Blog Archives

the Heart of the Mountain

7/31/2024

I had originally started posting photos taken during our trip last month, for the story I started back in 2012, just posting them in the order they were taken, and have changed my mind. Since we got home I've been busy photographing the interior scenes from the story, so I've decided to start over and put the interior scenes together with the trip photos in the order they would be in the story.

So, let's start at the beginning again, with Kyle heading to the castle in the Windy Mountains...

Meanwhile in the castle, the King and his Granddaughter were sitting down to dinner...

The King seemed lost in thought....

His granddaughter, Aeran, was concerned. "Are you okay Grandpa? Is something wrong?"

"I'm fine my love, but there is something I need to talk to you about. Something I should have told you years ago."

"I'm getting old, and as my only heir, the crown will fall upon you when I'm gone. There's just one problem. As a female monarch you will need a special talisman to secure your position in the eyes of all the neighbouring kingdoms and war lords. It's a very special large diamond in the shape of a heart, uncovered generations ago deep in the mountains."

"I don't understand. Is that a problem?" she asked.

"Yes. Because I no longer have it." He sighed. "Many years ago, when I was a young man, I fell in love with a war lord's daughter. We were passionately in love, and I asked for her hand in marriage. But her father refused, unless I gave him the treasured 'Heart of the Mountain' as a dowry. Of course my father, the King, refused. But I was desparately in love, and couldn't see any other solution, so secretly took the talisman and paid the bride price. It wasn't until after the wedding that my father discovered what I'd done, and then it was too late. He was furious, and explained that without the jewel, any daughters we might have could never become Queen in their own right. That I would need to get it back somehow."

"So now, that my days as King are numbered," he continued, " it's extremely important to track down the jewel and get it back."

"Otherwise you won't have any authority when you become Queen."

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Oooops!

7/30/2024

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Mika and two of her little dragon friends were enjoying some cupcakes....

When....oooops!!

she suddenly dropped it...

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Story Time with Grandma

7/29/2024

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Miho was watching her little granddaughter Mika and all her little dragon friends, when she decided to try read them a story...

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Corn on the Cob

7/28/2024

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I was working on taking extra Special Days photos for the summer, and had a lot of corn to shuck for a family barbecue, so thought I should take advantage of all that corn for some photos for Corn on the Cob Day...

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Cupcakes

7/27/2024

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Aaron and Peach were having a bake sale on National Cupcake Day last month...

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Bordy

7/26/2024

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I've had this little fellow for a year now, and have never introduced him. He's Iplehouse BID Bordy, one of their very early sculpts. He arrived last summer along with KID Daisy.

It took a while to get his look. He'd been painted like a 'girl', and that needed some work as well. He looked best in a pair of TTYA overalls, and I had to make him a new top all his own. I had originally envisioned him as 'mixed race' with very dark hair, and I tried many different wigs on him, but he looked best in this handmade blonde mohair one I'd originally made for KID Jamie.

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Christmas in July

7/25/2024

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With it being July 25th, I thought I'd revisit one of my favourite photo shoots from a few years ago

Everyone was in their swimsuits, relaxing around the pool.

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Behind the Scenes

7/24/2024

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Grimsby Beach

I had wanted to take Lawrence and Monica to Niagara Falls in winter for a couple of years, but it never happened. So I was determined that I'd finally take them this past spring. I had just recently learned about the painted houses in Grimsby Beach, and since it was on the way to Niagara Falls, we decided to stop and have a look.
The houses were crazy colourful, and I wanted to take some photos of Lawrence and Monica with them. But the only way to make them look in scale to the houses was to elevate the dolls so their eyes were roughly at the same level from the ground as an adult human's. Which meant they needed to be hand held. I always have the dolls on their stands for extra support and so I can have more of their lower extremities in the photos, so Jan holds the dolls by grasping the stand and one of their lower legs or feet.

Picnic in the Park

I wanted to have the two of them enjoying a picnic lunch somewhere along the route, and chose the park opposite the Prince of Wales Hotel in Niagara on the Lake, and set up the scene on one of the picnic tables....

Unfortunately all the parking meters only took coins, and we only managed to scrounge together a few nickels and dimes, enough to buy us a half hour, so I had to work very fast, and poor Monica never did get a chance to sit down....

Niagara Falls

By the time we arrived at Niagara Falls, it was midday with the sun overhead in a clear blue sky, which is about the worst lighting for doll photos. So we drove right by, and continued on a nice leisurely drive along the Niagara River to Fort Erie, and back again. By the time we arrived back at the falls it was early evening and the sun was much lower in the sky. So, much better lighting.

We walked to a spot that wasn't too crowded with tourists, and I took the dolls out so Jan could hold them in position. I had to watch that I didn't cast my shadow on the dolls when I took their photos...

I thought it would be nice to take some photos of Monica sitting on top of one of the stone pillars, but I was very nervous about the risk of her tumbling into the gorge, so Jan discreetly held onto her feet while I took the photos....

I had wanted to take photos of the dolls at the brink of the falls but it was too crowded with tourists right there. so we had to find a less crowded spot nearby. Like usual, the dolls were on their stands and I needed to be careful that they didn't show in the photos.

*to revisit their entire trip - A Second Honeymoon

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Niagara Falls

7/23/2024

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Lawrence and Monica arrived at the falls...

The falls were spectacular.

They'd never seen anything like it...

Monica sat down just to take it all in...

They made their way to the brink of the falls, where a rainbow rose from the mist

They were totally in awe...

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the Picnic

7/22/2024

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The next morning the sun was already high in the sky by the time they finally got up, so Monica arranged for a picnic lunch in the park across from the hotel..