The art of play?

 A friend of mine just commented that I am Nuts, but in a good way. He is a retired IT Guy. He cannot quite understand my world of play. 

My father was a very creative and imaginative soul. My mother is also. Both were master story tellers. Dad's creativity is well known in the commercial world of the 60's and 70's. 

My husband shakes his head at me when he sees me 'messing' around with my toys. 

Some people distract themselves with other things. I like photography and I am a fan of that little strange niche of  Toy Photography. It is engaging and fun. It is similar to doing Still Life and Fine Art but with an imaginative twist.

Saturday was a play day. I painted my dollhouse furniture that came colored in Pink. Pink for mini wood creatures? Nah. 

I did keep some bright colors for my these pieces. These little wooden figures came to us in the mail from one of my childhood friends.
She sent me her childhood collection of wooden 'zoo' critters.

Of course the donkey would love that toilet!

This summer I complained about this big old trunk that I moved out of the living room and set in an unused spot in the kitchen/dining area. I put some boards on it so I could use it as a folding table, but somehow, it has morphed into a play area.

Oh wait. No, it is a decoration area. See? See the Fall sign and the leaves?

Even Groot had to get in on the things! I purchased the wooden mushrooms at the Farmer's Market. They just go along with my critters so nicely. 

Then I had a lightbulb moment. Last year BJ sent me some Halloween windup toys. Crazy and fun little things. I couldn't use some of the toys unless it was really near Halloween.

So...with a bit of help from Charlie, I set the toys up on the floor in the living room.

Charlie was fascinated by the little witch who walked and wobbled when wound up. He was startled by the teeth that clacked. Rich and Charlie were quite entertained.

I decided to try just a plain white board for the back round. Other wise you'd see the door to our bedroom and the concentrator.

That was a bleh photo and not interesting. 

So, I tried a composite using ON1's Sky Swap just for kicks.

This rocks! 

This was a fun experiment. 

I can add my own photos to Sky Swap. The possibilities then become 

boundless for doing some interesting composite Still Life work.

Just think if I'd added smoke and fog in the foreground!

Brewwww hahahahah.....

More Stuck In..side

 -18

The mules are officially out of water and today will be the high of zero, dammit.
I'll get it done though. I will carry them water this morning and put it in pans and this afternoon when the temps rise, I'll fill the large tank. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Yesterday I 'played' with the converted Full Spectrum camera. I found that I can get interesting colors that are slightly strange if I use the camera without the Infrared Spectrum filters. 

I did this photo with a 665nm Filter.

The shot below is where I took all the photos using just the light from the back door which faces north.

Behold the mess. Old antique boxes stacked with a piece of plywood and a lid to an antique box for the back stop. Paper for any textured back grounds.

My dear friend from Alabama sent me some darling little toys via Amazon. I can't wait to take them to the woods for some adventures. Charlie is perplexed with the wind up toys and will take his nose and tip them over while they are walking.

The shot below is with no filter on it. 

Okay. When converting a camera a clear filter replaces the one inside your camera that blocks IR light. A camera converted this way is also used often in Astrophotography as it picks up light differently. No, I haven't tried that yet, but I may  try it when the temperatures are much nicer outside!

The tiny fake flower in the little brown bottle is actually bright red and the colors in the paper below should be a bit more orange. If I put the 'hot' filter on the lens, the camera would see the light as any normal camera would.

Next up, my wooden toys sent to me by a childhood friend. 

The marbles in back are actually clear and the paper is black with white grunge markings on it.

Bored yet?

Infrared is considered an artsy, non traditional, and way out there type of photography. The scenes that can be shot are pretty neat. However there is a lot more work to the final product depending on how a person wants it to appear. Post processing can be hard. Everyone argues over white balances and RAW files along with how to channel swap...or not to. 
My take away is this. I consider Infrared to be a license to do odd and beautifully strange photography. 

This is a place I am comfortable with. I have so many trials and errors that I am grateful that I have a digital camera and not film.

On a good note. Tomorrow we are supposed to get UP to 12 degrees! I'm considering putting on shorts and flip flops.
Yeah.

