I had an hour of ...

quiet time on Monday. 

Charlie and I headed to the woods with an idea in mind. Well, Charlie wanted to do dog stuff, like pee on all the trees.

I had discovered one of the Jason Christoble sculptures had been named Father Tree. While I was doing chores in the morning I thought.

Hmmm. Father Tree ----- >>>>>and I heard the chainsaws going in the distance and it hit me.

Princess Sara gets summoned to the Big Deep Forest by Father Tree. She has been busy gathering her fighting force to go rescue the Magical Dragon Egg from the nefarious Rock Monsters and other Evil Forces, but this sounded quite urgent.

The ride starts out through the lush green forest and...

they find themselves in an area that has been devastated...

[note...this is what occurs when Charlie helps. I didn't mind. He heard a large tree crash to the ground far off and decided that he needed to be next to me... Photo Bomb!]

The Princess and Joan of Knight meet with Father Tree....

Father Tree explains that he was neutral on the plight of the Dragons and the Mythical Egg until the Rock Monsters started killing his trees and causing cataclysmic damage to his forest.

His eyes glowed with displeasure. He was going to gather his Tree People to help Princess Sara and all of the Little Forest People.

[Well why not?]

So that is how my imagination works. I get stuck, I know where I want to go with a story. But I get distracted with other things.

Then something comes along that makes sense and adds to this never ending saga.

Princess Sara has heard of yet one more warrior she can get to help her in her Quest. He is said to have power over wild beasts. After meeting with Father Tree, she decides to seek him out.

[Thank you Aurora for the surprise once more in my mailbox!]

Of Dragons and Princesses. Just for fun.

So ever since I found those cute little 3D printed dragons while shopping with my Granddaughter, I've been caught up in my love for dragons.

I did imagine the dragons needing help in some way from other dragons. I did imagine that there needed to be villains and a heroes.

But dragons can look so fearless and ferocious. 

Or they can be cute and charming.

What if. Princess Sara's Quest and Destiny is part of a bigger picture? What if her destiny as Lego Princess is to save a Dragon from Lego Monsters?  How would she find out?

The Frog told her months ago that she just needed to keep wandering and her Quest would become evident. [That was me thinking...I don't know where the h-ll this story is going, but I'll keep having fun]

Surely if the Rock Monsters steal the precious legendary dragon egg, you'd think that the dragons would do anything to get it back.

But rarely are fantasy stories ever that direct. There's always mystical magical stuff going on. Always a Quest or a Good Deed to be done. 

There is Good and Evil, and Finding Your Way through Self Exploration. The main character must be tested and tested again.

And what on Earth does a Magical Frog have to do with all of it other than he set her on her course.

[Actually, with the original post, it was all about making a build from a video that Four Bricks Tall had made about mirrors and extending backgrounds. I named it  Princess Sara and the Frog's Quest in March of this year.] 

Off and on all summer I've tried to figure out exactly what her Quest should be. I knew IF I wandered aimlessly and let my creative mind echo in my brain that eventually I'd figure out something.

I didn't mean for it to become a story in my head or in photos. But it just seems to happen.

I suppose it is a form of play and a form of learning to relax the brain.

----

I think I'm finding my way. Or should I say, the story is playing itself out bit by bit. I just have to follow it.

The Forest Dragon, Emerald has heard of a Legendary Warrior Princess who welds great powers who could save all of the dragons from extinction. Perhaps it is her destiny also to save The Egg that has been stolen by the Rock Monsters. 

That Egg has been said to hold a Mythological Dragon that can also unite all dragons and people. Cracks had formed in the Egg which meant the Dragon was to be born soon.

He spots Princess Sara in the woods and notices her incredible and strong aura of strength and perseverance.

How could he approach such a magnificent warrior woman without being slain? He knows that all almost all Princesses, Kings, and Knights regularly slay dragons! 

He must, must find a way...

Princess Sara and Joan of Knight are still trudging along and wandering the deep forest, searching for an answer to her quest.

And deeper in the woods. Emerald contacts Yoga [yes, a pun on Yoda from Star Wars]. 

Yoga promises to contact the Mystical Frog to relay the dragon's plight.

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With this play, my mind stays active and my love for photography gets challenged by having to create a 'scene' and the photos are like a story board.

What better way to keep exploring my inner sense of kid and relaxation at the same time.

Hmmm, or is it my subconscious trying to figure out a way to deal with being a Caregiver that has to stay close to home and cannot go on all the travels she had planned to do after she retired?

Stay tuned to meet a new character in the Princess Saga.

 

The Quest continues...

I am pretty lucky to live in a very remote area with a large tract of wild woods that surround us. I thought I'd take advantage of the overcast skies to take a hike and try out some more things I learned from doing a bit more research about Lego photography.

Below is my backpack that is a Kurgo backpack made specifically to carry a small dog. My dog said no. I put a camera bag insert into the 'pet area' years ago and this became my go to backpack.

I can carry water bottles, snacks, and all sort of other goodies in the other section of the backpack.

Old plastic sandwich meat containers are perfect for carrying Lego minifigs or pieces.

 

When I got to the creek, I set my pack down. Did I mention that it is made to sit up straight and that it has a rubber bottom on it? Perfect for setting down in damp places.

I wanted to test out an idea I'd seen a Lego Photographer use when trying to photograph Lego's in a puddle or stream. If you have ever tried it, the boats sink or tip over, the kayaks and canoes don't really float. I've stacked rocks up against Legos in the stream to keep them in place only to back off and get the shot ready...

and the Lego minfig tips over and floats away.

One person suggested hot gluing a piece of metal to the bottom of a Lego minifig stand. I tried that method and it worked well for a while. After bumping around in my backpack and being repositioned several times, the metal washer came off. But it was a fantastic solution and an easy thing to do.

