How was this photo taken? See bottom of page.
I was active in model railroading as a teenager, modeling with Louis Marx 027 equipment and then in HO scale. I took some photos of my efforts using my fathers' roll film camera and flashbulbs, the type of equipment that was normally around at the time. See my HO scale layout below:
Later with friend Jack Chisholm we experimented using a 127 camera of his fitted with a pinhole lens made from tinfoil:
Other interests took over late in high school, and I got out of model railroading, turning to photography as a hobby around 1963. I belonged to a car club and started to take photos at local area drag races, and this became a big part of my photographic interests. I also photographed stock car races, car shows, did some weddings on the side, and participated in local camera club activities. Raising a family and my career with the Canadian Coast Guard kept me busy and away from modeling for about 20 years.
Around 1982 I was thinking back to my days in model railroading, and searched out local modelers to see if I could take photos of their layouts for submissions to model magazines. Not finding anything suitable, I borrowed a diorama made by a member of the camera club who was into model railroading. This lead to me making a small HO scale module with a local club, and then on to a 2' by 6' shelf layout. I was back into model railroading and taking photos of my creations!
I submitted a few photos to the magazines, and saw my first published work in Model Railroader's Trackside Photos in March 1983, a shot of my kitbashed Bucyrus steam shovel. My shelf layout was featured in MR's October 1984 issue, and I continued to contribute to all of the major magazines. I also contributed photos to the annual Walthers catalog, and they used my photos for twenty years. I've had great luck with my submissions, with over 800 photos published in all of the major hobby magazines, including 30 cover illustrations. I had fun entering Model Railroader's Annual Photography Contest, and was graced with wins in First, Second, Third (twice) and Honorable Mention (three times). Two of my photos are in the 2008 Walthers catalog.
My photos and articles have appeared in Model Railroader, Railroad Model Craftsman, Model Railroading, Canadian Railway Modeller, Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette, Rail Model Journal, Mainline Modeler, NMRA Bulletin/Scale Rails, The Railfan Photographer, Le Rail Miniature, Walthers Catalogs and Books, O Gauge Railroading, O Scale Trains, The S Gaugian, Scale Modeler, Railfan & Railroad, Northwest Lines, CN Lines, and Miniatures Showcase.
I've also participated in many local, regional and national model railroad convention photo contests, with several First Place finishes. The most notable were my First Place wins at the 1986 and 2004 NMRA National Conventions in Boston and Seattle, both for black and white model photos. At the National Narrow Gauge Conventions in Denver (2003) and Durango (2006), I again took First Place in the Black and White model photo contests. At the 2007 convention in Portland, Maine, my photos won Second Place in the model color print and model black and white categories.
All of my past photographic work was done with film cameras, and I maintained a black and white photo darkroom for about 30 years. Progress marches on, and I now shoot exclusively with digital cameras. I started out with Canon film cameras, and now use an 10.1 megapixel Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera as well as two point and shoot cameras, an 8MP Canon Powershot S5 and an 8MP Pentax Optio X10. I've had several articles published with my digital images, the most recent being the RMC/Dremel Kitbashing Award in the February 2006 issue of Railroad Model Craftsman.
I retired from the Canadian Coast Guard in 2001 after 35 years in shore based technical/managerial positions.
It's been fun so far!
Bob Boudreau
Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
NOTE: You can see LARGER VIEWS of any of the photos on this site by clicking on the photo.
A few of my published Photos:
TITLE PHOTO: This photo was taken with an extreme wide angle lens, a Tamron 11-18mm at 11mm at f/22. This combination gives a great depth of focus as can be seen. The model truck was in deep shadow, which was brightened with a reflector. Scene taken in natural light, as the sun shone on my modules