I took my Legolas action figure and an old Hartland Arabian horse model from the early 60s to Nixon County Park; by peering through the ears of a plastic horse, from the perspective of a 6" tall action figure, one sees a familiar landscape in a new way. Or maybe I'm just imagining how Legolas (the tree-hugging Elf from Lord of the Rings) would see this landscape if he rode through it.
Along for the ride: some Schleich and Safari faeries and horses (and one great horned owl). Try varying your camera angles: do very high "aerial shots" or crouch down and see the world from a few inches high. The real trick is getting the right parts of the shot in focus. Often focusing on a figure at arms' length will get the rest of the landscape out of focus. Take two shots: one focusedon the foreground figure, and another on the background, combine in Photoshop. A shot from the character's eye level will make them seem larger and more real.
Along for the ride: some Schleich and Safari faeries and horses (and one great horned owl). Try varying your camera angles: do very high "aerial shots" or crouch down and see the world from a few inches high. The real trick is getting the right parts of the shot in focus. Often focusing on a figure at arms' length will get the rest of the landscape out of focus. Take two shots: one focusedon the foreground figure, and another on the background, combine in Photoshop. A shot from the character's eye level will make them seem larger and more real.
Lotus Legolas and Arod
on the Sassafras River MD
On a padding trip to the Sassafras River in Maryland, I packed a couple extra goodies in the hold: Breyer's Smokey the Cowhorse (aka Arod) and the Legolas action figure that fits him. I've photographed them before on Assateague and other places, this is the first time for the Sass.
The Sass is a freshwater tidal river that flows from the low sandy hills of the east side of the Chesapeake Bay (on the DelMarVa Peninsula) into the Bay. It has sandy beaches and lots of wildlife, American lotus bloom in the shallows from mid-July to mid-August. It's tidal , and has boat traffic so you have to remain aware of moving water and waves. The sandy beaches make great photos (sand is always in scale). On beaches, as on snow, you have a very bright/light background, so you have to be careful of your exposure. Use either a fill flash (or even a flashlight) to put more light on your darker subject, shoot one shot of the background and one of the subject and combine on Photoshop, or use a grey card and expose for the subject. Be careful of dark shadows: either the shadows will be black blobs or your sunlit parts will be washed out.
I have "sport continuous mode" which takes a bunch of shots in a second. Useful for special effects like flung water to make it look like the horse is splashing. Short tripos (or your PFD) still useful to hold camera at horse eye level (or dragon eye level).
Here's a few derp shots too, when the flung water effect didn't... quite.. make...it...
Also a few shots of Toothless the Dragon. He has his own page here: https://www.swordwhale.com/how-to-photograph-your-dragon.html
The Sass is a freshwater tidal river that flows from the low sandy hills of the east side of the Chesapeake Bay (on the DelMarVa Peninsula) into the Bay. It has sandy beaches and lots of wildlife, American lotus bloom in the shallows from mid-July to mid-August. It's tidal , and has boat traffic so you have to remain aware of moving water and waves. The sandy beaches make great photos (sand is always in scale). On beaches, as on snow, you have a very bright/light background, so you have to be careful of your exposure. Use either a fill flash (or even a flashlight) to put more light on your darker subject, shoot one shot of the background and one of the subject and combine on Photoshop, or use a grey card and expose for the subject. Be careful of dark shadows: either the shadows will be black blobs or your sunlit parts will be washed out.
I have "sport continuous mode" which takes a bunch of shots in a second. Useful for special effects like flung water to make it look like the horse is splashing. Short tripos (or your PFD) still useful to hold camera at horse eye level (or dragon eye level).
Here's a few derp shots too, when the flung water effect didn't... quite.. make...it...
Also a few shots of Toothless the Dragon. He has his own page here: https://www.swordwhale.com/how-to-photograph-your-dragon.html
