Vader Unleashed

Another drive-by posting, but whilst I'm still insanely busy with Uni work I haven't got as much time as I'd like for toy photography. However, I do want to show off this Darth Vader shot, taken on the same trip as my latest Boba Fett photos.

I was going for a Force Unleashed prologue vibe, but the picture's cropped so close it's open to interpretation anyway. I really enjoying editing Vader shots, because of the challenge of getting the lighting right while maintaining the detail, darkening the cloak (which is incredibly porous), and putting FX on the lightsaber and the armour. These tweaks really enhance the picture I think. These type of shots are inspired by (and certainly inferior to) the work of resistance827 on Flickr. Check it out!

The Hunt

I've been a bit stifled by a lack of variation in my locations recently, and so today I took a trip out to the park with some 'friends'. I have a few shots that require a bit of post production, but otherwise the most successful pics were these ones of Boba Fett. It was nice to get out for a while, and it's given me the extra impetus to get some shots I've wanted to get for a while now. Hopefully tomorrow will be more of the same!

Happy New Year all, and thanks for reading!

Un-Boxing Day

I hope you've all had a great Christmas! In particular I hope you've managed to spend time with family and loved ones, as that's what it's all about. And if not this time, then there's always next year...

This is just a quick post to say hello, offer my seasonal regards and to highlight how much toy blogging I need to catch up on following an insanely busy December. To provide a quick visual snapshot, here are all the toys I have to photograph and review. At the time of this photograph (roughly 40 minutes ago), they weren't even opened!

What? No Transformers?!

Okay, so the Landspeeder had been opened. But as I've had no time to use it for anything over than a handful of photos, and needed the space for normal people things, it's since been boxed back up and left untouched. The Stormtrooper is my latest 'Vintage 12' appropriation, and the Turtles, well... Entertaining cartoon, stylish toys, and a mighty ten on the nostalgia scale - these have been a must-buy since I first saw them earlier this year. Only a Donny and Raph required to complete the four!

Told you I'd be coming back to these guys...

And so (roughly 30 minutes ago), that's Leonardo out of the box. Immediate first impressions are decent articulation, great sculpt and a fun figure, but I'll be back with a full review in a few days. As I now have a (slight) break from Uni for the next few weeks, I'm pretty hopeful the others will follow suit in the new year.

Thanks for reading, and happy holidays!

ME GRIMLOCK KING!

ME GRIMLOCK NO BOZO!

After a couple of weeks of letting my QC standards slip I've been making a conscious effort to step back from the editing software a little, and to try and get a decent picture first time around. Nothing's exemplified this better than these recent Grimlock shots, and I'm really happy with how this set's turned out.

Nom.

Well, I say "step back from the editing software", but I've still made minor modifications to the image; however, I've kept the emphasis on minor and only slightly tweaked the brightness, shadows and contrast, and not used any photo-apps. I think my reliance on apps and preset treatments led me to believe every image requires loads of post-production, and after some bad photos I remembered that that's not that case.

Akin to my post on copying promo images, the above shot is a Transformers Animated take on the below G1 image; Grimlock getting chompy on Thrust. I always preferred the Seekers over the Coneheads, subsequently the jet getting chowed down on above is none over than Starscream.

G1 nom.

And a wide shot to round it off. I've been properly enjoying playing with this toy and the character, and it's showing in the final product. It seems like my interest in Transformers is really fuelling my creativity; and you gotta go where the river flows, I guess...

ME GRIMLOCK KING!

So there we have it; how to get your toy photography mojo back with Transformers Animated Grimlock. Thanks for reading!

A New Breed of Decepticon

As my quest to collect the best modern iterations of the original 12 Star Wars figures draws nearer to conclusion (only one purchase left to make!), I've been teetering on Star Wars burnout - make no bones, I still love the series, and I'm actually listening to the ANH soundtrack as I type this; but after too much of one thing it's always good to flex some different creative muscles... Therefore, I present today's quick snap - Cyclonus!

 

Post-Movie Second-in-Command to Galvatron, Cyclonus (motto: "Compassion is the Autobots' downfall.") realised the Decepticon cause was all but lost without Galvatron, and led the mission to retrieve him from Chaar. A fierce warrior, he also fought with honour; Ultra Magnus being one Autobot to earn his respect. From the looks of the above scene however, Jazz did not... 

Cyclonus here is from the Reveal the Shield line, whilst Jazz is from Universe. As Transformers (and TMNT as well, but more on that another time) have taken my interest of late, I've also been looking into Third Party products, and today made my first purchase...

The Maketoys MB-01 SP2 Mobine Missile Launcher - Marine Type. Why this obscure bit of kit? Two reasons. Firstly, Third Party products are expensive. Whilst they generally look great, I didn't want to take a £100 plunge on something that my clumsy ham-fists might break out of the box. Secondly:

Oh yeah. Smoulder's getting an upgrade! :D