I also took a flat 6 X 6 plate and stood a horse on it. The stream still wanted to pull on the horse, so I put some rocks on the plate to hold it in place. It worked like a charm.

Anyone who has ever ridden horses [or mules] knows that sometimes horses don't like streams or even shy away from puddles.

I imagine that Princess Sara's faithful steed, Ice, wouldn't want to cross the stream. Princess Sara had a tough time convincing Ice that it was OK to go in the water. She even waded into the stream to show him.

Apparently he had none of it until Joan of Knight rode her workhorse into the stream to show Ice that it wouldn't hurt him.

At this point, I was not using a tripod, but was standing in about 8 inches of water in a little pool in the creek. I had to squat down and get the camera close to the water. I felt something cold on my rear end and realized I'd squatted right into the creek.

[Yeah for CrossFit squats!]

Phew!

Princess Sara and Joan got across safely and continued on their Quest. The frog had said that they just needed to go into the forest and the Quest would make itself known to them.

The camera settings were pretty basic. I use an f stop so I could get both figures in focus. But I also set them in the same focal plane.

Getting low was the key. Very low. My hands were resting on top of the water and since I was wearing knee high waterproof muck boots my feet didn't get wet. But my rear end did!

The sky was cloudy so I was able to shoot without worrying too much about highlights on the minifigs.

Processing the shots were fairly straightforward, I have presets that I've developed for certain kinds of looks.

Stay tuned. The Princess and the Knight continued their Quest.

I am just following along.

What's up in Lego Land...

I did take some advantage of the snow before it melted. I was able to grab a shot in the woods of Princess Sara and Joan of Knight going on their Quest!

I think it is hilarious that Princess Sara carries her stick horse AND rides a beautiful white steed. Joan of Knight has a Lego Friends horse. I prefer just to think of Knight's horse as a draft. 

I am planning more of their Quest, but the weather has not cooperated much. I want to take Sara and Joan through the woods to find some really cool places for them to Quest at....
[Quest is NOT a verb, but I used it that way anyway]
I'm sure as I wander the forest aimlessly, their Quest will present itself to us.

This was shot with my Olympus E-M5 Mark III. Nothing special was done other than change the colors to a more 'blue' from the original.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

Does anyone remember Frank the hapless Star Wars Storm Trooper? He is always trying  to impress his Snow Troopers.

He found a snowmobile and I think he was trying to show off to his troopers again. It never ends well. Will Frank ever learn?

It seems that one of the troopers was filming the whole thing!

Frank walks away as if nothing unusual happened.

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I prefer, when I am able, to shoot outside if I can. 

When reading about 'doing Toy Photography' I absorb different articles regarding planning. Some folks draw out their plan. 
I'm a 'wing it' person especially when outside.
[But I may have figured out some cool-er things to do!]

I hiked by one of my favorite rocks and saw an opportunity to place a Huntress [shall we call her Hannah?] in a cozy spot on a rock outcrop.

I took the photo which was in complete and dark shade. So I used a flexible piece of white material to bounce light back onto her. This scene doesn't look like it, but I was standing in snow and the wind was blowing hard.

I added a brush to create the effect of the fire glowing.

Here is Hannah after she found a new campsite. She was told by a frog to camp in the woods until she met a Princess. She was joined by her pet rabbit, George.

What of Princess Sara and her faithful protector?

It looks like they are still wandering in the forest.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I wonder if these characters will come across the Brothers Odd. When we last saw them, I think they were trying to figure out how to stay warm all winter. 🤔

I guess anything could happen if a Frog sends you on a Quest.

Princess Sara and the Frog's Quest

Ideas sort of start out randomly. I had this partial building that the grandkids had left me and wanted to try and do something with it.

I took out Princess Sara and her stick horse and set her in the building. I added another character and then just messed with ideas that bounced around in my head. [My husband says it is an echo chamber inside my brain!]

Some time ago, while bored, I watched a video about how you can extend a building for photography by using a mirror. I thought I'd try it. 

To create an optical illusion, I added flowers to the back where I took the wall down. If seen 'in' camera and slightly out of focus, the flowers and bricks seem to be part of the set.

The kids had left some holes in the walls of their build so I thought I'd try putting lights through them to make the scene a bit more interesting. These are some Ulanzi lights I purchased on the cheap for some other still life work.

What it looks like from above.

What it looks like from behind the camera.

I wanted to add a bit of atmosphere to the scene. There are all sorts of ways to add atmosphere. Photographer's Atmosphere [very pricey atmosphere in a spray can], fog machines [very pricey, but now they make hand held ones], and a simple battery operated face mister. The face mister has an arrow pointing to it....

To add the mist, I simply turned it on and lay it on its side next to the open space that the light was shining through.

The scene as it looked in camera.👆

I kept moving minifigs around and finally decided to have Princess Sara talking to a tiny frog. I mean all good stories have a Princess and a Frog right?

I swapped out the Acorn person for a Knight. Not just any Knight, I chose one female knight I call Joan. 
In this scene Joan holds Princess Sara's stick horse while she meets in the castle garden at night to speak to the Magical Frog.

I mean, why not? 

The mirror did its trick the castle garden seems to extend in the background forever. The lights and mist add mystery and Joan's eyes are watching over her Princess carefully.

The final shot:

For me, it was important to see Joan's eyes through her helmet. It seems silly that she is holding both an weapon and a stick horse, but that is the fun of toy photography. Anything you desire can happen.

After shooting this photo, I decided that perhaps Sara and Joan should go on the Quest that the Frog sent them on.

Do I know what their Quest is yet? Nope. I imagine if I follow them, I may figure it out eventually.