Mel, I made a 30 inch square photo diorama and use poseable terrain pieces to create scenes.
This siaze was not a great decision arrived upon after careful consideration. Instead, I just used my gaming board for 15mm De Bellis Antiquitatis which is 30 by 30.
The lighting kit was about $80.00 on eBay, and really made the pictures look great.
I started using this set up, and have been improving for the past three years.
Be careful, photo-diorama pictures can become a hobby all of their own.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Mel, I made a diorama on a whim about nine years ago. I had one of those particle board cheapie shelves with the white thin plastic layer on both surfaces that swell when they get wet if the sides are not sealed. I angled the tracks a bit and incorporated a bridge over a creek. I used foam as a filler, but I used Joe Fugates' 'ground goop' over much of it to make the terrain more even and natural (I get tired of carving and rasping foam for hours).
The tracks, as your picture shows, would almost certainly be on a raise roadbed, so you'd want to lift those and add a layer of 1/4"-1/2" ply...IF..you don't also sculpt the surrounding terrain. Even if you have visions of the tracks running through, or emerging from, a rock cut, you still have to raise the tracks so that there's a ditch on either side for drainage.
If you're going to have a tall rock cut behind the tracks, and a slope on this side of them, you'll need to elevate the tracks by about 2 inches, maybe more. So, either way, you have to lift those tracks and build a raised roadbed under them.
My main aim, finally to get to it, is to have you build something without a backdrop, or with one that can easily be removed. You may have a hankering to do outdoors photography with this diorama in front of a fabulous natural setting, too good to pass up, so build some flexibility into your design. Also, if you add another foot or more in area, you have more diversity in structure and settings to take images of on one diorama...don't make it too small.
The one I show below is about 4.5' long, and I shot this with a local famous glacier in the background. The diorama is everthing this side of the tracks and beyond until the stream disappears. The middle ground trees are across a paved country road, and they're about 30 yards distant. The glacier is about 25 miles distant.
This photo appears in the latest Walthers Catalogue.
I have one I started, probably close to 10 years ago now. Yes, I work slow. SOmewhere along the line, I picked up one of those Woodland Scenics diorma kits. I have the frame all built, everything painted flat black so the underside hides. Now it needs the scenery applied to it. It's been hanging around gathering dust ever since I got it that far. I was going to use it to practice scenery.
I also won, as a raffle prize, the WS kit which is meant to display one of those village houses, at last year's Reading Modeler Meet. I figure it cna be adapted to other things, or I can use the materials. It's geared towards makign a snow scene - maybe I will combine the two and make the train one a winter scene.
Perhaps I will complete one or the other around the time when pigs fly.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Mel, I would strongly recommend making every scenic element moveable/poseable. You might be amazed how quickly you get board with a photo setting that cannot be changed.
These are wall taken on my 30 by 30 board:
You should watch some of Ken Patterson Youtube videos.
He does professional advertising shoots outside, he lives on a cliff overlooking the Mississippi river.
It's all on one or two big foam modules. He has fake mountains on a tripod behind the layout, which simplifies landscaping. He does a lot of night shots with time exposures and episodic lighting of the train or structures.
He also uses photo stacking software, which greatly extends depth of field. I haven't gotten into that yet.
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
BigDaddyYou should watch some of Ken Patterson Youtube videos. He does professional advertising shoots outside, he lives on a cliff overlooking the Mississippi river.
I've seen a lot of his shots, excellent work. As others, I have started one for outside photos, started, I said.
Mike.
My You Tube
Some of his shots are from a rail fan perspective, rather than the blimp shots we often see in the forum. That makes the landscaping behind the train less critical
When I made my diorama, I didn't plan on structures. I just wanted something to practice scenery on and to have something nice to take roster pictures of my rolling stock on. So I kept the track towards the back of the diorama, but I added a dirt road in part of the foreground for taking vehicle pics, especially my piggyback trailers since I consider them rolling stock.
Kevin
http://chatanuga.org/RailPage.html
http://chatanuga.org/WLMR.html
BigDaddyThat makes the landscaping behind the train less critical
My outside problem in the realively crowded residential area I'm in. I mean, it's an old section of town with many mature trees, shrubs, etc, but also garages, roof tops, yard shed, etc.
I DO want to finish what I have started, THEN I'll need to learn how to fully operate the Cannon camera the kids gave me 10 yrs. ago. I don't use a phone, my phone is a Verizon, LG flip phone.........So many projects!...
mbinsewi I'll need to learn how to fully operate the Cannon camera the kids gave me 10 yrs. ago.
Is it a Canon EOS Rebel? That is what mine is, a T-6.
I can help you out with the manual shooting mode set-ups.
Steve Otte also has a handy guide he sends out for taking pictures to submit to Model Railroader. It has some good tips in it.
RR_MelGreat ideas guys! I need a place on the diorama for my scratch builts too, I’m really into building scratch built homes for my layout.
Mel, I've seen the pictures of your scratchbuilt houses. Amazing! I hope you can find a way to add them to the diorama. Since you have spent so much time lighting your houses, is that something you will do on the diorama, also?
York1 John
SeeYou190s it a Canon EOS Rebel? That is what mine is, a T-6.
Actually, I have it right here, it's Cannon PowerShot SD750 ELPH, 7.1 mp's. If the manual that came with it, was typed in regular, say 12 font, it would probably be a 3 book, bound edition.
What I have strated, is just a piece of track, on a decent mainline profile, some foreground, low scenery, to photo locomotives, and rolling stock.
There's a guy that puts out diorama's, all seasons, and they are EXCELLENT. I think he's Swedish, or from Denmark. Some of his photos shots, are done into videos, with a lot of Hans Zimmer music, and weathered rolling stock looking like you are right there.
I'll have to look for him, and post a link. He shows how he builds the scenes.
mbinsewi If the manual that came with it, was typed in regular, say 12 font, it would probably be a 3 book, bound edition.
One of my (many, countless) nieces has a Canon Powershot, and it takes amazing pictures for an enhanced point-and-shoot camera. You should be able to get some good pictures with it.
When I got my Rebel EOS, the instruction manual was insane. On the Canon site there was a "simplified" manual that was only about 70 pages long, in 12 point font. pdf format download. That "simplified" manual was a great thing to read. I still have not popped open the manual that came with the camera.
I found the guy I was talking about in an earlier post.
His name is Jurg Ruedi. Here's a taste of his work, on his winter mountain diorama, just for a little inspiration, Mel:
He has lots on his You Tube page.
RR_MelI’ll post pictures on WPF as construction permits.
Looking forward to the updates. I love your contributions in Weekend Photo Fun.