Son of Ross (on the BC&SJ Coast Branch)...
Photo 10 of the previous Ross series intrigued me. But it had a number of little issues that prevented the shot from reaching its full potential.
- Grass was too chunky/blocky
- Rocks protruding too high
- Ditto for some bushes
- The semi cab was floating off the ground
- The photographers weren't positioned well
- Someone (no names here) forgot a water tank for the steam locos that would have prowled this backwoods (er backcoast?) branch in the '50s... Ahem.
- The grass next to the depot was too "big"
- The guys hanging around the depot were complaining there was no place to sit
- etc...l
So I pulled out Surveyor and tried to do "something" about all that.
I have couple of new TurfFX grass recipes with much finer (and shorter) blades - they replaced the chunky stuff.
A water tank got installed complete with the requisite weeds growing luxuriantly below it.
The depot sprouted a couple of benches
Rocks were height adjusted.
Weeds were added along fence lines and around power poles and other places.
This branch has some really tight curves on it. No way an SP GS-8 4-8-4 would make it around them. I added a USRA light pacific (4-6-2) to the head of the Garibaldi Turn but it has a coal tender so I substituted a weathered tender from the K&L SP Mountain locomotive. Much more appropriate and it says "Southern Pacific" too.
Time to pull out the camera, er..., grab some screen shots.
(1) Here's an improved version of shot (10) from the previous set of Ross screenshots. I think it looks a lot better. The photographer finally got a clue and managed to reposition himself before the Garibaldi Excursion train started to leave Ross.
(2) A shot from a fishing boat (or something out in the No Name River delta) looking up wharf street at the Garibaldi excursion train leaving town.
(3) Looking down the tracks in front of the depot. Yes, there's a water tank now as well as a couple of benches in front of the depot. The ungrateful guys who were complaining about no place to sit aren't bothering to use 'em. Bunch of schmucks... The foreground grass is some of the shorter and skinnier TurfFX recipe I came up with.
(4) I climbed up onto the roof of the biggest store in town and got this shot.
(5) The Garibaldi Turn smokin' it up getting set to pull across Wharf St. and leave town.
(6) This is the first of a set of shots with identical composition but with different lighting. Real estate agents know the three most important things are location, location, and location. Photographers have three most important things too, lighting, lighting, and lighting. This shot uses heavy back lighting with camera position selected to get the streaky rays of sun and shadow off the water tanks fill pipe. I'd be interested in hearing which of the next four shots you like the best and why?
(7) String side lighting. I picked time of day so the front of the depot is lit up.
(8) Very late in the evening and the sun is nearly down. No direct lighting and a bit of fog has manifested. The rails reflect the sky nicely.
(9) Dark and the engineer turned on his headlight.
(10) Very early morning and we're facing the other way. They guys in front of the depot don't seem to have gotten any sleep and they're still not using the benches. Lights are on around town. The crew of the Garibaldi Turn are getting grumpy complaining about having to pose their train for an endless series of photos (er screenshots). The loco's headlight on the track ahead of it is a nice touch.
Thanks to all of you who keep following my posts!
H. Fithers