Overgrown tracks

[railwayman198]

Philip,
Wonderful pictures. How did you make the platform in the first couple of pictures? The brick and stone work is great.
Dave

The platform walls are made from strips of 1 inch square mosaic tiles laid edge on with the top layer left exposed as coping stones. The walls were 'mortared' with waterproof tile cement then infilled with concrete to make the platform. I used very fine grit as aggregate in the concrete to give as smooth a finish as possible. I gave the walls a very light spray with matt brown paint to make them look less like the ceramic tiles they really are.

 

[johnsaintjim]

For those that are interested, this set of pics are my first attempt at using my DSLR instead of my compact camera for pics of the railway. Crisper quality but smaller depth of field. I'm not sure at the mo but it's worth persevering.

Philip those pictures are really special. Thansk for sharing them.

The depth of field is a function of the actual aperture rather than the f number. A digital compact starts from having a tiny lens so at any given focal length (equivalent) the aperture will be smaller. Therefore you will always have a bigger depth of field with a compact.

Maybe another way of thinking about it is that you will achieve the same depth of field as you would if your camera was that size in relation to your scale people. So you need a working 20th scale camera for a realistic depth of field.

 

[pugwash]

These were taken with a 21mm prime lens but I'm afraid I took the lazy way out and left the camera on 'P' setting. I have a fair understanding of the effect of adjusting the aperture and ISO settings but I need a firm prod to make me actually do it!

A 21mm prime lens should give plenty of DoF, but you are probably using autofocus which could be trying to focus on anything. If the camera has selectable focus points set one of them on the place you want perfect focus to be, alternatively use good old fashioned manual focus (if you don't know what that is, look it up on wikipedia ), now where do you want this prod to be placed? No, seriously, you are going the right way about it and we all look forward to more excellent pictures.

 

[railwayman198]

Just some more random shots I took today of nice little patch of moss that's grown between the tracks at the platform end. How sad is that, finding moss attractive...and it's not Kate Moss I'm on about...
For those without a moss fetish I've included the Alco for background interest

For those interested in the technicalities I did remember to set the camera to Av mode this time. The first 3 shots were f16 for decent depth of field and the final one at f4 to reduce the shed in the background to a less distracting blurr. I used a zoom lens this time, set to 20mm or thereabouts.

 

[Martino]

Really superb! I'm envious of your moss (and that IS sad!).

 

[yb281]

Really superb! I'm envious of your moss (and that IS sad!).

Yes, me too I'm afraid. People with indoor layouts spend hours and hours trying to get that effect.

 

[corgi]

Philip,
Wonderful pictures. How did you make the platform in the first couple of pictures? The brick and stone work is great.
Dave

ditto on the platform.

The greenery almost makes me weep when I look at my dustbowl garden which I am not allowed to water due to water restrictions.

 

[KeithT]

Excellent pics and the moss looks good but as I said earlier having been brung up on a mainline I always want my permanent way to be weed free and so I go around yanking out any errant growths.
Perhaps I should save my energies for better things (he said having a large brandy in t'other fist as he types )

 

[KeithT]

I don't think that anyone has commented Philip but I like the low key weathering on loco 157.
It is very effective.

 

[railwayman198]

I don't think that anyone has commented Philip but I like the low key weathering on loco 157.
It is very effective.

Thanks Keith. I'm not a fan of locos that look like they have just been hauled out of a slurry pit and the mogul is about the finish that I aim for but don't always achieve. The Alco, on the other hand, was my first attempt at weathering and the result is not that convincing when examined closely. It looks o.k. from normal viewing distance though, and more acceptable to me than the very bright green and yellow shiny plastic as purchased. I may try re-working it one day.