Behind the Scene 2013

In the early years I didn't take very many behind the scene shots, so this page covers all the ones I did take in the first few years, from 2011, up to and including 2013. In chronological order....

Castle by the Lake (2011)

I had made three Celtic Warrior costumes in different sizes, and took the dolls down to the lake for some photos. I posed them on a concrete ruin - suggesting an old castle ruin - which was jutting into the lake. Jan shaded the dolls with an umbrella....

Rosy, Ryung, and Cuprit, who later had her head replaced with Elfdoll Hazy.

Photo Studio (2012)

A look at my basement photo studio, set up for a scene from Phantom of the Opera. My youngest son was into photography, and created the studio, complete with rows of rods on the ceiling to clamp his lights onto. I only use two photography lights, a big box with four bulbs that's aimed at the white ceiling, to create an overall soft light, and a smaller spotlight with one bulb, to highlight the doll(s). In this behind the scene shot, Ryung is in the spotlight.....

Ryung, as Christine, in Phantom of the Opera...

Trip to the Pacific (2012)

We took a spring trip west across the US, then north along the Pacific back up into Canada, and then east again. I had brought along several dolls with the intention of shooting a major Fantasy story.

In the Bighorns

Heading down out of the Bighorns towards Yellowstone, I stood Kyle (with his stand) on a fence post....

..and cropped in close....

the Icefields Parkway

The bare, rugged landscape as we approached the Athabasca Icefields Centre, seemed perfect for some doll photos...

The three adventurers photographed in closer....

...and with the Rockies in all their magnificent glory, shot with a big depth of field.....

At the Icefields Centre

The edge of the far parking lot still had a snowbank, with a huge puddle in front from the melting snow. I thought it would be a good place to pose my dolls. But I would have to get down on the pavement to shoot the picture, so asked Jan to move the RV to block the view, so no one in the other parking lots would see me lying there on the ground, and wonder what was going on....

I set the depth of field very high, and took a photo....

But I wanted to see if I could get the dolls reflected in the puddle, so got down even lower...

Waterton Lakes

The three adventurers were setting off on their quest, and I thought the Prince of Wales in the background could stand in nicely for a 'castle'. So we went up the hill overlooking the lakes, and the hotel, and set up the dolls in the strong wind...

I got down as low as I could, so the doll's heads would be as high as possible against the background, and then making sure there were no cars going by on the road down below, I took one of my favourite photos....

Lake Superior

On our way home, I wanted to take a photo along the shore of a beach in Lake Superior Provincial Park....

The photo....

'Licking a Lollipop in the Library'

The Iplekids Yahoo group was having an Alphabet Challenge, and the letter was 'L'. I set up Elin on a stack of nestling tables in front of my bookcase, and removed all the dolls that were standing on the drop-down shelf behind her....

The photo, taken in close, using a tripod....

Nutcrackers

Setting up a scene in the studio with all my nutcrackers, many elevated on 2x4s and other risers....

Taking the photo in close....

Christmas Dresses

Arranged all the Kaye Wiggs girls with their new dresses, on a table in front of the Christmas tree...

Group shot, taken in close...

St. Nicholas

Set up a scene with my St. Nicholas figure and some elves, on a table with the Christmas tree in the background....

Photo taken closer in, and lower down, closer to the doll's eye level....

New Year (2013)

My three little BID girls, set up on the desk in front of the tree again....

The photo taken down close...

Flower Arranging Day

The little 'florists', set up on a nestling table on my kitchen table. There's those little Eric Carle board books again, making the dolls look tall enough for their 'counter'....

The photo, taken in closer....

Museum Day

I set up an Egyptology department scene in my photo studio. The floor is some leftover, interlocking, laminate flooring. I borrowed a little wooden sarcophagus with mummy from my sister, an old paper mache canonic jar set my daughter made years ago, and set up several Egyptian art samples along the back, and used short doll stands to make a 'rope barrier' to keep the public back...

Taken in closer and a little lower....

the Arch

On the trip to Newfoundland, Jan wanted to pose the dolls seated on a row of rocks, looking at the big stone arch...

The photo, taken down lower. I had hoped the Inukshuk on the left would have stood out more, but it is what it is....

Iceberg Watching

Early morning in Goose Cove, Newfoundland, and I wanted a photo of the dolls looking out at the icebergs. I laid down low behind the dolls so Maya's head would be above the horizon.....

...then took another wider photo....

Elin's Near Drowning

I'd brought along my little BID girls to Kilarney, and was taking photos of them beside the rapids along Chikanishing Creek..

I changed position for one last photo of Elin, seated on the edge of the rocks...

...and suddenly she was gone! Swept away downstream by the rapids, into the creek down below. I totally panicked, but Jan jumped in to rescue her. He spotted her downstream, lying on the bottom....and I took pictures....

Thankfully it wasn't too deep....

Relieved that she had been saved, and that she wasn't damaged at all, I had to add her near drowning to the camping story...

The girls help her dry off, as she lies in shock....

Then I washed her, and took her apart, and laid her in her box to dry on the way home...

The following year, we went up to Kilarney again, and we visited the Chikanishing rapids again, in hopes of getting Elin over her fear of water, and the terrible memories of her near drowning....