Article & photos by Chip Van Gilder

 

Tom Todd called the meeting to a semblance of order at 7 pm.  First noting those that were missing, then reading through the Micro-Trains list of new releases, he then turned to those present to share their modeling activities since the last meeting.

 

15 member showed up for the March 3, 2017. There were a few that were missed.

 

Tom Dennis shared his recent purchase. These are kits to build for table top layouts.

 

Tyler Whitcomb brought photos of the progress he has made in rebuilding the TWRR. After remodeling the basement he is at least back to the framing stage.

 

Don Larson brought some cars he has weighted and installed metal wheels so they run better on Ntrak. He uses NMRA weight standard plus 10% using automobile glue-on car weights.

 

Roy Cutler shared some of his military vehicles. Most have been modified from the way they were originally designed.

 

Following a short break, yours truly, gave a clinic on stacking multiple images to increase the depth of field in model photography.  The software demonstrated was from HeliconSoft, using both the Remote and the Focus components.

After connecting the camera to the computer and setting the parameters, the PC then takes over and calculates the number of photos needed to be taken and the amount of focus change the  lens must make for good overlapping sharp photos.

Then, moving over to the Focus program, the PC then blends all the images into one cohesive front to rear sharp photo.  There are certain problems that can creep into the shot, but steps can be taken to minimize them or remove later.  Check out the following images to see a demonstration of the action.

 

Demo 1 A typical prototype railroad photo showing a reasonable depth of field. This photo was originally taken by Larry Sloan and he graciously allowed me to use it for this demo.

 

Demo 2 This is a backward edited version of the photo above showing what we might see if our depth of field was similar to what we experience while modeling. (Larry Sloan original photo)

 

Demo 3 One of the first images of 11 total, focusing on the foreground.

 

Demo 4 One of the last of 11 total images, now focusing on the distance, that when combined create an infinite depth of field photo.

 

Demo 5 The final image from combining 11 images to creating an infinite depth photo.

PS, all the train parts and the depots were all 3-D printed.

 

Next Month’s meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2017.  Walt Huston is scheduled to speak about what a magazine editor looks for when receiving an article submission.