I've been doing a spot of ballasting this evening, not one of my favourite tasks but a breeze compared to trying to take a photo of it. The ballasted area is too close to the front of the layout to light how I'd like, the roof timbers pretty much force the lights to be end-on, unfortunately. Hence the lens-flare, sparkling ballast and glistening rails - everything is still sopping wet.
What looks to be a smooth area of fine ash ballast in real life seems to be lumps of coal in the photo, and my 'just a hint of weeds' shows up as a meadow. Still, I'm very happy with how it looks in reality, I just need to learn how to photograph it better!
A lower viewpoint shows what a sodden mass of white glue and ballast the area is, I'd better go and move the wagons before they become a permanent fixture.
I'm amazed at how the grass stands out in the photos. It's really not like that in real life, in fact I was thinking I needed to add some more to get the effect I wanted. I'll wait until the glue dries before making the final decision, I think.
The MCA/MDA wagons are from Hurst Models resin kits, a rake of which I'd had sitting in my store-cupboard until Nigel Burkin could bear my procrastination no longer and built them for me...
Currently On My Stereo: Capercaillie - To The Moon