Topic: Model ships in museums (Read 15477 times)

essex2visuvesi · « **Reply #50 on:** November 12, 2012, 09:56:59 am »

Quote from: heritorasphodel on November 12, 2012, 09:55:05 am

they may do, but their model storage and display area is at the Smithery in Chatham Dockyard, and there's always a guy on the door warning you when you go in that you can't take photos.

Andrew

Ah ok.... apologies, crossed wires

grendel · « **Reply #51 on:** November 12, 2012, 11:28:12 am »

I used to use the ruse of taking my canon dslr and a compact camera, the dslr was obviously slung on my back,visible to all, - pictures were taken with the compact - flash off and held with the lens flat to the glass (no reflections). I figured if I was stopped I could show there were no pictures of their exhibits on the dslr, never was stopped, though its usually just flash and tripods they dont allow - the bayeux tapestry is the worst for this, due to the age the lighting is practically nil, you walk through a darkened corridor with just the tapestry lit with very low powered bulbs, if flash is used detectors set off the alarms and the offender is removed.
Grendel

Colin Bishop · « **Reply #52 on:** November 12, 2012, 11:31:14 am »

The Chatham Smithery also holds the National Maritime Museum models. It is a joint venture.

Colin

wartsilaone · « **Reply #53 on:** November 12, 2012, 11:41:13 am »

As John said earlier ferries are hard to find in museums but they can still be found. And the best bit is nobody complains when you take photo's of these.

Ali

essex2visuvesi · « **Reply #54 on:** November 12, 2012, 11:58:45 am »

Most of the Viking Line cruise ships, have an model onboard in one of the bars/cafes

Martin (Admin) · « **Reply #55 on:** November 12, 2012, 12:11:17 pm »

Colin Bishop took some wonderful pictures of a cutaway ship a little while ago, published in Model Boats magazine... awesome model, what was it Colin?

NB: What useful tips do we have for taking photos in museums, in glass cases in particular?

wartsilaone · « **Reply #56 on:** November 12, 2012, 12:13:37 pm »

Rule No1. Don't use the flash (if you can help it)

Ali

oldiron · « **Reply #57 on:** November 12, 2012, 12:20:28 pm »

The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich has some excellent builders models from the 17 and 1800's.

John

Colin Bishop · « **Reply #58 on:** November 12, 2012, 12:21:35 pm »

You may be thinking of the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth Martin. http://www.modelboats.co.uk/news/article/naval-treasures/4501

As Ali says, try not to use flash but it can be OK for detail closeups if you press the camera up against the glass and fill the frame with the model (or part of it!). Of course that depends on whether your camera will focus closely enough but it often works for big models.

The other thing you need is a polarising filter which can cut down reflections dramatically. You just turn the filter until most of the reflections go which means you need a DSLR really. The downside is that it adds a couple of stops to the exposure so in low light situation you need something to steady the camera with, ideally a tripod or even a monopod. Some people can get way with holding the camera steady and not breathing but this can be bad for your health....

Colin

Liverbudgie2 · « **Reply #59 on:** November 12, 2012, 12:23:13 pm »

Quote from: Martin (Admin) on November 12, 2012, 12:11:17 pm

Colin Bishop took some wonderful pictures of a cutaway ship a little while ago, published in Model Boats magazine... awesome model, what was it Colin?

NB: What useful tips do we have for taking photos in museums, in glass cases in particular?

Use a polorising filter or an off the camera flash gun as well as the onboard one or a combination of both.
LB

Bowwave · « **Reply #60 on:** November 12, 2012, 02:08:40 pm »

.
The criteria for using a camera in any museum or storage facility can and does vary from one museum to the next. If you wish to take a picture of a particular subject within these facilities with a flash or without the first job is not to pull out the cameras and ask questions later but to simply enquire from the museum what their particular policy is with regard to the use of a camera. I like many have my own opinions on this matter which I have voiced many times to museum authorities. Yet the plain fact is they have the responsibility of care for that artefact and to avoid any misunderstanding and disappointment best enquire first. Not all museums have spaces available where models on written request can be examined and photographed and even when permission is sought and given to take a picture through a class screen there are some real problems to overcome as has been mentioned on this thread but if modellers like ourselves are to be treated with the respect we deserve then we must treat the artefacts and the museums where they are house with the same respect.
Bowwave

wartsilaone · « **Reply #61 on:** November 12, 2012, 02:13:09 pm »

Rule No2. FOCUS When using compact cameras check the macro position. Having the macro on the right setting can help reduce blur when doing close up's. You will still need a steady hand.

