How to Photograph Your Dragon
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Above: small Toothless on various Chesapeake Bay beaches. Large plushie at the library. Light Fury in the snow in PA (there was a crust she could stand on). Build-a-Bear family of Light Fury, Night Fury and Night Lights (HTTYD3) photoshopped into a scene from the Sassafras River
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Photographing Dragons
I've been a fan of the How To Train Your Dragon Films and TV series since they appeared. The artists clearly did their research; on animals, Vikings and the landscapes of the north... then they bent it like fence wire.
Toothless is one of the most appealing critters ever to appear in any film, and for me, who grew up wishing for the black horses of The Black Stallion, Fury, Zorro, and Bagheera of the Jungle Books (the books, not the Disney film), Toothless is a dream come true. He reminds many people of beloved critters: their dog, cat, horse... a friend's truck and my old van definitely looked like Toothless! (the present van is a Light Fury).
Several of the fit-in-your-hand sized Toothlesses end up going to beaches and on other road trips to share in the adventure. A beach chair from AC Moore (large enough for the average 6" action figure) painted turquoise, with a bit of "towel" cut from an old sock finishes the look. I've also acquired an inordinate number of other HTTYD dragons in various scales... all have different qualities for photography.
A short tripod to hold your camera right above the sand is useful, especially if you are using something like continuous mode (which shoots a dozen or so frames in a second or so) or doing practical effects (like flinging snow, sand or water at your subject (focus, hold shutter release with one hand while flinging a bucket of water at subject...). Actually a cup of water or sand is usually enough.
Small Chesapeake Bay waves are not usually a problem (be prepared to wade after your dragon). Big Assateague Barrier island waves are another thing. Toothless washed out on a wave... and fortunately, washed back in on the next one. Sometimes props can be found on the beach: I have found a number of heart shaped shells and rocks. And one recently deceased blue crab, immortalized in an interaction with the dragon.
Be aware that water has scale. Toothless on the rock at Rock Hall gets some nice out of scale splashes where the water looks like globby jello, because, yeah, dragon is wee and smol.
Having a couple of versions of the same figure (3 different Toothlesses) is nice. These are slightly posable, and have different expressions. I had to repaint all of 'em black (some had the red tail fin from the adult Toothless in the films).
Staying at dragon eye level is usually best, but sometimes you have to fly the camera higher to get a good sense of the seascape. With auto focus cameras like my Nikon Coolpix L100, I have to make sure it actually focused on the subject and not the background, (a grey card or tourist brochure or map or something held up in front of the character makes the camera focus on the dragon, not the sea). Sometimes it's useful to shoot a shot of the character, then a shot of the background in focus. You can combine them in Photoshop. Shooting a black dragon on a nearly white beach is also difficult; you can use a fill flash (or flashlight) to put more light on your subject, or shoot one shot exposing for the dragon and one exposing for the beach and combine later.
Don't forget to add some footprints to show how your characters got there... of course, dragons can fly...
Toothless is one of the most appealing critters ever to appear in any film, and for me, who grew up wishing for the black horses of The Black Stallion, Fury, Zorro, and Bagheera of the Jungle Books (the books, not the Disney film), Toothless is a dream come true. He reminds many people of beloved critters: their dog, cat, horse... a friend's truck and my old van definitely looked like Toothless! (the present van is a Light Fury).
Several of the fit-in-your-hand sized Toothlesses end up going to beaches and on other road trips to share in the adventure. A beach chair from AC Moore (large enough for the average 6" action figure) painted turquoise, with a bit of "towel" cut from an old sock finishes the look. I've also acquired an inordinate number of other HTTYD dragons in various scales... all have different qualities for photography.
A short tripod to hold your camera right above the sand is useful, especially if you are using something like continuous mode (which shoots a dozen or so frames in a second or so) or doing practical effects (like flinging snow, sand or water at your subject (focus, hold shutter release with one hand while flinging a bucket of water at subject...). Actually a cup of water or sand is usually enough.
Small Chesapeake Bay waves are not usually a problem (be prepared to wade after your dragon). Big Assateague Barrier island waves are another thing. Toothless washed out on a wave... and fortunately, washed back in on the next one. Sometimes props can be found on the beach: I have found a number of heart shaped shells and rocks. And one recently deceased blue crab, immortalized in an interaction with the dragon.
Be aware that water has scale. Toothless on the rock at Rock Hall gets some nice out of scale splashes where the water looks like globby jello, because, yeah, dragon is wee and smol.
Having a couple of versions of the same figure (3 different Toothlesses) is nice. These are slightly posable, and have different expressions. I had to repaint all of 'em black (some had the red tail fin from the adult Toothless in the films).
Staying at dragon eye level is usually best, but sometimes you have to fly the camera higher to get a good sense of the seascape. With auto focus cameras like my Nikon Coolpix L100, I have to make sure it actually focused on the subject and not the background, (a grey card or tourist brochure or map or something held up in front of the character makes the camera focus on the dragon, not the sea). Sometimes it's useful to shoot a shot of the character, then a shot of the background in focus. You can combine them in Photoshop. Shooting a black dragon on a nearly white beach is also difficult; you can use a fill flash (or flashlight) to put more light on your subject, or shoot one shot exposing for the dragon and one exposing for the beach and combine later.
Don't forget to add some footprints to show how your characters got there... of course, dragons can fly...
Dragons among the lotus
Toothless among the American lotus on the Sassafras River, Maryland. The Sass is tidal freshwater and flows west into the Chesapeake Bay. From mid-July to mid August, native lotus bloom in the shallows of backwater tidal ponds and creeks. I kayaked there on July 5 and found a few beginning to bloom. The leaves, like the ones in my lotus pot back home, were up, a floating fabulous waterscape.
July 22 on the Sassafras. We return and find the dragons on a different beach among the reeds.
How to Take Your Dragon to the Library
In which I decide to read some of the books the movies are based on. They are funny, clever, have hilarious scribbly drawings throughout, but are very different from the movies.
How to Take Your Dragon to College
We visited friends' kid in college... the Night Lights went along, clinging to my hiking staff.
How to Frame Your Dragon
My buddy Dave took some shots of me taking shots of dragons...
How to Take Your Dragon to the Beach
Assateague Island, Rock Hall MD, Betterton MD, the Sassafras River, Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge.
Toothless at Eastern Neck Island, National Wildlife Refuge, on the Chesapeake Bay.
Toothless on the York County Rail Trail
How to Take Your Dragon to the Park
Larger plastic action figures and big plushies at Nixon County Park Jacobus PA, early spring.