I may even start the Subaru and go to town for some groceries. Meanwhile, stay warm and safe. 

~~~ 

Late afternoon Update: I laid out the hose on top of the snow and used the sled to transport about 50 gallons out to the tank. What a workout! 

Stuck inside

 Normally if the outside air temp gets to zero or just above or the wind is not too severe, I would be out and about. At least exploring the frozen creek. In fact I was looking forward to it.

Instead I pulled some lower back muscles and kind of mucked myself up. I think Grandma had a different word for it. 'Stove up.' Not sure where that comes from but dang it is how I have felt for the past few days.

Chores are a work of agony in a way. I have to use a hay fork and pile up hay in a huge sled and drag it out then toss it around. Thank goodness for the heated stock tank, but draining the hoses after filling it was another interesting experience.

Rest, Ice, and reading have been my new companions. Also getting yelled at gently by my hubby. 
Today I have to drive him to the Madison VA for his shot. Good, at least it will be in a facility that can help if he has a reaction. [My biggest worry]

So, because I'm going stir crazy, I decided to get out some items and follow an instructional video on specular lighting and Still Life.

Charlie has been doing his best to deal with no daily walks. I think he is doing better than I am!

So the Video Dude said to get out a bunch of things that would throw off light.
Check...

So the gnome doesn't throw off highlights but in the back of my mind I wanted to mess around with the gnome and the paperweight anyway.
The Video Dude said to 'sketch out' Still Life set ups. Pfft. That never worked for me at all. I just start placing stuff here and there and go with it. Video Dude said to follow the Rule of Thirds, to use the L shape for interest and leading lines. 

Um.

Then he went on to close all the light from HIS windows and then brought out a Light Stand with a Soft Box diffuser on it. 
Oh.
Granted, he was using HIS dining room table in an apartment, but he was using lights I didn't have ...and a flash tethered to his camera. Um. Not stuff I have or am going to invest in unless I become a person who sells my stuff.

I stopped the video. I'd thought it was going to present me with some ideas on how to do some Still Life without the fancy lights.
Poo.

So I got out my scrap piece of felt and draped it over the laptop, a chair and across the table. Then positioned the Gnome and the glass paperweight.

The idea was to get reflections off the glass orb and light up one side of the Gnome's face. So I sort of did a low key shot with specular highlights. That sounds like a mouthful. Basically I moved things around with the felt cloth until I could 'control' the light. No flash, no soft box. Just the kitchen table and felt.

I was happy with that and decided to try something else. I placed a board down on the old busted chair and draped the cloth over it. I'd put a sheet up to tone down the sunlight coming in from the porch and to keep the afternoon sun from shining in on Rich's face while he was watching TV.

The poster board was supposed to reflect a tiny bit of light on gnome and dragons for highlights.

The shot before darkening the black.

The shot after darkening the black felt and highlighting the beard and dragon faces.

I have some more 'polishing' to do on the black, but here are the first drafts.

Next up. 

The sleeping dragon and the Wizard Gnome.

Before.

After.

Oh yes, should I include the grumpy guy on the couch? I kept walking back and forth in front of the TV while setting things up and shooting. He kept sighing.

I set up some more dragons and items but I'll save that for another time.

I did shoot my English Ivy plant but was so disappointed in all the reflections on the pot.

The fix? Easy. Crop the sucker!

I'm still going to figure out ... I hope, how to take glass objects and figure out how to control the light and reflections. It will take sheets, felt, windows, and creative thinking along with a lot of mistakes.

But I may as well make use of my time while I am stuck inside.

Don't play with your food

I think every child has heard that from their mom. However. While making cookies I thought this would be fun.
I made a diorama out of an old wooden box and used ambient light from the kitchen window as my light source.

I did some more reading and read about a do it yourself softbox for lighting. Controlling the lighting is pretty fun. I'd tried that a week or so ago with the Dinosaurs, Dragons, and a lamp.

Two years ago I'd created a similar light box and photographed an apple. That experiment was just to do a product type of photo.
It sort of worked, but I still had a shadow on the lower part of the photo. 

I had a big cardboard box sitting next to the back door and I needed to do something with it. I remembered the softbox I'd made and thought I'd try another one. I got out the box knife and made a new lightbox. I cut out two sides and the top. 

Getting a light to shine down was difficult since I only had two lamps.

But it might work for diffused light from above the object I would be photographing.

I added scrapbook paper as a backround and then scrounged around for some items that might look neat.

I used rocks and 1931 Singer sewing parts. I found the tiny needles folded up cardboard labeled London 1851. I used a tiny Halo figurine.

The scrapbook paper provided a 'grunge' looking backdrop.

I looked around for something like a circuit board for a backdrop for the tiny soldiers.
The best I could come up with was more discarded Singer parts. These parts came from my Aunt's sewing machine she purchased in 1931.

I had a bit of fun with it too. 

Beam me UP!

And then I switched things up a bit.

This would have worked better if you couldn't see where I joined two white pieces of paper together. Uffdah! 

My little Not - Fairy Garden Dragons. 

Cute Dragon and Forest Dragon.

I really like Dragons!

This I lit up from the top by putting the camera on a timer and then grabbing the lamp and shining it down from the top of the box without knocking stuff over.

