Cookie sheets and other stuff....

I'm always searching around for new ideas to use in Photography. I found a Lego photographer on IG that used an old cookie sheet to 'make' a pond for his Legos to go swimming in. He set it in his wife's garden and shot some amazing photos that I swore were shot in a real pond.

My old sheets have been abused and marked up for years. I purchased new nice cookie sheets for the gal that loves to make hubby cookies on her Respite days.

I took the old ones and spray painted them black glossy. I would have preferred flat black, but I didn't have that.

I picked some Lily of the Valley flowers and Bleeding Hearts and stuck them in a tiny vase. I used one cookie sheet for the background. The second sheet was put flat underneath.

This is how the set up looked before I brought out the Lensbaby SOL 22 lens and shot the photo above. I actually was surprised at how much I liked the extra reflections brought about by the glossy paint.

The 3 days of cold rain, I was stuck inside which allowed me to do some indoor work. 

So. Hmmm. What if I tried to make a pond indoors for my toys to play in?

It ended up being easy to 'make' the pond and set it up. Photographing it so their were 'water reflections' was a bit harder.

But....

And of course, with the black background it seems a bit dark...but it worked!!! Now I know I can take this 'pond' out on the porch or into a flower garden to do the same thing.

But just one 'pond' shot is not enough. I had to get Glenda out in her Kayak and see if she'd like a spin through the pond.

I had to dry out the moss afterward, but gosh, it sure was a fun experiment. I could have worked harder with the lighting but I didn't do anything but use what was coming through the windows. 

I like to find the simplest way to photograph my projects. I didn't use the Lensbaby lens for these shots as I wanted most of the scenes clear and concise.

The day before it started to rain Charlie and I took a walk through my favorite forest 'next' door to see what the loggers had been up to.

I won't lie. I actually shed a tear when I saw this.

The loggers take the straight tree trunks and leave the tops lay where they fall. This particular spot is a place where I started my quest for local wildflowers in 2009. At the base of an ancient oak I found my very first Blood Root and the search began for wildflowers from March to first frost that year. All the flowers were photographed on my land or this 600 acres. 

I carefully logged the date and place I found each wild plant and flower. I spent hours studying the Wildflowers of Wisconsin and Great Lakes Region.  I did this without Google Lens and without the internet. 

That was the second year I worked as a Security Officer at an old Nuclear Facility  as it was being decommissioned.

It kept me busy on those overnight shifts and weekends when there was not much traffic in and out of the plant.

I made a photobook with notes for myself at the end of the year. It was one of the most satisfying projects I've ever done. I walked the land surrounding my cottage each day and learned to recognize places by the trees.

And now? My trees [not really my trees] have been taken down and the landscape has changed drastically.

I thought to myself, how can I use this? 

Of course, I can work it into my Princess Sara Saga. After all, most all the photos for this on and off again story occur in this forest.

Remember the Rock Monsters who stole the Magical Dragon Egg and hid it? They were going to open the egg and kill the Legendary baby dragon and steal the magic for themselves.

Princess Sara and the Forest People along with others had been assembling an army to save the Egg ....

Of course the Rock Monsters want to make things harder. So they are blowing up Trees and terrorizing the Forest to ward off Princess Sara's army.

[Well, that's how I imagine things anyway.]

The beauty of the forest may be diminished for now but with all the fallen logs and branches, I imagine new worlds of moss and fungi will grow and be out there to explore.

Even with all of the mess, I was able to find wildflowers blossoming and defying the ruin of the trees.

I'll be home for the Holiday Weekend, we don't generally go anywhere on bit holidays. We'll leave that to everyone else.

Just make it up as I go...

With the news that is overwhelming and concerning each day, I do try to find something...anything to take my mind off from it and also ease my whirling brain from both the news and the difficulty of being a Caregiver.

I was stuck inside [during that last cold spell] so I decided to do something interesting 3D printed character I acquired. It has no face, no name, but has the number 13 on its chest. It is a color I would never have chosen, but there it is. 

Pink.

