The impact of photography and post processing on images we take of our models can have a massive impact on the way we view and share them with others...
In today's digital world most of what we see on forums and social media platforms has been adjusted in some way - perhaps just a crop but more often some sort of colour manipulation or adjustment.
Why do we do this? Let us consider the header image which shows three images all adjusted from the original (below, taken under a desk lamp on my bench). Which do you prefer? My good friend
Chris asked:
Ever wonder if maybe some scenes look better in black and white because that’s how we know them, from the pages of favourite books?
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Bae Ceredigion is tiny, about 500mm long, seen here on my bench under desk lighting.
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So perhaps one reason why we adjust our photos beyond cropping (which I think we can agree is to sharpen a composition, remove a distraction or focus the viewer) is because we’re trying to evoke that emotional connection from the art we have created to it’s inspiration, for ourselves and for others?
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| Whilst there is nothing jarring about the cropped original, the yellow tint and bright overhead undiffused lighting does make the grass and locomotive quite bright, perhaps more than we would like (in time, I want to improve the lighting for this small display for this reason). |
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| The same image with just a desaturation of colour dials things back, we could imagine seeing this train crossing the embankment in person, freezing cold from the harsh cold wind blowing down the estuary. The muted colours feel even more wintry, yet the back scene remains the perfect blend of shape and contrast between distant hills and overcast sky. |
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| The original image (not the desaturated) put through a ‘Noir’ filter on my iPhone with the brilliance dialled up 50, highlights up 25 and shadows up 50. This has given me the feel of some of the photos that inspired the work, found in books and online taken in wonderfully evocative black and white. |
I am interested in exploring these artistic questions relating to our hobby and model making. How do you use photography and post processing to improve, inform and enjoy the models you create? Until next time, more soon…
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I fitted my current, but not for much longer, office/studio with lights that allow me some control over colour. This is useful for modelling, taking photos, and processing those photos. In the new property I'll proabably do this on a more local level.
ReplyDeleteRather like the habit of modelling other models I've noticed a tendancy for people to try and mimic the look of photos they see in today's magazines, but I often find that style yells out model to me.
That’s an interesting thought James, I have a lighting style that suits me, but it’s difficult to utilise it for this project until I’ve found a bit of spare wall to screw the shelf too!
DeleteHi James
ReplyDeleteI think that for models and maybe especially N-gauge the more muted colours are best. Even close up locos and especially rolling stock are seldom shiny clean with vibrant colours ( perhaps the exceptions being preserved and display examples) The further we get away the more muted the colours are I feel and with models we are nearly always not close. The idea of doing a black and white image is interesting. However I know when I look at my black and white photos I remember the colours as well, but maybe for you and others it is that idea of reproducing a favourite photo in 3D and if that is in B&W then you may have no other reference.
I do also agree with the other James that there appear to be too many models of other people’s models. This seems quite prevalent in the USA narrow gauge but again maybe the time elapsed since you could see the real thing makes that happen
Best regards
Alan
Muted colours full stop, any scale or gauge, for all the reasons you outline.
DeleteI'd be interested to see the second (desaturated) image with the colour temp bumped up a little. I find that evokes something about the 1970s / early 80s for me. However, as you suggest, it's far more likely to encounter a black and white photo from that period in a book, so the third image really does hit the spot.
ReplyDeleteThis piece brings another thought to my mind, though; would it work to build a layout "in black and white" to get this impression over when it's exhibited? Has this been done?
I think the fact our scenic materials are colour would make this very difficult, but it’s an interesting idea. I have seen it done, but it was a lot of effort. Desaturation is possible though, either by airbrushing on filter colours over the scenery or choosing wintry colours…
DeleteI do love the idea of a desaturated layout, that's something I'll probably do at some point.
DeleteThe black and white layout intrigues me, though, so I'll probably continue mulling that one. The other issue is rolling stock, of course, which could proved somewhat challenging to fully desaturate - even the various black liveries still have splashes of colour, however minimal, and I'm guessing there wouldn't be a huge market for monotone versions of railway company logos and lining for Fox / Railtec etc have them in their ranges. Still, there's one particular layout I have in mind that I think would work nicely black and white, so...
At some point I need to stop coming up with ideas for new layouts and get one finished :)