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4. One useful tool is the notebook I used to record
different aperture, focus and exposure levels. This step
was instrumental in gaining experience as to what
settings would work under various conditions.
I kept folders for each of the photos on the computer and
decided to come back later to pick out the ones for submission
(more on this later).
Along the way I made many mistakes, such as forgetting to
change the white balance from incandescent to fluorescent.
But I was now on the path to be able to produce photographs
that could be used for the article.
WRITING THE ARTICLE
Now that I was comfortable with taking pictures, it was time to
actually write the article. I went back and reviewed the article
submission guidelines again with an eye toward the hints and
Writing for MRH - 7
tips about composition. The two most important tips were
“Present your subject simply and directly in plain English” and
“Use active writing, such as ‘Paint the wall white’.” My writing
tends to be passive and somewhat verbose, so I had to keep
this in mind throughout the writing phase.
Referring to the outline of the various construction steps
that I made earlier, I broke the article up into four pieces:
1) Background Information; 2) Girder modification; 3) New
portals; and, 4) Painting and weathering.
Next, I reviewed the photographs in each of the folders (A
quick note – do not put the photos in separate folders when
submitting them. Simply list them as "Photo 1(a), Photo 1(b)
for different exposures of the same shot). I picked several
bracketed exposures for each step and then wrote about
Tom Patterson got his start in
model railroading with a Lionel
train set at Christmas back in
the ‘60s. That train set even-
tually became part of his first
layout. Tom reentered model
railroading in the late ‘70s
and has been working on his
current layout, the HO scale
Chesapeake, Wheeling and Erie
Railroad, a free-lanced coal hauler set in West Virginia, for
almost 20 years.
Tom and his wife have two grown children and live in
Cincinnati, Ohio. They enjoy hiking, biking, reading and
spending time with their family, which includes two rescue
mutts and a large number of salt water fish.
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MRH-Mar 2013