Stalingrad 1942-43 (2 Viewers)

[SteveDavid]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

This was the first time ever that I took photos of anything in my collection and I guess one can see that from the poor result . Sorry for that.

I don't know how to display all of these so that the display makes these figures justice...Frank, I wish I had your diorama skills!

The helmets of the tank riders more matt than for the other GERSTAL? Slightly more matt yes...very good eye Frank

Frank, if you could advise whether you used anything 'factory-made' for your display or whether all is self-made?

Thanks

 

[fmethorst]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

I've seen photos with 10 -12 riders jammed on.
Terry

..on something like a Panzer III no less.

Tank riding makes sense when the danger from enemy attack is low. Once in the combat zone the best place to be is far away from AFVs since they draw fire of all calibers. Quite often you see troops bunch up behind the perceived safety of a tank. This is bad practice and was discouraged.

 

[nasirkasmani]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

thanks for that info terry.

thanks Andanna, SteveDavid for the pictures.

frank, im looking fwd to your pictures.

sincerely.

 

[fmethorst]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

This was the first time ever that I took photos of anything in my collection and I guess one can see that from the poor result . Sorry for that.

I don't know how to display all of these so that the display makes these figures justice...Frank, I wish I had your diorama skills!

The helmets of the tank riders more matt than for the other GERSTAL? Slightly more matt yes...very good eye Frank

Frank, if you could advise whether you used anything 'factory-made' for your display or whether all is self-made?

Thanks

No need to apologize Steve. I have a sneaking suspicion my camera equipment has capabilities your doesn't. That shouldn't discourage anyone from posting.

When people post pictures we get an opportunity to not only discuss the the figures and the history but the display and the photography too. There is learning potential all around.

In the initial pictures that started this thread all the diorama pieces, including the rubble, are Build-a-Rama. The "corrugated sheet metal" is included with rubble packs. It is simply a heavy construction paper. See the picture at the bottom displaying some of this in Stalingrad (picture of factory militia). One thing I found with the Build-a-Rama rubble was that there wasn't enough small pieces. I have since ordered some H&A rubble and bricks. This product was very dusty and the bricks were more terracota than the ones on the Build-a-Rama pieces. After mixing the H&A rubble in with the existing rubble the entire mixture took on an orangey glow and it was not photogenic at all. I think I got carried away with the bricks too. I solved the dust problem by putting the whole mixture through a sieve and then pouring the mixture back and forth between two bowls outside (the breeze carried away any remaining dust). Subsequent pictures still looked too orange so I have since picked the bricks out and I'll try again today. I have some JG Miniatures bricks on order as they look to be a closer match with the Build-a-Rama pieces and we'll see how they work out. The H&A rubble itself is wonderful, lots of small pieces of various materiels and it includes many boards, both whole and broken. Treefrog only had two packages of this when I ordered it but I will be getting more of this. This rubble is very much a work in progress and any feedback and suggestions is welcome.

 

[aujj65]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Well! These latest photos are “The proof in the pudding” and if any forum members cannot see the sheer quality of these models they are more than welcome to have me mail them my glasses!

These comments are of course IMHO and from a K&C collector.

Jeff

 

[Spitfrnd]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

No need to apologize Steve. I have a sneaking suspicion my camera equipment has capabilities your doesn't. That shouldn't discourage anyone from posting.

When people post pictures we get an opportunity to not only discuss the the figures and the history but the display and the photography too. There is learning potential all around.
....

As Brad noted, I think that is one of the greatest things about these posts and thanks to you, I have just learned something more about "debris". I would also very much like to learn more about the photographic settings and lighting used to take some of these pictures since that seems a bit elusive to some of us who do not have (or have forgotten) a photography background. I hope some of you all could add that information to some of your future photos.

 

[fmethorst]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Thought I'd share some pictures of how that initial dio went together.

This was done indoors. I started with a dark grey blanket for the ground/background. Towards the back I bent the blanket 90 degrees using a radiius so it appears to go off to infinity. I like the dark blanket since it is very low key and doesn't attract the eye should any of it be visible in the picture. Also, since the main subject matter is brighter than the background the light meter of the camera will provide a better reading.

I then added diorama pieces:

This is followed by figures:

Next I added rubble:

Now you are ready to experiment with your camera. Play with camera settings, lighting, distance, angles etc. This first picture is taken with a direct flash. Note how washed out it looks and the figures have stark shadows directly behind them. I found the Build-a-Rama rubble has a little too much white material in it so it tends to be a tad too refelctive.

Compare the last picture to this one where the lighting is coming from a totally different direction. Note how the shadows look more natural and give the picture depth. It was this image that sent me down the path that lead to the pictures I posted. It took many more pictures with further tweaks to the lighting and angles to reach the final result.

