Photo Backdrops

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ok, I love the idea of photo backdrops.
But, I'm having a hard time trying to find stuff that fits my weird time of year to model (December).

I've tried looking through Backdrop Warehouse's website, but it's a 1995 Geocities mess: http://backdropwarehouse.com/

Have any of you found good sources of backdrop photos, or have other experiences to add?

I really want to make scenes like this look much better:

[coosvalley]

These look pretty sweet...

http://www.backdropjunction.com/thebackdrops.html

[Blazeman]

Being this will be York, will you be layering the backdrop with a dead season stock hills scene and have actual photos of the structures  there "in front" of it?

[Steve Smith]

Quote :
"Have any of you found good sources of backdrop photos, or have other experiences to add ? "

Hi Ed,

LARC Products has a series of Backdrop images on their Railroad Graphics DVD's which can be printed.   They include numerous photos of structures which can be printed as flat backdrop structures, as well as advertising signs from a wide range of modelling eras.

Their website is www.larcproducts.com, and they show thumbnails images of all their backdrops.

No affiliation, just a satisfied user.

Cheers,
Steve in South Africa

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Being this will be York, will you be layering the backdrop with a dead season stock hills scene and have actual photos of the structures  there "in front" of it?

That's kinda what I'm hoping to do, but it'll be tough to find the right stuff. Hell, I'd settle for a dead season hills scene to begin with!

[C855B]

Since photo backgrounds were far-off in the layout plan, I hadn't priced anything yet. I'm surprised by the cost.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Since photo backgrounds were far-off in the layout plan, I hadn't priced anything yet. I'm surprised by the cost.

Yeah, it is kinda surprising, but printing is, well, complicated. And horrible.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Quote :
"Have any of you found good sources of backdrop photos, or have other experiences to add ? "

Hi Ed,

LARC Products has a series of Backdrop images on their Railroad Graphics DVD's which can be printed.   They include numerous photos of structures which can be printed as flat backdrop structures, as well as advertising signs from a wide range of modelling eras.

Their website is www.larcproducts.com, and they show thumbnails images of all their backdrops.

No affiliation, just a satisfied user.

Cheers,
Steve in South Africa

Thanks Steve, there are a few good ones in there. I like the "pre leaf spring" stuff.

[basementcalling]

Thanks Steve, there are a few good ones in there. I like the "pre leaf spring" stuff.

Ed, if I am right, Bernie Kempenski had the LARC guys do the backdrop for his Port of LA project railroad he is doing.

I have the opposite problem you do. I have pictures, but no photoshop skills.

And I agree completely about Backdrop Warehouse, which is a shame. He has some excellent offerings, but his website has to be costing him customers given how cumbersome it is to use.

These shots from LACR might work, depending on how distinctive your hill profiles are behind York.

http://www.larcproducts.com/SpringBeforeLeavesSeries.html

[mark.hinds]

2 thoughts:

1)  I priced photo printing from a local sign making chain called "FastSigns".  Prices varied with material, but printing on polystyrene cost $180.00 for a 7 x 9 foot piece (ocean sheet for wargaming table with hex grid).  It would have been done using two 4.5-foot-wide pieces, which would be more than enough width for most backdrops (EDIT:  further examination of my sample library makes me doubt this quote; see my subsequent post). 

2)  Is there some reason why you couldn't photograph your prototype, and stitch it together yourself using Photoshop (expensive)  or Gimp (free open source)?  This is actually quite easy to do. 

MH

[Ed Kapuscinski]

2 thoughts:
2)  Is there some reason why you couldn't photograph your prototype, and stitch it together yourself using Photoshop (expensive)  or Gimp (free open source)?  This is actually quite easy to do. 

MH

Yep. I need December photos, it's April, and I'm impatient 

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Ed, if I am right, Bernie Kempenski had the LARC guys do the backdrop for his Port of LA project railroad he is doing.

I have the opposite problem you do. I have pictures, but no photoshop skills.

And I agree completely about Backdrop Warehouse, which is a shame. He has some excellent offerings, but his website has to be costing him customers given how cumbersome it is to use.

These shots from LACR might work, depending on how distinctive your hill profiles are behind York.

http://www.larcproducts.com/SpringBeforeLeavesSeries.html

Some of those might work. I might try doing some myself to see how it turns out. I just wish I had gone out last December and shot some good photos to use.

[C855B]

... printing on polystyrene cost $180.00 for a 7 x 9 foot piece ...

That's more like it - $3/sq.ft. While still not exactly cheap to do my layout this way, it's a damn sight better than the 2 or 3 K-bucks the RTR backdrop guys are listing. OTOH, I'm sure that the quantity I'm after would likely be negotiable and really should be handled on a custom quote basis.

[mark.hinds]

That's more like it - $3/sq.ft. While still not exactly cheap to do my layout this way, it's a damn sight better than the 2 or 3 K-bucks the RTR backdrop guys are listing. OTOH, I'm sure that the quantity I'm after would likely be negotiable and really should be handled on a custom quote basis.

Mike:

I just examined my other FastSigns samples, all of which have prices marked on the back for both material-only and material-with-image.  Although the polystyrene just says $180. for 7x9 feet, I suspect that looking at the other samples the polystyrene price is material only. 

MH

[mark.hinds]

<text removed>
I have the opposite problem you do. I have pictures, but no photoshop skills.
<text removed>

Peter,

You probably remember your thread from 3 years ago, here:  https://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=29318.0  Did you ever do anything with those mill images?  Unfortunately, I no longer have the composite image I posted in that thread, and Comcast has ceased to host it. 

Also in that thread, a guy called "BCRail_FSJ" posted a couple of interesting links describing how he composed and implemented his photo backdrop.  These links no longer work for me, but I have messaged him in hopes that he has updated links for this very useful info. 

Mark