Report - Waterloo - Victoria Tunnel, Liverpool 11/08/2015.

[Gerard]

so did or didnt you reach Edge Hill?

Sadly no we didn't. We ran out of time and had to turn back about a quarter of the way into the Victoria Tunnel but we plan to get towards the Edge Hill portal on our next visit.

 

[ACID- REFLUX]

Hopefully you'll improve your shots now you know what to do . It's a lot more enjoyable when you can look back on quality results, makes the effort worthwhile.

Look forward to seeing the shots just remember to review your pics after taking them and adjust settings accordingly wider aperture longer torch time etc etc

Just aim for better output than from report No3 below lol

 

[Gerard]

Just aim for better output than from report No3 below lol

We went back down yesterday and had a little go at some light painting techniques. We were lacking an external lockable shutter button for the camera so not all of our attempts came out very well but here is what we did manage to get after some playing around with exposure times and painting techniques. I can't seem to edit my original post so here are the pictures.

We made it all the way up to the track at the Edge Hill side of Victoria Tunnel but didn't go much further, lucky we didn't too as when we were about half way on the way back out a train pulled into the tunnel so I've got to thank you for the heads up on that.

 

[ACID- REFLUX]

Deffo an improvement in the right direction

As you"ve found out trying to light up any tunnel with the huge amount of light coming in through the portal is a challenge & i"d suggest you shoot in the opposite direction for the majority of your pics unless you have a really high light source to compensate. or it"s later in the day and the lights fading.

As for the semi-live bit it was a real sphincter twitcher for a moment lol

 

[Gerard]

Deffo an improvement in the right direction

As you"ve found out trying to light up any tunnel with the huge amount of light coming in through the portal is a challenge & i"d suggest you shoot in the opposite direction for the majority of your pics unless you have a really high light source to compensate. or it"s later in the day and the lights fading.

As for the semi-live bit it was a real sphincter twitcher for a moment lol

Yeah the light coming from the portal was a pain to deal with, I will fiddle around in an editing suite to see what I can do in regards to that and the issue with this particular tunnel as you will know is there is a time limit on being in this tunnel (trying to not give the location away) due to where the entrance is located and sunset is still rather late in the day. I guess it would be much simpler in the winter months because it gets dark with plenty of time to shoot and get out on time.

It was one of our friends who came with who wanted to press on right to the portal threshold but we managed to convince him it was a bad plan, luckily he listened to us!

I'm heading out to another location over the weekend so I will try some more lighting techniques then and if it's worth documenting I'll write a report on it.

 

[The Franconian]

thoughts: pics look overlid, less can be more
that little room could be lid by a candle maybe, covered by something, to do not blind the camera
or torch in low power, indirect to wall
in the shot towards way in, you could stand in the pic to block the light in the middle
I use torch with hard beam to make autofocus working, auto shutter time and 2 sec delay
if lid too much, shadows disappear, but these are a good effect to give the pic deepness
for nearly every pic I make, afterwards I have to reduce "gamma" (whatever this is) to take some fog away

 

[Gerard]

thoughts: pics look overlid, less can be more
that little room could be lid by a candle maybe, covered by something, to do not blind the camera
or torch in low power, indirect to wall
in the shot towards way in, you could stand in the pic to block the light in the middle
I use torch with hard beam to make autofocus working, auto shutter time and 2 sec delay
if lid too much, shadows disappear, but these are a good effect to give the pic deepness
for nearly every pic I make, afterwards I have to reduce "gamma" (whatever this is) to take some fog away

Thanks for the tips, I'll bear them in mind next time I need to do any light painting. Practice makes perfect and all that!