And for a bit of silliness.

I have no idea why I selected this, maybe because it amused me. I think cute hearts would have been funnier as a backdrop.

Giddyup!

Then this afternoon after a friend saw the dinosaur eating the cookie ... she texted me that it was so UNFAIR that her Zoo Crew she'd sent me didn't get any goodies!

I had made a cake [and believe me...that is a big effort!]. So after Rich had a piece, I ...

well

I...

played with the food...

The Zoo Crew !

Toys

When I am at loss as to what to photograph next, I often try to do some Still Life. I even once signed up for a class and did some really amazing stuff. I mean neato stuff that looked like it came from a magazine kind of stuff.

But I lost interest in positioning coffee cups, spoons, and fruit. It was just stuff. The learning part was interesting. I learned how to 'set' things up for a backround. I learned to do it with a cheap paper - the kind used for making scrap books. I used old felt to make black back drops and a white sheet for white ones. I used poster board to reflect light and a window for natural lighting.

I lusted after things like a 'soft box' and neat lighting. I built my own 'soft box' out of cardboard. I discovered that a light tea towel would diffuse enough light from a desk lamp to act like an expensive studio light.

Toys.

Over the years kids have donated toys to me to take out into the woods and have adventures with. 

The set up above is one of those easy peasy set ups. I grabbed some of the discarded toys and lined them up. I taped some paper together for the backround.

The photo below turned out as expected. However, it was bland and uninteresting. That creepy doll was not connecting with me.

The shot I'd done before however...did impact me when I looked at it much closer.

She just is creepy!

Those freaky eyes!

Exactly what I wanted.

I swept the toys to the side and piled them on a sheet of scrap book paper.

Ewwww.

Those eyes!

While doing that, I opened up my husband's big old trunk and took out his childhood teddy bears. 

I stuck the large one in the old busted up Christmas chair and put it in the bright afternoon sunlight.

Rich was delighted to see his big brown bear and extolled its virtues. 

Um.

Yucky looking bear. 

And then he reminded me that this bear was probably 60 years old.

I'm going with a certain 'Creepitude' with this Bear. 

I pulled out his other bear and an old book.

More fond memories and discussion ensued.

I put my Bear with his bear and they seemed to get along okay.

However the old bear didn't seem to have much to say.

It seemed he was rather wide eyed and startled at being out of the trunk after so 

many years of being stored.

End note.

Most of these toys have a story behind them. The Barbie doll head was given to me by my youngest grand daughter when she was about 3 yrs old. She kept the headless body I think.

Other parts and pieces were given to me by the neighbor kids. They all have a back story of some sort.

That creepy baby with the bottle. The one single Barbie shoe. The Zombie doll.

Lego people in various stages of disarray. 

An interview I read with Dan Leonard really hit home.

#WithToysInMind is a project he created with his own personal mental health in mind. It is a creative escape to deal with emotions.

I didn't even realize that I was doing this.

Bear and I is how I deal with loneliness.

Rabbit and Bear is how I used photography to deal my husband's desperate and deep bouts of depression.

So.

Playing with toys is a good thing.

Creativity in any form is good for the mind.

Not sure

I had to spend the day inside and had done the 'house chores'. There was rain and sleet and icing going on outside.

I had so many things to do. Like stick around where I could get a call back from the VA. I dusted. How does so much dust accumulate on so few surfaces? It is a mystery. Dog hair. I got that too. Charlie is tiny but he is a mighty shedder. During the winter months we get a short break, I think he is hanging onto that fur coat so he can stay warm while snow swimming.

So I decided to try some Still Life Stuff. Truth be told, some of it was fun to set up but it didn't exactly make me go OHHHH or AHHH!

Eggxactly. 

Tiny Soldiers and Eggs

Totally Boring.

A flat presentation

of my new baby dragon

One interesting note. You don't need much to do a homemade still life.

I eventually said to heck with it. Though my words may have been stronger. Nothing was that interesting. 

I ascended into the Magical Room of Creations. Otherwise really known as the spare bedroom in which I toss crap and leave it laying about. Toys and totes are scattered all over the place. I clean it up once in a while but it is easier just to close the door and forget about it.

See?

I'd watched a video about being bored with outside photography and how to have some fun indoors and experiment with simple things like a desk lamp.

So I set up two crates and a board. I used a plastic tote lid to tape textured paper to and lit it up from behind. 

Glasses with water and 

drops of food coloring

Kind of cool. I had fun with it. Until I got bored. 
Then it became toy time.

Utter Failure of Dragons 

Backlit and out of focus

I had tried using a flashlight to 'creatively' light them up. Nah. Pfft. 

So I put some dinosaurs on the board. I draped the board and the backround with black felt. I took the desk light and laid it on the floor in front of the Dinos. Pretty gnarly!

Dinosaurs

Dragons

Well, that was cool. I like black backrounds. I can then literally create another world with photoshop brushes.

So last but not least, I took one of the 'Fairy' Houses I made last year and some shredded brown paper and did this.

The dragons are quite detailed. And I love their colors. By this time I'd had enough of messing around and left the spare room an absolute mess. I did get the call back from the VA on my cell phone. 

If I'd gone hiking into the creek I wouldn't have gotten a call. The valley is a dead zone.

So, hours wasted? I don't know. Probably not. I think I learned something and can set things up again on the next dreary rainy/sleety/nasty day.

Onwards.