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SKEW BRIDGE - Attic Layout


mick
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Up to now I've been using a smudge type tool to give loco photos the impression of some exhaust without which they appear too static. I've now learned how to add something a little more creative and certainly a lot more realistic than that method.

I've been trying it out on a class 56 photo and okay, not all loco's emitted exhaust to this degree but many of them did and some did so to an even greater extent which I am sure I'll visit in the not too distant future.

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It's a good basis to work from and only takes a few minutes.

 

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I'm going to have to keep working at this but the results are very promising. The difficult part is not going over the top with it because it's so easy to do just that.

This is a lovely photo of 37692 and 37698 double heading the Cawoods containers and departing the down loop. I haven't quite got the exhaust right yet but it gives you an idea of what is possible.

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Mick,
Some superb photos there - thanks for sharing them.  The idea of pasteing-in sky and drivers is really promising, as of course one could presumably also paste-out unwanted stuff from any background, indoors or out. 

I'm wondering if there might be a freeware solution to this which avoids having to go the whole hog on buying Photoshop or similar, as you can't really do that sort of detailed work in MS Paint!

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Hi Andrew and thank you for your comments.

Yes you can erase any unwanted distractions pretty easily these days. Photoshop has a 'content aware' tool that allows you to simply highlight an object or person and it will replace it with 'content' that fits in with the background, usually pretty successfully. We're talking £9.98 monthly subscription for photoshop (photography plan) but I use both photoshop and lightroom (both included in photography plan) for photographic purposes so it's worth it to me. These days replacing the 'sky' as I've done in the railway photos takes no more than a minute.

There is a 7-day free trial available for photoshop.

I've never compared many other packages. I have 'Affinity Photo' which supposedly does much the same as photoshop and at the moment is on offer and costs round about £40 to purchase (free trial available) but I've got so used to using the Lightroom and Photoshop package that I find it hard to get into anything else. Freeware you might struggle to get the same options as available with the paid for programs but as I've said, I haven't really looked into it.

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Another two photos this evening, both in colour but this time with the originals alongside for comparison.

Firstly the pair of class 37's and this is the actual photo I began working from

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I've added sky and a decent amount of exhaust, edited the colours/contrast slightly to give a slightly moody effect and the photo has then been cropped.

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The second photo is of 60078 and again it's on the Cawoods PFA container wagons. This one required slightly more work than the previous one but the blurred MGRs on the up line are intentional as in my opinion  it conveys a sense of motion. I just set the MGR train moving at a crawl while the photo's are taken. The 60 doesn't have a driver figure and I didn't notice the wonky buffer while taking the photos. There's also several small fibres on the roof near the front.

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Here's the finished image with added sky, driver installed in the cab, wonky buffer rotated using Photoshop, fibres removed and finally some light exhaust added. I should probably have added the missing light having looked at it again!

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This is another photo from a couple of days ago and to be honest I thought I'd overdone this one. I've actually done several version of this particular image while trying to perfect the smokey exhaust technique (one example featured above) but while looking over them again this evening I thought, actually this one's not too bad. 

The train has clearly been standing in the down loop for some time and the driver is now keen to get on his way and make up some time. I'm sure that the exhaust will clear in a little while. Is this too much?

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Edited by mick
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I was looking at some loco photos online this morning to gain ideas and inspiration for the next set of photos. There was a photo of a class 56 under power and with the sanders operating and I felt it was something I could hopefully bring across.

Here 56127 is hauling the 100t TEA tanks having just exited the tunnel and is now accelerating away with an application of sand to aid traction. This photo looks better when cropped in closer to the loco but I like to see the AWS ramps and point motors in photos.

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56127 again as it's about to pass over the mainline cross-over and I think the sanding effect looks pretty convincing even at close quarters. 56049 is idling away in the distance on the down loop

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Finally the same train but further down the line and the driver's still applying the sanders as he passes a loaded MGR on the up line.

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Edited by mick
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'Practice makes perfect' so they say. Well if that's the case then I'd better keep going.

The thing with the more modern diesel loco's is they didn't tend to throw out as much dirty exhaust, in fact in many photos and video clips there doesn't appear to be any of note. But photos look a bit dull without some although I have tried to restrain myself.

60087 on the log train. What is it with me and wonky buffers? Why don't I see them until after I've taken all the photos?

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This second photo is evidence of the fact that I've pasted in a photo of a driver due to me having to flip the image horizontally. The wiper marks on the windscreen are in the opposite orientation to the wiper blades.

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The exhaust should be more of a haze rather than that of smoke and I've found that smudging along the line of the bogies creates a nice dusty effect that gives a sense of travel.

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A trio of class 37s on the Cawoods PFA containers. 37692,37698 & 37514 which has been added to the consist as an engine movement and will be detached en-route.

A bit OTT with this first one I think as I try to improve my technique, but it still feels satisfying to see a dense exhaust

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The next one is a bit more restrained and once again shows my desire to include some of the track components in the photographs

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I've done 66022 before but here it is again with a rake of loaded HTA hoppers.

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I've made the driver figure more prominent because the cab looked empty and I've also 'illuminated' the marker lights. With a replacement sky, some light exhaust and a bit of dust before light cropping, it's an improvement on the original image.

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13 hours ago, Andrew said:

...If at first...

Yes as with most things it's just a case of trying things out and seeing what works best for you.

I'm going to hold off a bit now as I think I've posted more than enough images already and there's only so much that viewers can put up with before it becomes tedious. I'm not about to stop taking photos and editing them because it's something I've really enjoyed doing and it's an alternative to just running trains round so I'll be back up in the attic with the camera this afternoon for sure. I actually took a bit of video the other day but it didn't feel quite the same and so I discarded the idea of publishing anything.

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It wasn't my intention to post any more photos just yet but I have come up with a couple that are different from those that have gone before so you might just find them of interest, or at least a bit less tedious.

The first is a general view over the sidings during a somewhat busy period with 56003 on MGR empties standing on the down loop waiting for the passage of the Gypsum empties while a loaded MGR is passing on the up main. 58041 is waiting its next turn of duty on No.2 down siding

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I managed to get a better vantage point as the Gypsum empties passed through, hauled unusually on this occasion by a class 56 No.56095 due to there being no available class 60s. 56095 will take charge of the gypsum loading process and be swapped for a 60 on departure. Again a busy period with some nice action.

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The above is a view you'll rarely see on Skew Bridge unless it's in one of these photos as the right hand side has the exposed attic timbers and of course the roof above as you can see in the original photo below. 

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Edited by mick
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