Pink must have a story behind her. She is a she, correct? She came with a faithful robot dog. Everyone needs a faithful sidekick, right? So I call them Pink and Pip. I don't know why but just because I felt like it.

They live somewhere in the future I suppose in a warehouse. 

She dreams of a beautiful place a dreamy place. The sort of place her handlers have talked about in the distant past. Beauty, flowers, tranquility.

Pink and Pip play fetch on their down time as Pink explains about this wonderful world she has never seen but has only heard about.

Pip rejoices with her master and plays fetch. They talk about dreams and possibilities. Why is it that their handlers are the only ones allowed to have dreams?

Robots don't really sleep. But they do have down time. One night...Pip pulls Pink out of her downtime. Pip squeaks and squawks.  

This is no imaginary dream. She awakens to ...

to what? She is not programmed for this.

She goes outside to stare at the unbelievable...

What would happen next? I got stuck here for a long time. Actually for a few weeks. I didn't know what Pink should do.

And I left her in a desperate situation... like a cliff hanger on a mystery show...

But then I recalled my MiniBots from last year. I used them for a while and then gave them a storyline with Donder regarding the fact that they found Worm Holes and Rips in the Fabric of Time to travel through.

Maybe ... maybe Pink should find the MiniBots to help transport her away from this awful future world?

All of the above photos were set up indoors using a digital backgrounds. I made the backgrounds using Deep Dream Generator. I simply create a scene I can imagine [which takes many tries] and then either use my laptop for the background as I do for smaller things, or the old smart TV for the larger items. 

It is like making a movie as you have to build 'a set' for the characters that work. It is like producing a Hollywood scene and is quite fun.

I have learned so much from a site called Toy Photographers. I often go back and read their articles. The tips and tricks are fun to experiment with and I think it helps my regular photography also.

Anyway. If my attention remains focused, I'll see if I can figure out Pink and Pip's next steps.

I got distracted again...

I've been fascinated by posable figures. I got this wooden figure in the art and drawing section of a store a few years ago. He was only about 5 inches tall and I thought it would be fun to pose him. 

I have enjoyed using him as a model, but not for drawing. The challenge is, he is super difficult to pose and he falls over quite a bit. I could use wire I suppose, but I am lazy. I want my subject to do it on his own.

[He came attached to a wire stuck up his bum so he would stand on a base. I used cutters and clipped it off. Darn, I bet that was uncomfortable!]

Balance and posing is something we used to do with our 12" GI Joes back when I was a kid. We often spent hours it seemed just posing them in active looking stances.

No matter. Even though this was a difficult thing to do, I seemed to find a way to make him look as though something was happening.

Going on adventures was trickier with this guy. A slight breeze would knock him over. However, the little wooden Dachshund was a hoot. 

And...sometimes the little dog would get in trouble....

It seemed to always work out in the end though. I generally take this duo out during the dull days of winter and mess with them.

However, I found a new very posable figure that is amazing to pose.

It is called Titan 13. A robot and a dog. 

It is a 3D printed and articulated poseable toy.

I actually ordered two of them and they were pretty darned cheap. The fact that these characters are blank slates so to speak make them great for visual stories. No preconceived notions like super heroes or licenses action figures.

I took a hike yesterday to see if I could find anything worth while seeing. The forest is dull and dry. We need moisture badly. I took this Titan 13 along.

A toy photographer friend of mine posted the other day that you can take a Toy photo anywhere. He showed the photo and then the parking lot he took the photo in. Proof is in the pudding!

So ... I did.

These guys are balanced on their own. No sticks or wires to hold them up or edit out. 

This next shot may be my favorite shot of the day.

To prove my friend's point, here is where I shot it... Charlie is patiently waiting for me to get going. He has become a very patient little dog.

I am distracted by these guys. So I will be enjoying them while the rest of the landscape stays dull and brown. Though I will be looking for interesting things in the forest to find.

When it is nasty out....

I turn to Toy Photography which is a great way to explore and challenge yourself with a camera. 

It also works great if you need a distraction or something to do when the weather is really quite horrible. 

