Behind the Scenes

12/1/2024

Catching up with some behind-the-scene photos from recent posts.....

Cathedral Grove

On our way across Vancouver Island we stopped in at Cathedral Grove, which is an untouched stand of giant ancient trees. I took Byuri and two little dragons along in a bag, as we walked the trail through the forest. We came across a huge tree that had fallen across the trail.

The fallen tree seemed like the perfect spot to pose Byuri and her friends and take a photo....

French Beach

Another spot I took advantage of a huge log was at French Beach.

The driftwood on the beach there was gigantic, and the log was just the right height for some forced perspective photos...

Serpent River

I took all the dolls along again on another trip several months later in order to shoot additional scenes for the story. I wanted a scene of Adrian and Narin with their horses travelling in the fall, so we stopped at the Serpent River roadside picnic spot along the Trans-Canada between Sault Ste Marie and Sudbury, where I posed the dolls and horses on the rocks by the river, and sat down on the rocks. Then I directed Jan to make any final adjustments....

...and took the photos taking advantage of the few coloured trees in the background...

Dorian

12/1/2024 10:44:35 am

Your husband is such a great help, and doesn't seem to mind all the dolls - you have a winner in him :)

Martha

12/1/2024 11:52:07 am

He likes my dolls, and encourages my photography.

Nancy

12/1/2024 11:23:07 am

Great locations! It’s just wonderful how you are able to scout out the perfect conditions to take these magnificent photos. Do you make a storyboard or is it all in your head?

Martha

12/1/2024 12:00:34 pm

Thanks. I don't 'storyboard' or plan anything in detail in advance. We've been around exploring much of Canada, and years ago before I got into dolls, I took lots of scenery photos on our trips, so I'm somewhat familiar with what places might work for doll photography.

It adds a whole new way of looking at the scenery that I've already photographed so many times in the past, since now I'm looking for spots that will work for false perspective with the dolls. But then there's still always lighting and weather to consider. And these days with reduced mobility I'm looking for places with picnic tables or something raised to pose the dolls on.

Dorothy

12/1/2024 12:36:43 pm

I am loving these photos! In the first one, Jan looks like he is in the land of giants (laugh). Those trees are huge.

For your next career, you could be a location finder for a movie company. Your choices are always spot-on.

In the last two photos, I see how you chose to use the leaf colors as a backdrop. I would not have thought of that. That definitely highlights the photo.

Martha

12/1/2024 02:50:43 pm

We did feel tiny in among those gigantic trees. They aren't quite as big as the giant redwood in California, but still mighty impressive.

For a 'fall' photo you definitely need coloured trees, and since there weren't very many along the river, I posed the dolls so there would be some in the background.

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