teeny tiny Breyers: Stablemates Series
The size of the Stablemates series makes them difficult to photograph. They are 1:32 scale and fit nicely in your hand. (Traditional models are 1:9, Classics are 1:12). For collectors, they're super cheap (so you can have the world's longest conga line of the same model in different colors), yet gorgeously accurate and detailed. For kids, they come with fantastic accessories, including teeny tiny tack and riders, barns, trucks, trailers and other gear, or build your own from craft shop goodies.
Traditional and Classic models can be set right on the ground or in water, in an environment, to photograph. With Stablemates, most things on the ground are too big, water looks like jello (out of scale) and you'd have to flatten yourself in the mud. Much easier to put the camera on a tripod and the horses on a table with a scale environment. Sand, reindeer moss, rocks, twigs and bits of bark make a good diorama. Closeup mode puts the horses in sharp focus, the background slightly fuzzy. I sometimes used a grey card, held right behind the horses, to make the automatic camera focus correctly. Manual focus cameras solve that problem.
These were shot on a hazy cloudy November day at Hanover Junction on York County's Rail Trail. Maples still had some yellow leaves, and a few things were still green. Most of the leaves had fallen on the rest of the woods. Bright sun can be problematic: highlights (especially on light horses) burn out and shadows get too dark.
Traditional and Classic models can be set right on the ground or in water, in an environment, to photograph. With Stablemates, most things on the ground are too big, water looks like jello (out of scale) and you'd have to flatten yourself in the mud. Much easier to put the camera on a tripod and the horses on a table with a scale environment. Sand, reindeer moss, rocks, twigs and bits of bark make a good diorama. Closeup mode puts the horses in sharp focus, the background slightly fuzzy. I sometimes used a grey card, held right behind the horses, to make the automatic camera focus correctly. Manual focus cameras solve that problem.
These were shot on a hazy cloudy November day at Hanover Junction on York County's Rail Trail. Maples still had some yellow leaves, and a few things were still green. Most of the leaves had fallen on the rest of the woods. Bright sun can be problematic: highlights (especially on light horses) burn out and shadows get too dark.
