Moon Over Little Falls

[Dune]

Indeed!

[sboerner]

Almost done with this one. Here is a cropped detail. Small tweaks needed to some shaders before starting the final print-resolution (6000px) rendering.

[WAS]

Wow, great work! This is coming along so nicely. Love the lighting as well, really adds to the charm of the scene.

[Lady of the Lake]

Wonderful, detailed artwork.

[Dune]

Just great! A piece where you can wander around and marvel at all the details, and really understand what it used to be like. I'm sure you'll be able to sell this poster to many folks in the area interested in the past of the canal (and more). The two sets of pulling horses are absolutely great (as is the rest).

One thing I was wondering; the two guys pulling at the sluices to close them is heavy work, but doable... if there's a wall of water behind, how will they be able to open them again. Wouldn't there be a hatch in the wood walls that can be opened by pulling the hatch up (would be less heavy), so the water can run out before the sluices are opened? Or are they there?

And a tiny thin; is the rope not a bit on the thick/heavy side? But maybe that was needed in those days, because ropes weren't as strong as nowadays.

[Hannes]

What a beauty!!! It's such a fun to "wander" around in your scene.

[mhaze]

Superb!

[sboerner]

Thanks, everyone. This one has been a challenge because of all the activity. And the low, direct lighting, a result of the very early morning hour and my desire to include the setting moon (not visible in this crop).

Ulco, I think you're right about the rope. If I remember correctly it's two inches in diameter, but it appears larger than that. Aesthetically it would be a good idea to make it less hefty. An easy fix.

Each of the lock gates has a butterfly valve that can be opened to drain the lock chamber so the gates can be opened. The valves are out of sight here (they are under water, even when the water level in the chamber is lowered), but if you look closely you can see the wrought-iron stems and handles of the "keys" used to open them, protruding from the tops of the gates. The technology was crude and demanded a lot of muscle power, but it worked.

[WAS]

This would be so cool animated but that sounds daunting.

[Jo Kariboo]

Very beautiful period scene. The work on all items is awesome!

[Dune]

Thanks for explaining, Steve. You thought of everything!

[sboerner]

This would be so cool animated but that sounds daunting.

I've thought about it but will probably never do it. Too much of a time investment. Great suggestion though.

Thanks for explaining, Steve. You thought of everything!

I try! One other detail that might be mentioned is just how dangerous this work was. It was easy to lose control of the values when turning them against all that water pressure. Broken arms and, worse, getting thrown into the lock chamber and drowned were real hazards. There are reports of careless passengers getting crushed against the lock chamber walls, too. Travel was very interesting back in those days!

[Dune]

So, maybe you should add a corpse in the water   But I'm afraid the print wouldn't sell then.

[sboerner]

 Yeah that might put a damper on sales.

[sboerner]

This one's done for now. Early morning on Sept. 20, 1823, with near-full moon setting in the west. Happy to be moving on to a new project soon.