Comments on: Gettysburg in Miniature

Gettysburg in Miniature

marxchivist — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:46:41 -0800

Miniature Gettysburg is "photographed on a 250 square foot diorama accurately representing portions of the terrain of the Gettysburg Battlefield as it appeared on July 2, 1863." The portfolio section has some very intriguing looking photos, unfortunately they cannot be viewed large. Some info on the artist's techniques here. [via]

Some only slightly larger pics available in the online store. I'm frustrated by the small size of the pics, but given my hobby of collecting toy soldiers and my fascination with the Civil War, I couldn't not post this. People seem to like to do dioramas of Gettysburg. More here and here. Even more Civil War Toy Soldier fun at Mannie Gentile's blog. [previously]

By: Faux Real

Faux Real — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:03:20 -0800

This. What Cruse Elroy and Hadokens are to some of you, this right here in all it's 1/72nd glory is to my childhood. Thank you marxchivist.

By: freebird

freebird — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:44:10 -0800

Earlier works like "Miniature Meatgrinder" and "Miniature Bhopal Disaster" were less well received by the philistine public but also of note for their intriguing use of FOV and diographic technique.

By: freebird

freebird — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:49:30 -0800

Hmm - upon further coffee, I worry that might have come out wrong. As a lifelong wargamer and childhood-long model builder, I love this sort of thing and the links are excellent. It was just a little too early for me to think calmly about Gettysburg and the American Civil War in general. I've had my coffee now, am ready to face the horrors of History and the Day with objectivity and non-attachment, and did not mean to make any political or philosophical point in my comment above. Great post - it's the horrific war I'd mark for deletion if I could.

By: uni verse

uni verse — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 08:50:22 -0800

Wow all that detail but then paints the figures in a neon blue you wouldn't have even seen on a legwarmer in the 80's, much less 1880's.

By: Man-Thing

Man-Thing — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:08:15 -0800

Where are the dinosaurs? Didn't one of them bite off Dan Sickles' leg?

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:28:30 -0800

I didn't even know people were doing tilt-shift photos back then! Seriously, this is pretty dang neat. I love dioramas. It is too bad about the photo size.

By: barrett caulk

barrett caulk — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:05:37 -0800

eat your heart out, david levinthal.

By: The Whelk

The Whelk — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:15:16 -0800

Anyone remember that Harlan Ellison story where a man fills his miniature battlefields by plucking soldiers out from history at the moment they realize they're about to die and turning them into tiny statuettes?

By: ZakDaddy

ZakDaddy — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:46:00 -0800

Wow all that detail but then paints the figures in a neon blue Surely there's a Photoshop tutorial for something like that.

By: bugmuncher

bugmuncher — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:08:21 -0800

Is it a tilt-shift lens, or just a really shallow depth of field? I find it extremely distracting either way. I'd think that in order to show how good of a diorama artist you are, you'd want to show more detail in a deeper depth of field for at least some of the shots. I enjoy shooting shallow DOF for most of my work, but I would have definitely mixed up the DOF a bit if it were my job to shoot this. Good on him for not using flash; it was overcast for much of the battle that day. It would be super-cool if he could simulate a break in the clouds (as it might have happened that afternoon) with off-camera flash in the right position for where the sun would have been.

By: StickyCarpet

StickyCarpet — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:18:30 -0800

Is it a tilt-shift lens Isn't that the whole point of building dioramas? To avoid buying a tilt-shift lens?

By: Devils Rancher

Devils Rancher — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:49:41 -0800

I had a great, great grandfather who was wounded in at the Wheatfield. He was an early testament to Vreeland hard-headedness that continues to this day -- he was shot in the head & lay wounded on the field for 2 days before he was retrieved and taken away to a hospital. He survived for quite a few years, apparently. My granny still has his hat with the bullet hole through it. It was one heackofa battle.

By: Enron Hubbard

Enron Hubbard — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:28:51 -0800

Isn't that the whole point of building dioramas? To avoid buying a tilt-shift lens? As opposed to buying a time machine?

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:16:20 -0800

Isn't that the whole point of building dioramas? To avoid buying a tilt-shift lens? That and to feel like Godzilla. RAAAARRR! *STOMP STOMP STOMP*

By: zzazazz

zzazazz — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 07:45:12 -0800

When I read the words "Miniature Gettysburg" I had a feeling this would be a post by Marxchivist