Great Railroad

I have not yet had an opportunity to operate this fantastic railroad but I have a couple of friends who have. This one is very near the top of my bucket list. One of these days...

Luminar 4 - just what I needed

Thanks Joe & Verryl, as soon as I read this article I purchased and downloaded Luminar 4. Yup, one click of the mouse and we're done. The software has some pretty slick AI built into it. It knows where the sky is and what to replace. I used to spend hours in Adobe, using the magic wand tool, but it would not get into all the nooks & crannies of the trees. Had to zoom way in and use the eraser tool. Real game changer.

My first Luminar 4 test

This is my first shot at the software. Very quick and easy, no learning curve. Not any trains in the photo, just wanted to see how it would do with the trees.  

WOW!

Spectacular sample photo, Rockcity!  In fact it has me wanting to get Luminar 4 too!  The one problem... it’s $67.  Maybe I’ll ask for a license for Christmas?

I have a question concerning the program, however...

  Are these features part of the base program, or do you have to make an additional payment?  In fact, are all the features on the Luminar 4 homepage part of the base program (and also, is there any point in buying photoshop elements and then buying Luminar 4 as an extension to photoshop elements if you don’t already have photoshop?)

No, I have not read the article, though I am definitely considering buying this issue of RE in order to do so, so if all of my questions have already been answered in the article, please be patient with me.

Enhanced photography?

Seems like it emphasizes the photograph tricks over the actual modeling?  I prefer a photo that shows me what really exists in the train room if I was there looking at the layout in person. A photographer or editor can use software to make a realistic scene using various pieces of photo files but only a modeler can create the physical scene using actual models and scenery . Where would you draw the line between what can be replaced to enhance a photo? Almost two separate hobbies who's only connection is trains as a subject? .....DaveB

DaveB

Aye! That's the rub!

 I feel that there is a sweet spot somewhere in between minimal enhancement and outright fakery. Being both a user of image editing and a career in audio editing I've seen that sweet spot get splattered against the wall more times than I can count.

 Just the act of taking a digital photo in the standard JPEG format encodes enhancements in the image..........digital manipulation is everywhere.

What we do

We often will enhance a cover image when we're after a really nice realistic looking model photo. But for the article itself, I show the undoctored version of the photo and let the photos show the layout as it is. I rarely will doctor a photo in the article unless it's to remove a wire that's in the way or something like that.

Also, let's take Mike Confalone's Up close and Personal video series versus his Trackside Action video series.

Up close and personal (UCP) is meant to show a model train in action on the Allagash layout as if it's an operating session, so we don't doctor anything. We use a "from the aisle" shooting angle of the trains in all cases, so you see what the operator sees. In fact, if something derails or a loco stalls or Mike makes a boo-boo (like running the loco the wrong way because he forgot to reverse it), we leave it in. The idea is to show you exactly how a popular model railroad operates in the real world, including the glitches.

(That said, UCP shows very few glitches ... Mike's railroad runs exceptionally well, in fact it was the inspiration for my Run like Dream series.)

But for Mike Confalone's Trackside Action (TA) videos, we take a different approach. TA is meant to portray the layout as if you're railfanning a real railroad, so we aim to get the most realistic images possible. We use a low railfan eye view with a hyper-depth-of-field GoPro video camera set on linear view to minimize the fish-eye look. We may mask out the ceiling or fascia as needed -- or mask out a "corner in the sky". It also includes deliberately altering the look of the footage to instill a sense of "stormy weather looming" or "approaching dusk" lighting.

So it comes down to what your goal is. There's room for both, and as long as you're up front with what's happening and not just trying to be sneaky, I don't see a problem with either approach.

Relationship between focal length and depth of field

This sentence from a caption was a huge eye opener to me:

It shows depth of field as a function of aperture and focus distance. 