Or the news is horrible, or the winds are blowing dust like it is the dust bowl era.

Hubby grounded me anyway, so I'm stuck indoors for a couple of days.

I purchased these cake toppers at a Dollar Store over a year ago and like my other Lego minifigs, they get stored away and then for whatever reason, I bring them out. One of the things I really love about them, is that they aren't moveable. Which may not make sense except that their expressions are so fun!

The MiniBot in the center here has become my favorite character of the Minis. He looks like he is yelling. So indeed, he must be the Leader of the MiniBots. 

Below it seems he is dressing down the Droids in front of the other MiniBots. The Droids do look a bit sheepish.

He even has a name.
Steve.

I created the 'scenes' with junk. I've explained before that I enjoy taking trash and turning it into a diorama. I use pieces and parts so I can reassemble them at will into different scenes. 

Most of what went into the above scene was an old humidifier that went kaput. I took it apart and used my craft paints to make the parts look rusty and old. There is even a soup can in the picture.

Moss that is spread about is part of a cardboard box I painted black.

I've also taken some plastic soda tops and straws and glued them together, along with those pesky medicine tops that you have to push down and rotate. They make great little bits for background. Toilet paper rolls always have endless possibilities. Old rusty bolts provide a great scene for ... 

when the Minibots find a Worm Hole to travel through.

I started my interest in toys because I simply wasn't very good with regular items in Still Life. I tried to make beautiful arrangements of cups, sauces, flowers, and other items but I generally ended up inserting something odd.

I once put a Lego minifig into a cup of tea I was shooting. I was trying to do serious Still LIfe, but ended up doing silly stuff instead. 

Once I went there, I was hooked. Silly Still Life is much more amusing.

My favorite toys to photograph are those that aren't Licensed. You know, ..not... Disney, Marvel, and others. I feel obligated to make licensed toys do the things that they were made for. But isn't it more amusing to put them in other situations? 

For whatever the reason is, I've had some fun with these little cheap cake toppers. I mean, what kid would want these ugly little robots on their cake?

I have to admit, they used to look cleaner before I got after them with a paint brush to 'distress' their looks.

One of the easiest things to do is shoot them with a background I made in Deep Dream Generator using my laptop.

I simply typed in something like *wet dark alley, gloomy, with trash laying all around*. Viola. I had a digital set for my MiniBots.

I almost felt guilty for having such an easy set up for these guys. Usually it takes quite a bit of work to set up a diorama and then position things over and over and try to get things lit up just right.

I did a couple more grungy scenes with them then cleaned everything up and put it away. I have another project that caught my attention. I'm like that.

I can be on my way from one room to another and take a detour in the middle of what I am doing to ... do something else. I can have 3 things half finished by the time I get back to what I should have been doing in the first place.

Seriously though, I am much more single minded while doing the chores. 

We have ferocious winds here today. I cannot imagine how awful they will be on the ridge. I'm happy we live in a hollow.

And here we go...on towards the middle of the week.

What next???

Meanwhile

A diversion from reality with some of my still life and fun...

I'm sorry, but I have to announce that we have 
cancelled all tours to Earth.

How many times do I have to tell you
....

you are my droids!
None of that Star Wars fantasy stuff!

Beware?
Looks like they are looking for a lost

Dragon!!!

Here I am!!!!

Searching for Intel

This is not what I envisioned when you said
we'd climb Cinnamon Mountains!

Always be amazed...

The reason we write fiction is because it is so much easier to spend part of each day
in an imaginary world. 

~~

Kurt Vonnegut

Stirred Crazy.

...Or, how to warm up on a really cold day after feeling it was tooooo cold to go out.

The wind chill was below...cold. The temps were 'fresh'. Mr. Kind Neighbor stopped by to ask if he could cut up some of the trees we had chopped down and dropped in the pasture. 
Yep, he certainly could. He was also looking to make some posts for corners of a fence he wanted to make.

I took him around to point out some trees he could take down. Locusts are very good for making corner posts once they are de-barked. We have a few younger trees that would make excellent posts without much work.