 

[The Franconian]

I don't know whether there's a perfect way to do it.
I have seen very well, "perfect lid" pics, but do they really show the place as I see and feel it, when I go there ?
Also those often needed a lot of work.
I do look a pics from other users and try to find out what they have done better than me.
Camera positioning is an other thing, on the ground, between the rails for example gives different views.
You made some trials with different lid foreground, a good way I think
------
Waterloo Tunnel was my first report on here
http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/waterloo-tunnel-liverpool-01-2013.t78138

 

[Gerard]

I don't know whether there's a perfect way to do it.
I have seen very well, "perfect lid" pics, but do they really show the place as I see and feel it, when I go there ?
Also those often needed a lot of work.
I do look a pics from other users and try to find out what they have done better than me.
Camera positioning is an other thing, on the ground, between the rails for example gives different views.
You made some trials with different lid foreground, a good way I think
------
Waterloo Tunnel was my first report on here
http://www.28dayslater.co.uk/waterloo-tunnel-liverpool-01-2013.t78138

Yeah, it's all about trying new things and seeing what works. I'm a little bit limited as to what I can do exactly with regards to post production work in photoshop because my photoshop skill are kind of lacking so I'm stuck using basic touch up software. I know that's not much of an excuse so I won't use it again. Next time I go somewhere dark and underground I will try changing my methods and see if it gives me new results.

 

[ACID- REFLUX]

I"m a believer in trying to get the results in Camera rather than relying on Software. Which TBH if you"re shooting in the dark you don"t have much choice, & that"as why you don"t see the HDR Photomatix boys in Tunnels shooting multiple shots lol

It"s also hard to compare reports of locations purely on how they"re both lit 7 shot by individuals. And of course as well as by what means of lighting ie we"ve gone from the old Yellow lights of old onto Cree LED units of Blue light onto the cool white we now have today.....well some of us

As for the ? of fully lighting a Tunnel, i like to see the colours and natural features inside, how can you show a tunnel as you see it in total darkness ? all you have is light from the portals and possibly light from any airshafts the tunnel may contain.

Shoot & light it as you want & fuck everyone else (including me just sharing what i do for my shit

 

[Gerard]

I"m a believer in trying to get the results in Camera rather than relying on Software. Which TBH if you"re shooting in the dark you don"t have much choice, & that"as why you don"t see the HDR Photomatix boys in Tunnels shooting multiple shots lol

It"s also hard to compare reports of locations purely on how they"re both lit 7 shot by individuals. And of course as well as by what means of lighting ie we"ve gone from the old Yellow lights of old onto Cree LED units of Blue light onto the cool white we now have today.....well some of us

As for the ? of fully lighting a Tunnel, i like to see the colours and natural features inside, how can you show a tunnel as you see it in total darkness ? all you have is light from the portals and possibly light from any airshafts the tunnel may contain.

Shoot & light it as you want & fuck everyone else (including me just sharing what i do for my shit

Trust me, I value any input I can get, it will help me improve my photography skills. I'm only just re acquainting myself with my DSLR after almost a year of not using it so thank you for your input!

 

[Snake Oil]

Thats not a pigs head on a stick. Its @paulpowers gimp mask.

 

[Old Liverpool Railways]

the cutting is actually the old hodson station as confirmed by a newspaper and my grandmother who lived next to the cutting all her life, the entrance was stairs leading down from where the new electric hut is now. the bridge is the middle that is blocked from both sides is the only remaining part of hodson street.

 

[stranton]

the cutting is actually the old hodson station as confirmed by a newspaper and my grandmother who lived next to the cutting all her life, the entrance was stairs leading down from where the new electric hut is now. the bridge is the middle that is blocked from both sides is the only remaining part of hodson street.

Must of been an identical design to James street on Mersey Rail

 

[Dangle_Angle]

thoughts: pics look overlid, less can be more
that little room could be lid by a candle maybe, covered by something, to do not blind the camera
or torch in low power, indirect to wall
in the shot towards way in, you could stand in the pic to block the light in the middle
I use torch with hard beam to make autofocus working, auto shutter time and 2 sec delay
if lid too much, shadows disappear, but these are a good effect to give the pic deepness
for nearly every pic I make, afterwards I have to reduce "gamma" (whatever this is) to take some fog away

Spoken like a true professional