HO Industrial Shelf - Guilford in the 90s

[nuno81291]

I finished the removable staging track, got the tortoises installed and wired, hooked up ye old DCC system and fired it up. No issues at all and a pleasant 30 minutes Op session was had. Almost done plastering the seams on the back drop, then a few tedious tasks like filling in the gaps of the fascia and foam seams (why did I not do this before laying track!) then onto my favorite part- scenery. 

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[nuno81291]

Got a coat of blue on the backdrop. Decided to try a new color that isn’t as gray as my old one (was also out of the old color). I noticed in a lot of my photos the old color looked semi overcast/hazy which I was going for with it but wanted something a little more vibrant. Still debating on a season for this layout, may do summer but with signs of drought such as we have here currently, a lot of burnt out grass.

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[Ed Kapuscinski]

Let me know if you need a backdrop printed.

[ednadolski]

Let me know if you need a backdrop printed.

Not to drift, but can you print a clear sky backdrop?  (say 24" x 16')?

Ed

[nuno81291]

Let me know if you need a backdrop printed.

Thanks Ed, I am currently scouting suitable locations in my area to photograph- will be test printing and seeing how they fit. The street scene will be key, and the few gaps between structures. I am thinking something nondescript above the roof lines- trees maybe some houses. Speaking of that, when I go to shoot these do you all try to take photos from eye level? A raised tripod? Trying to think what perspective would play best. Thanks for the offer! Would rather support a fellow  than Staples

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I've been thinking about trying to write an article on how to do this very thing.
And I haven't gotten anywhere.

But I'm about to have like 13 hours in the air and that's usually a good time for me to do it.

That said, I've actually had some decent luck using Google Streetview and this wonderful tool: https://svd360.istreetview.com/

That's how I did this backdrop.



My current approach is to generally start with a nice "generic" background that I've shot myself. These are the TOUGH part because you want them in high resolution AND there are somewhat specific requirements. You need to shoot your own panoramic photo, but you ALSO need that photo to be of a subject at a significant distance so that the angle that you're perceiving viewing things at is nice and shallow. The background here is shot doing that.



Then I'm layering on individual elements from streetview or from other photos.

Here's my current in-progress pano for behind "Downtown York" here.

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I want to say "Oh, this isn't that hard" but the more I try explaining it the more I realize that yeah, it kinda is. lol

[nuno81291]

Yup I’ve been stitching together street view photos to get a rough idea, my wife is somewhat of a photog and will take the on location photos when I have decided on settings for each critical spot. I have found a few sort of vistas that would work for panoramic shots where some cities have sort of unusually open areas that could be conducive to shooting from a considerable distance. Unfortunately none of my other layouts got to that point but I have a feeling this one will. (And luckily will be incorporated into whatever large layout is built in the future- glad I didn’t cram all that track in from my first track plan!)

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Yup I’ve been stitching together street view photos to get a rough idea, my wife is somewhat of a photog and will take the on location photos when I have decided on settings for each critical spot. I have found a few sort of vistas that would work for panoramic shots where some cities have sort of unusually open areas that could be conducive to shooting from a considerable distance. Unfortunately none of my other layouts got to that point but I have a feeling this one will. (And luckily will be incorporated into whatever large layout is built in the future- glad I didn’t cram all that track in from my first track plan!)

Awesome. One thing to consider: it's a lot easier to do backdrops first. I realized that as I was arranging my one for York that you see above. I'm going to need to join streets up etc, and it's strangely easier to move them on the layout than the backdrop once it's done.

Just look at the photo on the right of my profile. Even with unpainted track and unsceniced ground, the backdrop goes a long way.