Once you get a set of pictures you are happy with open up a photo editor such as Photoshop Elements. With this you can crop (cut out only the part of the picture you want). This is followed by correcting color and lighting and finally the image is resized for posting and voila

The camera used is a Nikon D50 with a Sgma 18-200mm lens on a tripod. The specfics of this picture are:
focal length: 200mm
f-number: 32
ISO: 200
exposure time: 6 seconds

Since this picture I have learned more about the use of small apertures (high f-numbers). While higher numbers do provide an increased depth of field the downside is diffraction increases meaning sharpness is lost. So there is a balance between how much depth of field you give the picture and sharpness. Other ways to improve the depth of field include reducing the focal length and increasing the distance to the subject. I'm thinking for this camera the sweet spot for the f-number is going to be in the f20-26 range. Increasing the aperture has a side benefit of allowing more light in and thus reducing the exposure time.

 

[SteveDavid]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Wouw, wouw ,wouw!!!

Frank your photographer and diorama skills are incredible!

I ordered some B-a-R stuff today and hopefully can create a decent environment to play and move the figures around.

Look forward to getting these items.

Will look at JG and H&A stuff as well.

 

[fmethorst]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Thanks!

A few new ones:

Once the Russians I have on order arrive I'll do something with them and then the next shipment should be the StuG. I can hardly wait.

 

[Alexdakar]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Very well executed.

 

[FirstLegion]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Brilliant photos Frank. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with once your reinforcements arrive.

 

[Spitfrnd]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Excellent photos and photography advice Frank. I hope you continue with both. What are you using for your lighting?

 

[fmethorst]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Brilliant photos Frank. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with once your reinforcements arrive.

Thanks Matt,

Can you give us any information in regards to First Legion Stalingrad scenics?

 

[fmethorst]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Excellent photos and photography advice Frank. I hope you continue with both. What are you using for your lighting?

I'm using a full spectrum therapeutic sun lamp. If you use a standard incandescent or fluorescent these have a bias towards certain colors that would be hard to fix. The key is full spectrum light.

 

[Spitfrnd]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Thanks Frank, what about a halogen and how many watts is that lamp of yours?

 

[mikemiller1955]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Thought I'd share some pictures of how that initial dio went together.

This was done indoors. I started with a dark grey blanket for the ground/background. Towards the back I bent the blanket 90 degrees using a radiius so it appears to go off to infinity. I like the dark blanket since it is very low key and doesn't attract the eye should any of it be visible in the picture. Also, since the main subject matter is brighter than the background the light meter of the camera will provide a better reading.

I then added diorama pieces:

This is followed by figures:

Next I added rubble:

Now you are ready to experiment with your camera. Play with camera settings, lighting, distance, angles etc. This first picture is taken with a direct flash. Note how washed out it looks and the figures have stark shadows directly behind them. I found the Build-a-Rama rubble has a little too much white material in it so it tends to be a tad too refelctive.

Compare the last picture to this one where the lighting is coming from a totally different direction. Note how the shadows look more natural and give the picture depth. It was this image that sent me down the path that lead to the pictures I posted. It took many more pictures with further tweaks to the lighting and angles to reach the final result.

Once you get a set of pictures you are happy with open up a photo editor such as Photoshop Elements. With this you can crop (cut out only the part of the picture you want). This is followed by correcting color and lighting and finally the image is resized for posting and voila

The camera used is a Nikon D50 with a Sgma 18-200mm lens on a tripod. The specfics of this picture are:
focal length: 200mm
f-number: 32
ISO: 200
exposure time: 6 seconds

Since this picture I have learned more about the use of small apertures (high f-numbers). While higher numbers do provide an increased depth of field the downside is diffraction increases meaning sharpness is lost. So there is a balance between how much depth of field you give the picture and sharpness. Other ways to improve the depth of field include reducing the focal length and increasing the distance to the subject. I'm thinking for this camera the sweet spot for the f-number is going to be in the f20-26 range. Increasing the aperture has a side benefit of allowing more light in and thus reducing the exposure time.

Great pics Frank...really nice set up.

 

[fmethorst]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Thanks Frank, what about a halogen and how many watts is that lamp of yours?

I suspect that unless it is a color corrected halogen it will have a yellow bias. The light I have been using is 300 watt equivalent (3 compact fluorescents). Natural light helps too so if there is a window in the room all the better.

Completely natural light is an option too. Some of the other pictures that I posted were taken outside in direct sunlight. This produces high contrast images with very deep shadows.

I have some proper photographic lights on my Christmas list.

 

[debrito]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Inside or outside you mastered both.

Good job

Rod.

 

[The Breaker]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Thanks for the photos Frank, Andanna and Steve. Can't wait to get my sets. The Stugs are outstanding, very realisitc and accurate, exactly what I look for in an AFV model.

 

[debrito]

Re: Battle for the Barrikady Gun Factory, Nov.'42

Excellent series of photos Mr. Andreas, the black background highlight even more the Tank's high quality details.

Good job my friend.

Talk to you later.

Rod.