Still got the shadow  though.  My real layout in 2 years will be better all around.  This is my rookie layout.

The important thing to remember in model photography, and in fact in all video and movie production, is to light the background first, that's how you avoid those dark spots in the corners of your backdrop.  Once you've got the background suitable lit, then you light the principal scene.  Just like they do in movies. 

With digital cameras and automatic colour balance, you can use a couple of 200W lamps in those cheap reflectors to light the backdrop.

By "natural light", I'm guessing you are using light coming through a window?

Cheers

Roger T.

[Trainman203]

I'm the rookie, Rich, not Wayne.

Yes, daylight through a window.

[rogertra]

Even when we shoot outdoors in "natural" light, we still use light reflectors to take advantage of bounce light and also electrical lighting to light up and or reduce shadows.  Straight daylight can be too harsh and the details in the shadow side of your subject gets lost in the shadows.

I now this is about natural light but inside lighting has can be just as realistic.

It takes at least three lights for lighting the principal subject and usually at least one extra to light any distant backdrop.

See diagram attached.  Of course, lights do not have to be placed exactly as shown.  For example,  I usually place the background light closer to the camera and facing away from the camera to light the distant backdrop. but you do the best you can.  Looking though the view finder tells you how well you have done.  With a digital camera, take some trial photos and move the lights as needed until you have eliminated all un-natural shadows, double shadows and dark spots.  These days, I frequently take three or four photos until I'm happy.  Photoshop also helps.    



Cheers

Roger T.