Tehachapi, BC

[ednadolski]

Gary after seeing this iteration of pics it seems to me that the photo backdrop is the way to go.  Some of the key factors IMHO would be to bear in mind how would want it to blend in with the scenery and the foreground elements.  It looks like so far you have a pretty good color match to the scenery base.  The image resolution seems good but if it seems to draw too much attention to itself then you can apply one of the artistic style filters to the overall image (I recall using something called "Drybrush Effect" or such) to soften it so that it recedes more into the distance, as well as perhaps reducing the saturation and contrast.  Since it is a high narrow shelf you will be viewing it from a relatively close distance, maybe 2' or so. With photoshop or gimp it should be possible to stretch the sky to the height you need.

Another consideration might be to re-paint the walls to better match up to the top sky color of the photos.  An exact match wouldn't be necessary, but it could help harmonize/unify the layout room as a whole.

When lighting the scenes, it would be good to try to minimize any shadows cast onto the backdrop from modeled structures and scenry elements.

Ed

[Sokramiketes]

The sky is hard to blend between printed and painted.  Can you get by with trimming all the sky off the prints?  I acknowledge some of your prints have items extending into sky like high tension towers and wind mills... but I'd forgo those if the choice was that or a bad blend of sky. 

[freedj]

Has anyone tried an airbrush fade of wall paint over the top few inches of the photo backdrop to ease the transition to paint?  I could see it working well if you have a pretty close match, or not at all 

[MDW]

Has anyone tried an airbrush fade of wall paint over the top few inches of the photo backdrop to ease the transition to paint?  I could see it working well if you have a pretty close match, or not at all 

Unfortunately, you will always have that horizontal line running through the sky......

[GaryHinshaw]

Thanks for the comments.  I may be an outlier (...), but I am not bothered by the transition from printed sky to wall.  The printed backdrop (with or without sky) will be mounted to hardboard that stands about an inch away from the wall.  To me, that lessens the need to hide the transition to the wall.  If I retain the sky, the transition will be well above eye level, and not that obvious to an operator.  I do like @Sokramiketes' idea of a subtle frame across the top (I had been thinking along the same lines).  After all, we are creating stage sets, and this would serve to frame the top of the set, with the fascia framing the bottom.  But it's hard to judge the effect without seeing a few examples; it may be that a cleanly trimmed sky board (a frameless frame) is the best approach.  Stay tuned for the next few iterations.  Honest feedback is always encouraged!

[C855B]

... Honest feedback is always encouraged!

Versus dishonest feedback? 

I'd say the sky needs more earth tones, but you aren't modeling the Monolith and Cameron of my youth. Always is a little bit of a shock to see all the wind turbines... not like Mojave is windy or anything like that.

You keep mentioning all the green in your in-person photography from the unusual weather previous to your trip there. Would it surprise you that frequently the RH in and around Mojave is <10% in the summer, even getting as low as 2%? Now that's dry. You don't sweat, you just develop a salty crust from your perspiration evaporating so quickly.

[GaryHinshaw]

Versus dishonest feedback? 

Yes!!  If something is not working, please say so.  I reserve the right to reject the feedback.   

I'd say the sky needs more earth tones, but you aren't modeling the Monolith and Cameron of my youth. Always is a little bit of a shock to see all the wind turbines... not like Mojave is windy or anything like that.

Earth tones? Do you have an example in mind?   

You keep mentioning all the green in your in-person photography from the unusual weather previous to your trip there. Would it surprise you that frequently the RH in and around Mojave is <10% in the summer, even getting as low as 2%? Now that's dry. You don't sweat, you just develop a salty crust from your perspiration evaporating so quickly.

Not at all.  I have experienced that dryness (and rather like it - to a point).  Just to be clear though: the greenness I'm referring to is the creosote bushes.  Here are three shots of the same scene from three separate trips (and three separate cameras):

2012:


2014:


2019:


2014 was a pretty severe drought year.  Of course, you should see Mojave right now (Sat Feb 25):

[John]

Gary -  What happened to the building in the center of the images

[C855B]

Earth tones? Do you have an example in mind?   

Just the dust spewing out of the stacks at the cement plant. On days with a milder breeze it tended to be a little bit of a fog extending to the east end of the pass.

Of course, you should see Mojave right now (Sat Feb 25):

Holy cow. This mess was on the national news. I saw lots of footage from Tejon Pass/Castaic grade (I-5 between San Fernando and Bakersfield). I did wonder how things were in the Antelope Valley (Mojave to Palmdale, i.e., home). They normally get very little snow there, and they're sure as heck not prepared for that. Back in my day, 2-3 inches was enough to close schools for almost a week.

[Spades]

Gary -  What happened to the building in the center of the images

Copied and zoomed image.  It's an open air shed you see the red steel framing and the back of the corrugated skin panels/ Security/border fence in front.

Edit: some how got the wrong thread quote.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Jeez, I'm so late to the party here. I'm sorry!

Gary, I really like what you're doing with the backdrop.

If you want that printed in one nice long piece, send me the file. I might hit you up for a couple bucks if I need more paper, but helping out projects like this is part of why I got my printer.

[GaryHinshaw]

Thanks Ed!!  I may do so, but I still have quite a bit of experimenting to do before I'm ready to hit someone up for help.  Here's a screenshot of half of the desert section as it currently stands:



Sky extended even more, clouds mostly erased, some of the foreground elements erased, etc.  Still more to do though.  Then I need to see how it plays with the (nonexistent) foreground scenery and decide if some "artistic" filtering is warranted.  Hopefully then I'll be ready to print...

[packers#1]

Gary, I can’t think of the layouts I’ve seen lately that have a border at the top of the backdrop, but they’ve all looked really good (the Cass County is one of them https://www.thomasklimoski.com/post/visiting-tom-johnson-and-his-cass-county-railroad ). A white or light pattern wood molding piece would define the stage without being too in your face.

[GaryHinshaw]

Cool example!  I love that layout.  Thanks for the pointer.

[MDW]

I do like @Sokramiketes' idea of a subtle frame across the top (I had been thinking along the same lines).  After all, we are creating stage sets, and this would serve to frame the top of the set, with the fascia framing the bottom.  But it's hard to judge the effect without seeing a few examples; it may be that a cleanly trimmed sky board (a frameless frame) is the best approach.  Stay tuned for the next few iterations.  Honest feedback is always encouraged!

Not sure if this qualifies as subtle.....but I trimmed the top of my upper level backdrop with more fascia - painted to match the lower levels.   It floats about an inch off the backdrop and ties everything together into a simple, clean composition.


Michel