Peterborough North

[landscapes]

Hi Gilbert

 

looking at the photos they look as though they are backlight to me but obviously I do not know the window locations in the room housing your layout.

 

I also have a problem with the location of the window to my room housing my Haymarket layout.

 

So my solution to the problem was I fitted Louvre blinds to the bay window in the room, added six LED spotlights with cool daylight lamps three each side of the layout on a track and I only now take photos when it’s dark outside to get the best from the spotlighting.

 

I find when there is no natural daylight coming in it seems to bring out the colours to locomotives and the layout a lot better.

 

by coincidence I have just put a photo on my Haymarket thread which I took yesterday afternoon with the winter sun shining  through the window.

 

I just gave a nice atmospheric light to the layout so I thought I would give it a go and to be honest I quite like the effect I got.

 

I hope some of the above information is of help to you as I know how frustrating it can be trying to take photos in difficult lighting conditions.

 

Regards

 

David

 

Edited December 22, 2019 by landscapes
Additional information

[landscapes]

[Tony Wright]

1 hour ago, great northern said:

And I went further still, and cleaned the camera lens, with the special thingy for cleaning my glasses. I agree with Jeff though, I think it was lens flare. With the artificial lights on, I'm pointing the camera into the light from this side.

Lens hood needed.

 

I don't know if you remember when I took these pictures (two years ago), but without a lens hood I might well have got flare.................

 

 

Earlier in the day, with loads of light coming from the left and towards the camera. Illumination on the RH side provided by pulses of powerful fill-in flash.

 

 

Later in the day, with almost no natural light - one can see the shadows of the loco and train caused by your room lights (normally, natural daylight would obliterate these). Lens hood on to obviate flare, and the shadows on the RH side softened by pulses of fill-in flash; much more control over lighting conditions.

 

What's a normal exposure time for your Canon, Gilbert? These two of mine were about eight seconds at F.32. Plenty of time to 'paint with light'.

 

I hope these comments help.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

[great northern]

44 minutes ago, Tony Wright said:

Lens hood needed.

 

I don't know if you remember when I took these pictures (two years ago), but without a lens hood I might well have got flare.................

 

 

Earlier in the day, with loads of light coming from the left and towards the camera. Illumination on the RH side provided by pulses of powerful fill-in flash.

 

 

Later in the day, with almost no natural light - one can see the shadows of the loco and train caused by your room lights (normally, natural daylight would obliterate these). Lens hood on to obviate flare, and the shadows on the RH side softened by pulses of fill-in flash; much more control over lighting conditions.

 

What's a normal exposure time for your Canon, Gilbert? These two of mine were about eight seconds at F.32. Plenty of time to 'paint with light'.

 

I hope these comments help.

 

Regards,

 

Tony. 

The range is only f2.8 to f8 Tony. I keep it at f8 unless the light is really poor. 15 seconds is maximum, and it goes to1/4000, though I don't recall ever getting to that. Exposure can vary from half a second to eight seconds in no time flat when the sun gets put behind a cloud. As to the lens hood, I just forget.

[landscapes]

Hi Gilbert 

 

I also now use the Canon G12 to take model Railway Photos.

 

I always set the camera to F8 and use a tripod.

 

I set the self timer to 2 second and 1shot, and then set the camera on manual focusing  and a shutter speed to suit the lighting conditions of the room.

 

These are all tips Tony showed me on the occasion I visited him at his home to see Little Bytham and they work a treat for me every time.

 

Regards

 

David

Edited December 22, 2019 by landscapes
Additional information

[great northern]

17 minutes ago, landscapes said:

Hi Gilbert 

 

I also now use the Canon G12 to take model Railway Photos.

 

I always set the camera to F8 and use a tripod.

 

I set the self timer to 2 second and 1shot, and then set the camera on manual focusing  and a shutter speed to suit the lighting conditions of the room.

 

These are all tips Tony showed me on the occasion I visited him at his home to see Little Bytham and they work a treat for me every time.

 

Regards

 

David

 We do almost the same David. I set the timer to five seconds, and rarely use a tripod, as I like to get down as near as possible to rail level, but other than that, exactly what you do.

[landscapes]

8 minutes ago, great northern said:

 We do almost the same David. I set the timer to five seconds, and rarely use a tripod, as I like to get down as near as possible to rail level, but other than that, exactly what you do.

Hi Gilbert

 

Obviously we have both had lessons from the same master.

 

Regards

 

David

 

[great northern]

1 hour ago, landscapes said:

Hi Gilbert

 

Obviously we have both had lessons from the same master.

 

Regards

 

David

 

Actually David, I had lessons a long time ago. My parents were both very keen amateur photographers, and to a standard where both had things  accepted for exhibition by the Royal Photographic Society. You couldn't live in our house without picking up quite a lot of knowledge. You also couldn't get into the bathroom, where our only toliet was located, on Sunday, as it was being used as a darkroom, but that's another story, and probably why I still cross my legs a lot.

 

Anyway, even all these years later, I still remember at least the basics quite well. I often wonder what Mum and Dad would have made of the equipment we have now. Dad was an architectural photographer, and spent hours in churches taking shots of fonts and such like with a plate camera, which needed exposures sometimes measured in minutes, and lots of them! 

[Oldddudders]

29 minutes ago, great northern said:

I often wonder what Mum and Dad would have made of the equipment we have now. Dad was an architectural photographer, and spent hours in churches taking shots of fonts and such like with a plate camera, which needed exposures sometimes measured in minutes, and lots of them! 

