Free-moN: At Home & On The Road

[wm3798]

Laurel Valley stone hoppers?  It's almost as if I was there too!

Lee

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Laurel Valley stone hoppers?  It's almost as if I was there too!
Lee

Was hoping you'd notice those!



Oh, you are here, Lee.  Both in spirit & in little tiny scale rocks.

Now I have to weather those hoppers and loads 

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Today being a sunny 80 degrees and me needing some phresh photos for some projects I'm working on, I took the Shoofly in Sonoma module up to the Open Space next to my old elementary school, set it up on a fire trail, and tried to get some natural backdrop along with the sunlight.



Not the greatest location as I had to shoot everything between the sign at the left and the school at the right.
Really I should have slogged the module to the next ridge (you can just see the top of the trail on the left in the distance) but there was no way I was going to carry everything that far (the car is parked immediately to the right).
So I made do.
A few turned out pretty well, but I need to save those, so here are the rejects:











The last two you can really see why it's important to get higher up so you can cut off the nearer hills and just include the distant ones (and even those are a little "big" for the pictures).

It would have also been easier if I could have tilted the module towards the camera a little, but it was tricky enough setting it up on a slanted dirt fire trail.
Then the wind started to pick up and started rocking the module. 
So that was that.

Of course, if I ever took the time to figure out GIMP I could just take the photos from Open Space and cut them behind the photos of the module out in front of my garage 

Thanks for looking.

[Scottl]

Wow.  Fantastic in so many ways.

Wrong season though 

[eric220]

And I need a change of pants. Those are gorgeous.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Thanks, guys.
Eric, I think you meant to type "plants" 

Any tips on how to blend a real background better with the module while shooting appreciated.
Especially how to make the distant hills more distant without backing up 

[DKS]

And I need a change of pants. Those are gorgeous.

+1000 Internets to M.C.

[davefoxx]

+1000 Internets to M.C.

Yup, I can't compete.  I quit.  Been nice knowing you guys.

[seusscaboose]

Yup, I can't compete.  I quit.  Been nice knowing you guys.

yeah seriously...  Tennis Anyone?

[M.C. Fujiwara]

And Northern California in the Springtime.

Funny thing: when the module is inside, the grass looks the same green as the real hills right now.
But out in the sunlight it looks too brown (and shiny.  Darn you WS!)

I could use GIMP, but if I just wait a couple months and then go back to the same hills I'll bet the colors will match up okie dokie 

[Scottl]

LOL, I love that movie.

[Dave Schneider]

Not sure what hurts more....

The feeling that my modeling skills are inadequate, or depressed that it was -5 at my house this morning....I think I will go with the weather because my modeling at least has the potential to improve.

Love the first photo with the cows in the shade but that might be the Cheesehead in me.

Best wishes, Dave

[DKS]

I like the post from Adam [SteamDonkey74] over on TrainBoard...

We have a winner! Model railroading has been won. Good game everyone.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

Dave: I'm depressed that it's -5 at your house.
Having lived in alien environments like that (try Beijing in the winter with the "demon winds" screaming off Siberia and ripping through every layer of clothing you own  ), it's very difficult for me to comprehend why people would choose to live in places that get that cold.
Good excuse to drink and/or get cozy in bed with that special someone to stave off hyperthermia 
But then again I know that "choice" is a relative term.

So I just read the manual for my camera (only had it a couple of years), and finally figured out how to turn off the auto focus.
So now I can start trying to stack photos.
I see that CombineZP is free, and Helicon Focus Lite is $30 for the year (or $115 forever), so looks like I'll try 'em out in that order, unless anyone has any suggestions.

[GaryHinshaw]

That is really sweet.  It is amazing how much lighter the model grass is than the real thing.  If the weather holds (and we all know it will) the hills will turn in about 3-4 weeks, and you'll have a 1 week window where the colors match up nicely.  My favorite angle from the set is this one, where the edge of the module and the end of the track are kind of subtle:

-gfh

P.S. 48F and rain in BC today.