James River Branch: Backdrop

Backdrop

Since the new layout had a front and back (which the coffee table design didn't have), I thought about a backdrop. The shelf was an oddly-sized space, and I thought I'd have to make something myself. But then a forum discussion on clouds brought me to a poster website (AllPosters) where I happened to find photographic sky panoramas in a wide variety of sizes, some of which almost exactly matched the shelf space.

Finding a couple dozen viable sky posters, I envisioned having several backdrops on hand to add a variety of moods to photographs of the layout. Just two problems. First, the price. Good ones (digital archive prints) range from $70-100. My collection was going to be quite small... Second, it's hard to judge exactly how they'll look based on the online thumbnails. My first pick turned out to be seriously saturated in color, and flooded the layout with a strong blue hue.

My second pick—which was purchased almost exactly a year later—was chosen as a contrast to the "clear sunny day" one that appears in photos taken up to that point. I wanted a cloudier effect, as well as an image that would add more depth to a scene. What I had not anticipated was just how much brighter the layout would be with a nearly-white backdrop behind it. While it's obvious and makes perfect sense, it's not something I'd anticipated going into the purchase; it was a startling—but pleasant—surprise.

The sky poster is spray-mounted to Foamcore and simply sits on the shelf.

My second backdrop is very different, and makes the layout a little brighter.

The third backdrop works best when photographing the layout.

A third backdrop was added to the collection in the spring of '09. It looked fantastic until I mounted it; the problem is that its horizon line is quite low, and the dramatic feeling of depth it conveys is diminished when it's positioned behind the layout on the shelf. However, when photographing the layout, I'm free to reposition it for the best possible effect, so it was not a wasted investment.