This link isn’t model railroading, but it is photographing models that gave me some new ideas on perspective:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24796741@N05/sets/72157604247242338/with/2346008881/
Hope you find it useful.
That same link has made more than one appearance on these forums, but the work is always worth taking a fresh look at. Even by modern digital camera standards the depth of field and sharpness of focus this guy manages are very interesting, and he has an artist’s eye for good photo composition.
What I also like is that the structures and roads look realistic, but in point of fact are not super detailed. This challenges a great many of our “detail = realism” assumptions.
Years and years ago Popular Science had an article about a sort of miniature periscope lens that could attach to 35 mm cameras, that would give a “people sized” perspective when photos were taken of architectural models. The examples they gave had a fish-eye lens look, but in other respects the perspective of the camera seeming to be held about 5 feet from the ground was remarkable for the time. This guys photos of automobile models gain realism from seeming to be taken at the heigth of a human being’s eyeballs.
Dave Nelson
Whew! He’s good!!
J.
Actually, many of the point and shoot, or advanced point and shoot digital cameras a lot of use use (I have a Canon S5 IS) won’t close down to more than F7 or F8, where as F16 or F22 would give the best depth of field. Of course, if you are using a $1000 digital SLR with $300 lenses, that restriction doesn’t apply.
$300.00 isn’t going to buy much of a useful model lens for a DSLR! Would you believe $500-1000?
My main wide angle lens I love using for extreme closeups is a Tamron 11-18mm. The only reason I have it because I got a fantastic deal on a very slightly used one. It retailed for over $600.00 when I got it a year or so ago.
Here’s what I can do with it:
This is an HO scale enginehouse, 10" deep and 8" wide. I had the lens right up to the rear entrance door.
Lotsa fun!
A $1000 DSLR and a $600 lens isn’t worth much if you don’t have some really fantastic modeling to use as a subject![;)]
Great lookin’ engine house, Bob![tup]
-George