Pondweed · « **Reply #62 on:** November 13, 2012, 11:15:54 am »

Quote from: dreadnought72 on November 11, 2012, 06:33:18 pm

It gets worse, John - my ancestors paid taxes to fund all the Naval vessels whose plans are in the NMM. Surely there's no "secret" information on anything in there for the last fifty years at least? We should therefore have sensibly-priced access to anything they have ... and not have to put up with the off-putting prices for copies.

Andy

Ouch, you just hit a nerve. Have you tried to get a photograph?

Long time since I went into this but it was like £30-35 per photo to get the negative scanned, the cheapest print was £10 and by the time you add VAT and postage costs. To get it to my door was like £50 per photo!!! The price goes down the more you buy. I think the point is 5 scans and over and you save a bit per scan. But you need to spend £250 to get the cheaper rate!!! What ordinary person has that money to throw around?

I'll be fair on them, they said if the image was already digitised, then I'd only need to pay for the print, VAT and P&P.

The plans seemed reasonable by comparison: £14 a sheet plus a £10 research fee plus VAT and P&P

Basically, I don't think the NMM want to 'serve the public' (if they did, they'd have kept the ability to print from negatives avoiding the digitisation cost) I did look in to their origins and funding as I was going to write the big guy a stonker, basically, they have a quasi-military heritage and function thing going and retain some MOD funding and, to put it best way I can, the NMM don't need to serve the public.

Grumpy Dave · « **Reply #63 on:** November 13, 2012, 12:42:21 pm »

As a child going to school in Birkenhead in the 50's friends and I would visit a museum( The Williamson I think) on the corner of Balls Rd which had a collection of Cammel Laird's models also paintings showing the history of the area. I revisited it a couple of years ago, most of the models were gone, what were left were squashed up together and one gallery was an interactive area (paper and crayons) I left feeling very sad. Alo why do some posts have black diamonds with a question mark instead of

or apostrophies why?

Arrow5 · « **Reply #64 on:** November 13, 2012, 02:55:40 pm »

I hope a member from the Barrow-in-Furness area will contribute some pictures from the Dock Museum in the town. I seem to remember some very nice builder`s models there.

Jerry C · « **Reply #65 on:** November 13, 2012, 03:28:26 pm »

In the early 50s my uncle aged about 18 was in hospital with terminal leukaemia (Hodgkins disease). The bods in the science museum had recently drawn up plans for the "Elizabeth Jonas" from info saved by Samuel Pepys held at the Bodlean Library. The scale was 1/96 and the museum built a 1/48 model. My uncle wrote to the curator and asked for a copy of the plans and any photographs they had. Over the next year he made a 1/96 model while bed ridden. He and the curator corresponded on a regular basis until he finished the model. On completion the curator came up to Wolverhampton to visit and see the model. According to my gramps the curator was so impressed that he asked if they could display it at the museum. My gramps wasn't keen because it would be all he had left of him after Roy died(very shortly after this). The model was never kept in a case and over the years deteriorated very badly. The sails, made from nurses aprons, are rotten and disintegrate when touched as does the rigging and all horizontal surfaces are 1/4" deep in filth. My mother gave it to me recently with a view to me restoring it. I got in touch with Rory Cook the curator of ship models now and related this epic to him and asked if I could visit the museum with a view to photographing their model for rebuilding mine. He couldn't have been more accommodating. We arranged a date and time and he met me at reception, took me up to the display and left me to take as many pictures as I wished with or without flash. If I need any new copies of their photos or new plans I only had to ask. He gave me copies of the original Samuel Pepys drawings and notes on rigging and spars which hadn't been available to my uncle. When I saw the model in the late 60s it wasn't in a case but has since been put in a diarama type setting but I had no probs with the pics and reflections. I figured if I couldn't see the camera through the viewfinder it wouldn't show and it didn't.
Ask and it shall be given!
The renovation will begin as soon as I finish my toolchest. I will of course post on the forum as I go.
Jerry.

