On a roll.

Friday we had another unbelievable day for Wisconsin. I didn't need long underwear and I didn't need a heavy jacket.

Yet I still found ice in the valley.

Cell phone shot of the creek below and the forest above.

The sun shines on this area where the ice is gradually melting into the creek bed.

This is a very curious spot. The creek is generally very narrow here, but the trickling water in the subzero weather built layers up and spread the ice out to the edges of the bank. 

This would be the normal width of the creek here when we have plenty of rain.

Charlie went ahead of me scenting for deer and mice. He did get to chase a squirrel. 

His prizes were Rabbit Pellets of course. He insists that he needs to have a few daily. After all, they are Smart Pellets!

All in a little dog's day of work.

I've also been working on two separate 'toy' story lines for my own entertainment.

One is outdoors with the orange and black Titan 13 3D articulated figure. I've set the Lego folks aside for now since my creative juices are mesmerized by these two figures.

Titan 13 photographs very well outdoors much to my surprise. 

A Toy Photographer on Flickr and Toy Photographers [.com] asked me what the back story was to Titan 13. Titan 13 is the name of Toy and all the variations of this printed figure. It is 5 inches or 13 cm tall. 

I replied "No back story yet. I'm wondering if he just got dropped into this world and we'll have to figure out what is happening by looking at the photos."

I'd like their poses and actions in the shot have to speak for themselves.

I do appreciate many other photographers who include a narrative to tell the viewer what is happening in the picture. Wouldn't it be unique to let the viewer decide? Or even yet, another thought popped into my head today.

What if I just gave each shot a one word description? 

Reflections

That would be so challenging with a piece of plastic wouldn't it?

The next two are of T13 and her dog. This Robot/Figure is my current indoor Table Top Challenge -- self imposed challenge.

Unwind

Dreams

Or...
what if there is not title but the viewer decides on the word or vision for themselves?

....

Another thought struck me. What about doing a series of shots without a narrative by me, but a narrative by the figure itself?

Happiness
Sadness
Surprise
Lonely...

Hmm, it is a thought.

And yes, I'll be bringing back the wooden guy this month. I usually pull him out to do a Valentine's themed series of photos.

With the landscape as dull as it is, I need to do something else that keeps my enthusiasm up for right now.

More wooden model fun

Well, I had so much fun with the mannequin, I thought I'd sit down and try to think up another scenario or two. I had more phone calls to wait on. 

My cell phone does work, it doesn't get voice service inside the north portion of the house and rarely gets any service in the kitchen. It does receive texts and all the other good stuff. Just no voice service most of the time inside the house. We attribute that to living with hills surrounding our place and the steel roof.

I really had to work at thinking of things. I tried making paper flowers that would be tiny enough for the mannequin to hold. Boy was that ever a failure. Meanwhile, apparently little wooden dog got hungry and mannequin fed him.

I tried to get the mannequin in a nice sitting position, but it kept falling over. I wanted the tiny dog in his lap. That didn't work. Then I tried making a blanket and a pillow. 

That worked but I didn't like how the shot turned out. The color of the material I used took away from the feel I was trying to get.

I went to all white and tried this.

Bad dog. What happens when you let wooden fido get the mail!

I tried several positions and the light from the back door kept changing.

This was much harder than it looks! Light, shadows, and no distractions to take away from the subject matter. 
But it was a great mind exercise.

Toys and toys

I took this shot of this tiny tiny rabbit [it is for Fairy Gardens and Terrariums] while out counting broken fence insulators. I was going to toss it, but the light was neat and it was next to a tree with mossy roots. I let it simmer for a bit on my hard drive...and then this morning I 'felt' it.

I'll admit it. I like hiking with toys in my pocket. Did you know that Toy Photography is a Thing?

I would love to be like Mitchel Wu, but he uses a studio. He is creative and his toys are always doing something fantastic. I could look at his stuff forever. I want to run out and purchase Lego People. But, I don't ... yet. They are pricey!

I like to take my items out hiking with me. Or fixing fence. Or riding. Or keep something in my pocket at all times. Of course Spidey is taking on a yard thistle.

I'm sometimes like a child and take delight in finding 'things' for my toys to do. My favorite toys are the mini soldiers. I carry them in my back pack all of the time.

Years ago, my neighbor chopped off a Barbie Doll's hair and made her a set of coveralls and a skunk hat. I started finding ways to pose and photograph the doll for entertainment.

I had such a blast.

[Note to self, get out Val Barbie again!]

A childhood friend sent me her tiny wooden animals to join my menagerie of toys.

The squirrel is my favorite.

A friend I've made on Flickr sent me a huge box of Superheroes! Yes, that is where the Spiderman came from. 

And of course there are the dragons and dinosaurs.

And...

some of my other favorites?

Teddy Bears. 

Lil' Bear who is the CrossFit Mascot. Our coach would set him up after workouts and I'd do a little blurb for our CF site. Now Lil' Bear is just waiting to get back to the gym after a year!

He does look a bit lonely doesn't he?

And then there are the Teddy Bears that I picked up for a quarter at a Thrift Shop. 

I had a notion and tossed the bears into a canvas sack.

You know these Teddy's if left unchecked can do some interesting things.

I think they were brewing a spell!

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.