365 Project: Photo 253

Inspired by Elma Fudd, this hunter is not all that good at hunting....

365 Project: Photo 249

When I first saw this mini figure's face I immediately thought: serial killer. Then, when I paired him up with an axe, the look was complete. This shot actually took quite some constructing. The first problem was making the tiny figures appear vaguely life size. In of itself this isn't too hard, but it brings with it numerous associated problems, the primary ones being the more obvious 'shineyness' of the plastic and the narrowness of the depth of field.

The light in the area in which I was shooting (hunched on the floor by the coffee table) was, at best, poor. So it was that I needed my external flash gun. It's a powerful fecker though and so I had to dial in a lot of negative flash compensation. The sheen of the light off the face of the unwitting victim here was about as reduced as I could get it. But now my perp was well lit, too, and I knew I wanted him in partial shadow to help highlight that potent silhouette whilst still being able to make out the maniacal look on his face. This necessitated the construction of a custom made light screen i.e. a propped  open DVD case.

The real pain was the depth of field. These guys are only about three centimetres tall and my aperture had to be rather wide to throw the killer far enough out of focus. This meant, however, that my plane of sharp focus was only a few millimetres deep, if that. I had to delicately push the two of them around, millimetre by millimetre, perfecting the composition and depth of field. It took a long time and, even then, her face is still a bit soft. In any case, I had been visualising this shot ever since I walked out of the Lego shop and I was pleased to have got it.

Try not to have nightmares.

365 Project: Photo 246

So, I got home from work and sort of just ended up playing with my Legos and dinosaur....

365 Project: Photo 245

Yes, I was playing with my Lego again. Yes, I probably looked crazy clambering about and laying down on the jetty. Do I care? No; I had fun. Explorer dude had fun, too. 

365 Project: Photo 241

A bit of Grizzly Adams-esque Lego lumberjack action....

365 Project: Photo 237

One of the benefits of being at the very terminus of a tube line late on a Sunday night is that you get the whole carriage to yourself, so I thought I'd take some photos. I had the place to myself for about ten minutes, which is just as well; do you realise how difficult it is to balance a little lego dude on your knee on a moving tube train? Let me tell you: it's difficult; very, very difficult.

365 Project: Photo 218

New flat mates moved in today. Expect to see a lot of these guys in the future.