He then offered to cut up the old ash trees that fell on the east fence. Nice, I can repair the fence this spring.

He also will be cutting up the other pile for his own wood stove. There is no hurry and he can do it at any time. 

He said he'd clean things up and burn the brush pile he makes. Huh. Go figure.

He is a Forester guy. He is the person that the state and county will send out to help you manage a better forest on your land. 

Plus he knows what he is doing and as a bonus...he is a neighbor that is nice. We also offered him hunting on our land next deer season. We've watched him for two years and he is quite skilled at that too. He doesn't just wound them and have to track them for hours.

I spent most of the very cold morning, practicing and engaging in photography skills for my 365 Toy Photography Challenge. It was a good morning to try new things for me.

This is the tavern and the shop buildings from the Medieval Town Square--> the project Rich and I worked on. I've never tried a 'full' scene before. Placing the figures in the windows and in front of the building took a lot of effort and time to get them just right.

Fun though.

Then I took some interior shots. One of my favorite ones is the sleeping female warrior, Tilla.

I enjoyed trying to use the kitchen of the tavern...I mean, it looks like the cook is going to make Lobster for breakfast???

Do you know that I can do laundry and this at the same time? Well, sort of.
With laundry done, I decided to go to work outside.

It doesn't look like a huge pile, but it is two years worth of sticks and branches. After getting that started, I added logs, long branches, and walked about picking up chunks of wood. I added the other pieces a little at a time. 

I never like a huge roaring fire.

To give you an idea of how much walking I did to pick things up and drop them on the fire.... my watch thingy said it was 5 miles. Whaaaat? I do know that I was bone tired by bedtime.

I got a great workout picking up log chunks and dragging long logs though.

By morning, the center had burned through and I was able to tip the unburnt sections back onto the hot coals and finish it off.

It is pretty nice to have such a nice neighbor. We don't see him or her and the kids often, especially in the winter. But they are kind people.

And, if you are wondering, while working in the nice fresh temps --> think 15 F -- I took off my coveralls and was toasty warm. Burning and piling brush piles is one of my favorite winter activities.

I know. I am odd.

Digital Backgrounds in Photography

Who'd of thunk it? Using an old TV screen like this to make a photo like this....

👇

Some say that showing the 'secrets' of behind the scenes ruins the magic. In a sense it does, but it doesn't help others learn how to improve or try new techniques. In the past, I've used my laptop screen with pretty good success. However, I could only do little figures and not something like the above Watch Tower.

I tried some more fun shots before I dismantled the TV and put it back in storage. I don't have the room to leave it set up.

The one below is similar. I used an AI generated image of a desert and placed this minifigure and her horse on top of a piece of wrinkled paper bag I had. I used my cell phone flashlight to light her up from an angle and there it was....

A warrior traveling in the desert.

I had one more I tried. I set this Pegasus and the warrior on a mirror close to the TV so I could 'shoot' her flying on her steed.

I chose a photo of mine from the archives to use of clouds.

It came out pretty good, but I had to use a 'mist' brush to cover up the lines where the mirror met the screen. I did a slight radial blur of the background.

I need to try this again. Her face and the reflection of the light on her face are awkward. But the idea seems sound. Maybe next time I can put them on a tilt to imitate flying.

In portrait photography [which I have no care to do -- I tried it and failed], Digital Backgrounds are used. As they can be for Still Life Photography too.

The backgrounds can be digital printed items, or a smart TV like I used. I've even used scrapbook paper for backgrounds.

I've also used scraps of wood that I've painted and textured.

It worked well.

I really prefer to 'make' my own backdrops but I enjoy using all the tools I can. I do have a light box too. I'll probably shake the dust off from that and explore some created scenes with that.

I did this last year, it was quite fun to create a story without words.

The Interview

Since our temps dropped to very cold again. I may explore some of my old methods and try some new methods of photography.

I should really really ... gather some items and do some more still life shots.

There is just so much one can have fun with.

Have a good day.