Some fun & Close...

 

I thought I'd have some fun on Sunday with my Lego Castle set.  I wanted to do more than just a few neat shots like the one below.

This is Clarence, he is one of the Castle Guards. 

After this shot, I thought it would be really fun to try a 'stop motion'. I did it the old fashioned way without an app to help. I guess there is an app you can install on your phone to do this and there is also and AI app called NaukNauk which will take a still video of a minifigure and make it into a short animated film.  It is slick as all get out. I feel like it is a cheap cheat, even though I've seen little videos that are pretty fun.

But it isn't true stop motion like I learned as a kid. I learned from the artists at my dad's office as they did animation. It was careful step by step drawing or using a photograph. I learned the old fashioned way.

I enjoyed this so much, it was quite a bit of fun.

In this castle there is a skeleton that has been locked in a cell. Obviously, the guards must have forgotten to feed him!

Looks like he is happy to have escaped!

After the last storm I had to go check for more downed trees. There was one. What a year for falling trees!

I of course had an idea for something fun to shoot while checking.

I used battery powered mini-lights and strung them out on a deer trail then placed my space people in the path and viola!

I didn't even think of a follow up to this shot...but I imagined the minifig in the orange saying to the other astronaut: See! I told you I saw strange lights!

I was just happy to quickly set things up and grab the shot and be on my way back home.

Though I did find these....

They were way passed their prime of course but I think they could have been some sort of Boletes. When they are fresh, they look rather beautiful.

There were more 'False Coral Mushrooms' popping up in one area of the forest that I had to backtrack through as the original ridge trail now has been blocked by fallen trees from the last few storms. No fence damage, but it is a pain to climb through or go around.

My Monday was a success. I called all the places I had to call and did all the boring things I had to do, then took some time to sit on the porch and watch the birds and think about the upcoming heat wave. This part of the summer is not my favorite.

By evening the air was breathless. However, I did still see lightening bugs! They must really love heat and humidity and ... still nights. I think my Grandmother used to describe weather like this as: Close.

Close: a weather condition when the relative humidity and the temperature are both the same. Often with no breeze where the air feels stagnant and heavy making it hard to breathe.

The A/C will get a work out for the next few days. It will be 'close'.

Fun Stuff

Have you seen the size of the Skeeters in the woods lately?
Wow! 

Just kidding. It is a Tetradactyl Lego Dino, I tossed some Dinosaurs in my camera back on my early morning walk on Sunday. I was hoping to get around in the woods before the bugs woke up too much and while it was still cool outside.

I'd been working on my Lego Challenge for this month. I did some fun shots for the challenge. I really enjoyed working on doing it.
Seeing the work of other photographers really was interesting. Some shots were meh and some were just SO WOW that it took my breath away.

I have a hard time creating a backdrop out of Legos for my 'scenes'. However, I am working on it. I like to just dump some bricks in a bin and start building in no particular manner. Ideas come as I continue to build and often, I will redo one build several times before I am satisfied.

These were my latest space efforts.

This is George, he is a space Explorer who is hunting Power Crystals. In the Lego land of adventures, many of the space sets come with little 'power' crystals that are blue. I thought I'd pick up all the loose little clear red pieces and see if I could 'create' something in red.

This is what it looked like on the kitchen table. 

I wanted a more 'spacey' type scene so I suspended a girl astronaut with a blue crystal in her hand.  I wanted her to be floating.

It was another fun try at making a scene. It is okay and not spectacular. I don't consider it a flop nor a winner. But worth the time and effort to learn how to 'float' a minifig. I used floral wire to hold her up and simply erased it out of the shot.

Finally! It looks like Francine the Astronaut found the motherlode of blue power crystals!

Again, this was a practice build and not really worth submitting. Personally I had fun building the scene and making it so colorful.

I will keep trying to make something awesome even though the contest is over. I know I am much better at finding places in nature to take shots of Lego figures and it is so much easier.

I can combine it with my daily walks [while warding off monster bugs!].

I think these shots turned out much better than the above ones, but then...I am a person who loves putting the minifigures out in the woods!

The walk in the woods and the dry run where I took a shot of the Dinos:

I guess I like to struggle with making 'things' up because it is such a fun distraction of play. I have walked the same woods and trails for 28 years now and enjoy finding something new each time I am out there.

If that includes silly things like toys, then so be it.

I'm not the only one either that does this! There are a so many hobby photographers that carry a toy, a teddy bears, or rubber duckies around just to place them in interesting places! There are groups of photographers on Flickr that just photograph and collect teddy bears! Or dolls...or anything you can imagine.

I do it because it brings me joy and keeps me thinking in creative ways.

So off I go today to do my chores, check my fences, grocery shop, clean house, garden, and see if I can find some time to think of something to imagine.

I really should set aside my Legos and perhaps take a Teddy Bear for a walk.

Why not? Anything is possible with a good imagination.

It's been a while since Bear and I have been out together.

Well that was something!

Three days ago, I found myself seated on the rocks at the bottom of my creek, creating a 'space' story against an 'interesting' backdrop. 

The creek bottom was my chosen spot, thanks to its cool rocks and mosses. I like this spot and use it often. I gives me a chance to get away from the house and enjoy some peace and quiet in the forest.
For the past 28 years, this area had water flowing through it. Not deep, just a few inches of water flowing over the rocks.

Now?

Anyway, I was literally able to sit on the rocks and arrange my setup in a dry section. Recent rains have cleared many weeds and rocks from the creek's bed.

24 hours later, the scene had changed.

And then, another day passed...

A boulder was moved along with several logs. It was the result of 3 inches of rain for the day's total along with one downpour that dropped an inch and a half in less than 45 minutes.

Yet, the rain performed its intended role in the Dry Runs. It cascaded through the boulders and 'washed' into the creek.

We call this event:  A Gully Washer

The heavy rain sweeps out the dry runs of old leaves and debris, also cleansing the creek beds.

I can't wait to return and discover the creek's new appearance once the water recedes. Observing the valley's subtle transformations over the past 28 years has been remarkable and it feels like Mother Nature puts on a show just for me. 
[not one other human aside from myself explores this region]

I presume the township will also have considerable work, given the damage the rain caused to our gravel roads. 

Welcome to the start of a new week.