I’m a decent hobbyist photographer who has mostly learned via experience. That experience didn’t teach me the above relationship. In fact, I was approaching my model photography exactly the opposite (wrong) way - with long focal length (high zoom - 300mm equivalent) so I could get in close. I was continually wondering why my cheapie kit lens at 55mm took sharper images to my expensive 200mm lens at equivalent apertures. Now I know!

Thanks for that one sentence and the link To the depth of field site, Verryl

Luminar 4 on Humble Bundle

Humble Bundle Link

Hey, for the next 24 hours, you can get Luminar 4 with all sorts of goodies for $25 (or more, if you're generous). Thought this might be of interest for those who want to grab Luminar 4 while there's a sale on.

caution

This doesn't look like the maker's official download site.  Be very cautious of such unofficial sites.  You never know what nasty surprises have been added.

No worries, Humble Bundle is legitimate

Humble Bundle has been running for close to ten years with this sort of stuff, where they benefit charities and organizations. While they used to deal exclusively in video games, in the last few years, they've been branching into other things like ebooks and software. I've been using them for a few years now, with no problems.

But yeah, I understand the trepidation, as there are a lot of scam places out there.

Usually the software maker contacts HB to ask them to post their stuff. They get sales and a small fanbase, and they may or may not get some tax write-offs as some of these proceeds (adjustable) go to charities.

Luminar 4

Hi Juxen,

I really appreciate the link and the validation that it is legit. I have now purchased the software and can't wait to start using it.

Loren

read the article, saw the bundle, hadn't paid attention

But with the mention in the forum, I went back, reviewed the article, checked the bundle, and snapped it up when I realized how applicable it is to what I want to be doing later this year.

I've been buying software licenses through HumbleBundle for well over a year, more like 2, and have never had a problem with any of them.  I like the fact that you can allocate part of the price towards charities you can select as well.

Janet N.

Another quick test.

Literally just a click of your mouse and your back drop can be changed with stunning results.

Got Luminar installed

And the first thing I did was combine two photos I'd taken in the last year.

Result:

Yep, worth the $25 easily.

Yes. it's a great deal

I wish I had waited a little longer as I spent 3 times that amount just a few months ago for Luminar 4 and then another 3x to get the latest version (AI) that just arrived in the last couple of weeks. I find the sky replacement the most useful feature followed by some of the AI enhanced color and contrast adjustments. I don't use any of the portrait tweaks so not sure how useful those are.

For model railroad photography I don't use full sky replacement often but was intrigued by the concept so decided to see what could be helpful. I have found that using the sky replacement at a reduced opacity and combine it with the painted sky of my backdrop can add some nice texture and ambience without becoming too artificial. For 1:1 landscape photography like Juxen's beautiful image above it is very effective and great fun to use. 

Thanks!

Just ordered mine and installing now!

Reply to Rick..........

My heart sunk when I read your post. I guess that the only consolation is that you do at least enjoy the software.

Hey Loren!

Thanks for your sympathy..........not to worry though.........I've lost a whole lot more $ many times in my life.....often it makes me just work harder. I'll just keep messing with it until I find all the ways it will help me out.

 I recently had a photo picked up by Model Railroader where Luminar 4 played an important part in getting the color and texture just right in some difficult areas. 

Paid for itself..............

Glad to see that you are making good use of the software.

Speaking of Model Railroader I submitted a couple photos over the weekend and they want to include one or both in a future issue/s of the Trackside photos section. I consider myself an average modeler at best so If that does actually happen it will definitely be a "bucket list" event.

Loren

Congratulations!!!!!!!!! You deserve recognition for your beautiful work. I'll be looking forward to seeing it in ink and paper!

$149.00

Was going to purchase this.  But it is $149.00, so where is the $25.00 deal.  Or as usual, did I miss something?

Sorry, you missed it.

Hey Goobs

Yeah, looks like it timed out on the 6th.

The AI program for sky replacement and other enhancements is $79 for a one computer install. If you are going to do a lot of sky replacement it is worth...........well $79 I guess but for everything else Affinity Photo is vastly better at $50. I've done sky replacement with AP it just takes longer to do as it is less automated.