Copyright picture removed at posters request

Brian_C · « **Reply #66 on:** November 13, 2012, 04:14:02 pm »

heres some close ups of rms mauretania, this model is nearly 20ft long

Brian_C · « **Reply #67 on:** November 13, 2012, 04:22:03 pm »

heres a few more of her

Bowwave · « **Reply #68 on:** November 13, 2012, 04:50:04 pm »

Quote from: Grumpy Dave on November 13, 2012, 12:42:21 pm

As a child going to school in Birkenhead in the 50's friends and I would visit a museum( The Williamson I think) on the corner of Balls Rd which had a collection of Cammel Laird's models also paintings showing the history of the area. I revisited it a couple of years ago, most of the models were gone, what were left were squashed up together and one gallery was an interactive area (paper and crayons) I left feeling very sad. Alo why do some posts have black diamonds with a question mark instead of or apostrophies why?

Just for future reference ,over the past 18 months the Williamson art gallery has undergone refurbishment. The collection will soon be back on display with a number of brand new exhibits and as you say all Lairds build vessels.
Bowwave

DavieTait · « **Reply #69 on:** November 13, 2012, 05:32:23 pm »

If you make enquiries to a museum before going they might , if you can be there for opening time in the morning , allow you to take photos. Here's a few hints and tips

1) As previously stated fit a UV filter but consider using a polarising filter as well ( most are threaded so you can stack filters )

2) if you've permission take a tripod to steady the camera ( make sure its got a hook below the center bars and carry a bag with a 2L bottle of water to hang from it , this gives you a rock steady camera )

3) check the settings on your camera and make sure that if you have the option change the ISO to 800 if not using flash or 200 if using flash

4) make sure your camera is set for fluorescent light ( if you don't you'll almost certainly have photos that have a slight orange or green tint )

5) set your camera up square on to the glass of the case , this avoids distortion you get trying to take a photo through glass at an angle

6) if permitted use a flash gun connected to the camera shoe by a 1m lead ( you have to hold this at an angle of about 45 degree's to the glass towards the camera at max range from the camera ) , doing it this way the scatter back from the flash doesn't affect the image and enough light from the flash goes into the case to let you get a clearer photo

7) Use the self timer option on your camera , normally set to 10 seconds this allows you to focus the camera then stand to the side if using the flash so your not touching the camera to minimise any camera shake

I've used this system ( was in the teaching pack for the freelance photography course I did in 2000 ) and it does work.

If your not allowed to use flash or a tripod set your camera to fluorescent light and ISO 800 and that should get you decent enough photos but the faster the ISO ( the higher the number ) the more image graining you'll see

cos918 · « **Reply #70 on:** November 13, 2012, 05:56:07 pm »

Quote from: wartsilaone on November 12, 2012, 11:41:13 am

As John said earlier ferries are hard to find in museums but they can still be found. And the best bit is nobody complains when you take photo's of these.

Ali

Hi Ali
were did you find these models?

john

oldiron · « **Reply #71 on:** November 13, 2012, 06:33:52 pm »

These models were on display at the ferry terminal in Port Aux Baske, Newfoundland. They illustrate the types of vessels used for ferries to connect Nfld to the mainland over the years. The Northern Ranger is an ice breaking ferry that currently connects to Labrador.

John

Grumpy Dave · « **Reply #72 on:** November 13, 2012, 10:56:56 pm »

Cheers Bowwave. I look forward to a return visit.
Grumpy( but not so much)Dave

wartsilaone · « **Reply #73 on:** November 13, 2012, 11:34:43 pm »

Ahhhh ferry terminals. I love em, but then I would.
There's always models proudly displayed for all to see and take photo's of.
Zeebrugge and Hoek of Holland are very good for models.

Ali

Jerry C · « **Reply #74 on:** November 13, 2012, 11:45:16 pm »

Here are two pics to go with earlier post. I posted on my iphone and the eyes not being what they were posted a copyrighted science museum pic by mistake. The first is the museums model and the second is my wreck. Am having issues with resizing obviously.
Jerry.

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Author Topic: Model ships in museums (Read 15477 times)