He would have been intrigued by tilt-and-shift lenses for SLRs and DSLRs, which provide the same versatility as a rising front on a plate camera. 

[great northern]

4 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

He would have been intrigued by tilt-and-shift lenses for SLRs and DSLRs, which provide the same versatility as a rising front on a plate camera. 

Bet you don't have to make your son stand around for ages making sure no-one walks between camera and subject though.

[great northern]

OK, the sun came and went intermittently, and fortunately I took advantage earlier than usual, as I got yet another long golf club related phone call around the time I would usually have been going up. The light was gone by the time the call finished. Anyway, light there was, and some proper photos were taken.

 

60032 arrived with the 6.40am KX- Grantham slow. The HMRS survey shows a different formation every day of the week, and none of them anything like what the official book says. I chose this one.

 

 

Gannet is yet another on the Timming list, but she looks quite nice here, and this really shows the difference some good light makes. Why an A4 on such a train? Well, the survey shows the same V2 for three days, then Flying Scotsman, which spent the whole week on these slow trains, and then Quicksilver for two days, so I've diagrammed it for an A4. Gannet is KX duty 4 for this sequence.

 

What about the train?  Quite eclectic.

 

 

Departmental van for Doncaster, then an LMS BG.

 

 

Two Gresley TSOs.

 

 

A lovely Gresley CK.

 

 

and a Thompson BSK and a Southern interloper at the rear.

[great northern]

60032 having got out of the way, another KX engine, 60039, can roll through non stop with the 8.00am Leeds.

 

 

It is seen again making its way through the gloom under the roof.

 

 

Are there any code breakers among you? Here is a vexed question.

 

Eju fp O pgyrm joy yjr mrcy lru skpmh gtpn yjr pmr O esmy?

[phil.c]

Natural light is of course the best but have you tried photofloods for those dark days, I use them for most of my shots.

[great northern]

13 minutes ago, phil.c said:

Natural light is of course the best but have you tried photofloods for those dark days, I use them for most of my shots.

A while back I received a most generous donation of some lighting, and with Tim's help, tried to set things up. Unfortunately there were some problems, it took ages to set up, and it got in the way. Being idle, I just can't motivate myself to take time to do things like that. Come to think of it, failing to attach the lens hood when I really know it is needed is another instance. I just want to be able to put the camera down and take pictures, which of course means I shouldn't moan about poor light.

[phil.c]

There's no real effort involved in setting up the lights, it just takes a couple of minutes to light up an area, I have two Velux windows in my room and a 6' x 5' window at the one end,  good when it's a nice day but I take most of my pictures at night.

[Oldddudders]

While all sorts of technical solutions might be found to ease Gilbert's pain on difficult photographic days, the fact remains that in almost 10 years and 900 pages, he has produced a zillion outstanding pictures that have garnered his thread a large and faithful following. Within the limitations of a cramped environment - the room is full of railway! - and a camera he understands, he procures outstanding results. If it ain't broke, let's not try to fix it. 

[phil.c]

My post was not a criticism, as all Gilberts pictures look great, it was just a suggestion for taking shots in low light

[great northern]

21 minutes ago, Oldddudders said:

While all sorts of technical solutions might be found to ease Gilbert's pain on difficult photographic days, the fact remains that in almost 10 years and 900 pages, he has produced a zillion outstanding pictures that have garnered his thread a large and faithful following. Within the limitations of a cramped environment - the room is full of railway! - and a camera he understands, he procures outstanding results. If it ain't broke, let's not try to fix it. 

 

11 minutes ago, phil.c said:

My post was not a criticism, as all Gilberts pictures look great, it was just a suggestion for taking shots in low light

Thanks to both of you are due. Phil is trying to help, and Ian, who has been a great support to me over the years, knows how set In my ways I am!  Suggestions are always welcome, but long term followers know that I tend to remain in my comfort and idleness zone.

[great northern]

I think this may be an appropriate time for me to add another picture. Though I am now a member of the bah humbug! brigade, the majority are not, so I wish to all, of both persuasions, a Happy Festive Period, and not too many regrets for over indulgences.

 

As always, many thanks to Scott, (Jukebox), in Oz, who put the captions on for me.  I still haven't fathomed out how to do it.

 

 

[great northern]

A final look at Sandwich, another close crop to avoid stuff I didn't fancy.

 

 

I couldn't do much with the telegraph poles though. As the carriages passed very slowly by, our chap thought we might have a look at some thompson catering cars,

 

 

[phil.c]

Nice shots, did you ever think of putting in point rodding?

[great northern]

51 minutes ago, phil.c said:

Nice shots, did you ever think of putting in point rodding?

Only very briefly. It would be an enormous task, and really would have had to be done right at the start. A lot of it was actually set into channels, and so isn't all that noticeable on the real thing.

[great northern]

Our most run down local V2 now finds itself on even more menial duty.

 

 

This may look like an express goods duty, but the headcode gives it away, and most of the formation, out of sight here, is made up of coal wagons.

 

To the left, Gannet can be seen starting away to Grantham, and our second man got a shot of that too.

 

 

[JeffP]

On the close up of 60039 "Sandwich", I thought there was a spotter/modeller who had climbed to the top of the water crane to photograph the top of the loco for a scratchbuilt model he was attempting.

[great northern]

1 hour ago, JeffP said:

On the close up of 60039 "Sandwich", I thought there was a spotter/modeller who had climbed to the top of the water crane to photograph the top of the loco for a scratchbuilt model he was attempting.

You have a vivid imagination Jeff.