Large Scale Central

Night Photo Experiments

Model Photography
#1

I picked up some battery operated LED Christmas light sets on close out at the dollar store yesterday. I figured that at 50 cents each I couldn’t go wrong. The battery box with switch was worth at least that!

The green trees come off leaving a single white LED mounted in tubing.

I figured these would work nicely to light buildings, so I experimented quickly taping a set each into buildings I have inside. The results were good enough to take pictures to share.

My first attempt was a long exposure (about 5 seconds) using available light from the buildings and the train. Not exactly what I was looking for…

I remembered attending a professionally sponsored night shoot where we would open our shutters while some one ran around with a Lumidyne Flash hitting the highlights. A full size flash would overwhelm this small scene, but a small LED flashlight seemed to work fine. The next shot I wiped over the scene with the flashlight while the shutter was open…

Much better!

I pulled back and tried again with a wider scene. Not quite enough fill light in this one…

A little bit more fill light resulted in a better shot…

And then a little tighter…

Let’s turn the train and take a look into the rear door of the caboose…

Tighter and with a little more fill…

Then pull back again…

Change the angle…

And turn the train again…

Back over by the front of the station…

Same shot - different fill timing & angle…

My Bachmann Jackson Sharpe Combine has battery operated LEDS sold long ago by Jason Slenker…

Pull back a bit…

And finally, a side shot of Caboose #10…

I had a lot of fun experimenting. It took almost 200 attempts to get these 14. I cant wait for warmer weather to try some of this outdoors.

#2

Looking good. It is tricky to photo in the dark.

That last one of the caboose is very appealing

I thought I saw the sexy curves of a 60’s Cobra there, did I also see a Vette?

#3

Great work, DJ. Thanks for posting and describing the approach on each shot. You really got some nice ones. I sure enjoyed looking at them and reading your comments. Thanks for telling how you made them. And I agree with Todd on the autos. Sure looks like a Cobra and a 'Vette. Your little people have some first class rides.

#4

Nice work Jon. You have an abundance of patience. Thanks.

#5

Nice Shots! Night photography is tricky at best. So much easier with digital, then with film.

The over blue (cold) cast is from the color temp of the LED flashlight fill. To warm it up to a little more orangeie/yellow try a flash light with a standard incandescent bulb, or a light yellow filter over the flashlight.

Another trick: Use a standard light bulb (like in a clamp on drop light) to give the “Fill” in exposure. You can very the intensity, to match the base exposure, by moving the fill light nearer or farther away. Clamp it to anything like a lawn chair or a broom handle stuck in the ground.

If you’re trying to simulate a “Moon Lite night” then you can have it rather high in the sky. For more like a street light look, Keep it lower down. You will be amazed at how much light a 25 watt bulb actually puts out.

#6

To add a little to Dave Taylor’s comment, there are lamp dimmers that plug in between the outlet and a lamp, such as a table lamp. One of those would make it easy to vary the amount of fill light without moving the lamp in and out from the scene. Again, great pics. Hope you will post more.

#7

Thank you all. To have Dave call them nice is indeed a compliment. Some of his night shots of the C&T are the best I’ve ever seen.

I understand about the blue cast. I didn’t worry about it so much as the buildings were all lit with LED’s and I didn’t even try to do a manual white balance. I did try a ceiling lamp (CFL) that was far afield, but at the exposure times I was using it completely lit the background (which is not pretty). That’s when I thought about “painting” the scene with fill from a small flashlight. I will need to fix one of my old incandescent ones and try to warm things up a bit. I did try a few with the fill very high to simulate moonlight, but they didn’t make the cut. I wonder, what the color temperature of moonlight is? I would think it to be much cooler than incandescent or sunlight. These pictures were taken indoors where I have pretty much complete control of the light. Outdoors I’ve found dusk to be a good time for night photos. Brightly lit windows etc. dictate the exposure which tends to underexpose the sky making it look dark.

This 1:1 shot at the EBT was taken with available lighting only…

(http://lsc.cvsry.com/EBT-Fall-09_10-720.jpg)

And this one was a long exposure with Lumidyne lighting (in the pouring rain)…

(http://lsc.cvsry.com/EBT-Fall-09_11-720.jpg)

And finally, a dusk shot of the station…

(http://lsc.cvsry.com/EBT-Fall-09_16-720.jpg)

That last one was just about perfect timing. Any later and the exposure would have been so long that movement of the people would be much more obvious.

I’d love to be able to get pictures of models to look even half as good as these!

#8

Daktah John said:

I’d love to be able to get pictures of models to look even half as good as these!

Those are some great shots! The models and the 1:1. I think if you keep at it you’ll be right where you want to be. I have to say, I’ve been doing a lot of EBT research and subsequently looking at photos. There aren’t many night shots. Very appealing.

#9

The lack of existing night pictures is primary due to the difficulty of getting usable night pictures during the time that the RRs were running. Film and equipment were quite primitive by todays standards.

O’ Winston Link set the bar so high that the rest of the world just gave up. His night shots took literally a truck load of equipment and a assistant to help set up. Most of his lights he made himself, to fit his need.

On several of his shots it took him several separate tries to finally get it right, or good enough to keep and move on to something else.

Best hint I can give… Keep trying different things, and Take Notes!

BTW: the Moon is a “Sun lit object” 1/ISO = Shutter Speed , f/16 +open up 1 stop to f/11. Gives exposure for detail. Most moon shots are over exposed, with washed out detail.

#10

Neat pics. I need to experiment more with night pictures. This is my favorite that I have taken.

#11

Neat pics Jon but we want to know what is going on in the back of that “so called” cigar store.

#12

Jan found some that go on a miniature Christmas tree. Just white, but worked great. Had the same thoughts, but like many things didn’t execute.

#13

David Russell said:

Neat pics Jon but we want to know what is going on in the back of that “so called” cigar store.

Looks suspiciously bright, doesn’t it? Perhaps that explains the high value vintage sports cars parked out front. This might be Colorado ya know!

#14

Nice work John.

For some reason this one is my favorite. …

But they’re all good.

#15

Thanks Dave - I like that one because the background is completely black - you cant see my paneled walls and thermometer!

Might try some of Dave T’s suggestions with some different subjects soon.

#16

Nice job.
The 1:1 shots are really tough to pull off.
Model shots are easier, as you can control all the conditions.