Having come to the end of this part of Winston and Saphira's story, and leaving them travelling in the wilderness with the Elves for now, it's time for some Behind the Scenes.
First, packing for the trip. When we went up north for a few days in July, I wanted to take two sets of dolls along - my little Kaye Wiggs dolls (who had never been camping before) and my two dragons and five Elves. It's always a challenge trying to pre-plan the photos I want to take, and then make sure I had all the props required, and some never get used. Most of the props would be for the KW girls camping trip, and I piled everything on the dining room table...
First, packing for the trip. When we went up north for a few days in July, I wanted to take two sets of dolls along - my little Kaye Wiggs dolls (who had never been camping before) and my two dragons and five Elves. It's always a challenge trying to pre-plan the photos I want to take, and then make sure I had all the props required, and some never get used. Most of the props would be for the KW girls camping trip, and I piled everything on the dining room table...
Dragons on the Rocks
In Killarney I really wanted to take some dolls and the dragons out Chickanishing Creek for some photos out of the rocks overlooking Georgian Bay. So, in addition to the four KW dolls, I also packed Winston and Saphira in a big cloth bag, inside a big garbage bag, to keep them dry in the canoe. Jan makes a comfy seat out of several life preservers in the bottom of the canoe, where I end up sitting, basically 'ballast with a camera'. Getting in and out of the canoe is a major challenge for me, but I'm determined to get some photos, so make the effort. We always get out at the mouth of the creek to enjoy the scenery....
The nice thing about the dragons is that they don't need to be shaded from the sun....
Then it was back in the canoe and we headed along the shore to another location....
...and get out for a snack....
...and to take some photos, while laying down flat on the rocks....
I even managed to capture their reflection in a pool...
Breakfast
It's so much easier to set up a scene on a picnic table than on the ground. Unfortunately picnic tables have wide gaps and I forgot to bring a piece of thin wood to put on the table under any scenes. So I had to be careful not to have the table legs, or the dolls, standing on top of any of the gaps. For the best light, I always set up my scenes with the sun behind me. It would have been better for the dolls if it had been hazy, or overcast, but it's not like I can order the weather. I just have to make do....
But Jan is always standing by with a big umbrella whenever I have to shoot in the sun, to shade the dolls until I'm ready to take the photos. He will shade the dolls as I set up the scene, then steps away so I can snap a few photos. Then shades them again when I change poses...
It's really nice having the scene up on a picnic table, and with the picnic table standing perpendicular to the sun, the wide cracks between the boards barely show up.
It's also great because then I can walk around and take photos from all the different angles...
Which is pretty much impossible now if I have to get down on the ground.
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'Mountains'
I wanted some scenes with the little party travelling somewhere rugged, and had in mind the rocks beside the tiny parking lot at the Killarney lighthouse. I set everyone up on the rocks, moved back to take the photos, but if everyone isn't posed perfectly, or some of the characters are hidden, then I need to direct Jan to make any adjustments.
Perfect!
Stay tuned for more Behind the Scenes tomorrow. In the meantime you can revisit the entire 'Tale of Two Dragons' in Favourite Photos.
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