Portrait attempts

I once (after too long time) got my system camera (Nikon D3100) and photographed "seriously" Cortes and Rämä... I can't say that it worked, I am not that comfortable with photographing larger things than Schleichs, clearly. Or then I just don't know what to do to keep my pics lighter when using that camera and flash (softened). I mean, these are all too black, and yet after digital retouches they seem to look wrong - and too edited.

Many of these are clearly too much retouched, but I better show them than those depressingly dark originals. 

I tried to get artistic portraits, also because of the halter. I like how it works as it's very loose, and only enough strong not to break by the rope...

This is my bad habit in photography: capturing same moment more than once...

Because I don't have that much knowledge in photography, meaning technical part, I struggle with these portraits where is more than one face to show in same time. Or then it is how closed they are to the lens, but I can't focus on both. My problem seems to be just that lack of technical sense; I often say I photograph only visually.

But I still think that sometimes this camera is better for this kind of pics, instead of using that smaller one (with a killer flash, when talking about how well it works with mini sized things). But the reason why I mostly photograph with the small camera is just that fact that it has stronger flash; even when zoomed, the photos are viewable.

This was not a photo story, to know. Just a stack of so-called semi-portraits and document pics. I even noticed how Cortes 'looks' to the left in all of them... Blergh.  

Halter fitting

This is from same stack as the other story, but because this contained a different thing, I... Just decided that they are not same situation.

In fact I don't know how these stories do happen. I just photograph them, and I see a story in my head. Or hear it, in fact, not sure how I should explain it. But I like to tell that they create themselves, I only capture it all.

Like once... When I choosed that Rämä could again handle Remu, while he wears his oldest bridles (who work and fit really well, interestingly), and Hupi plays with my newest halter. It was pure accident that whole situation started to look like if Hupi wanted to show something for Rämä - that he needs no metal in the mouth to control a horse, yet less when it's a curb bit - and the small rat holds the horse with a chained rope.

The bigger rat suggested that they could try to fit the halter on Remu. 

Hupi: "Just try this for him? If it doesn't fit, I can find another horse to wear it."

Honestly, it looks a bit poor and messy to see Remu with all that metal in the mouth. He is an old horse, who never harms anything, although he is known from being pig-headed and strong. 

Rämä: "Well... It looks weaker than..."

Hupi: "Noooo it just looks weak, it's really strong enough."

Rämä ponders a minute... Until he accepts Hupi's idea.

Rämä: "Okay Remu, we test that new halter."

Closeup.

"Don't force him, he should think this as a good thingy."

"Positive experiences make horses better to work with!"

Hupi decided to put Rämä to change the tack, while he held the rope. And little Rämä had a small trouble to see what he was just handling, that halter seemingly was different from those he had splatted on horses lately. It looks and feels really fragile, but that big masked man still claims it's strong enough.

No photos taken while removing the bridles... But here's the result. Looks like the halter fits.

Almost portrait-like pic without Rämä.

Hupi: "Naw, Remu looks nice with it!"

Rämä decided to agree, but is sure not to tell Omar about that. Remy's very own halter is made quite same way as this halter, but has sliding buckles and is really strong, and is colored in black.

Rämä often does things as Omar had said him to do, as Remu is Omar's horse. And Rämä often doesn't care or just notice that he can do things wrongly, because "adults know better" and because he really can't make too much own decisions when he spents time with a horse what's not his own.


Artistic info:
Most of those doll closeups are taken simpy to save some nice view and to have more face phohot of them.

And despite of what I wrote Hupi to say for Rämä about the halter's strength, in real it's not strong at all. It's super fragile. Partly it comes form creating mistakes who made it yet less good. We are lucky that all this is just miniature and not meant to be in real use.

Bad decision?

Yet another photo story... How long time I have wanted to do these, but I've only taken photos and stored them in different folders to keep the stories separate.

To these photos I captured a stupid story, where guys were testing how that weird tack piece could work, and how Remu, the horse, could react to it. His official owner Omar wasn't gratified to see what there happened.

Rämä is known from his skill with horses, although he's yet a teen. Guys thought he has no problem if Remu freaks out... And the newer stable member, Hupi, that big dumbo man with yellow vest, tests the bridles by riding. For him, Rämä is just making sure that the animal doesn't get crazy if it doesn't listen to him.

Really Remu is used to that kind of weird tack, Omar has a bad habit to buy them and test on him. Less often they are bought for real need. For him that seems to be okay - but when anyone else is doing same instead of him, or without permission, he (of course, as Remu is his horse) is heavily against it.

I think that it was Hupi who convinced Omar that this is okay. Still the blonde can't let them be in peace, but stays there and watches every move Remu does, like it's a sign of uncomfortable feeling.

(Raaaargh my dolls need trousers...!)

It looks like if Omar really EXPECTS that something horrific could happen. To make sure he could scream at others that "I told you it is a bad idea, idiots!". You guess that especially Rämä didn't listen to. He thought he knows what he does. But what about Hupi...? I personally think that is is questionable behavior from a veterinarian to allow that kind of risks to exist.

"Idiots, idiots, idiots..."

Well, the horse is his usual self and just wonders what the two-legged jerks do, and stays quite close to his feeder. He could think something like "again new bridles, again new guys, nothing never stays".

Rämä also wanted to take some posing photos... Because of that 'cool' tack, all the chains, force bits and just photogenic situation. He also photographed Remu's bridles alone, as some kind of portrait, I guess.

Hupi seems to know what he does. He's a big man, so he can have difficulties to ride well, but Remu is just rightly heighted for him.

Technical info: 
After writing the basics of this story, I realised that I must sculpt a mini camera for those. What else could help than black silk clay and some plastic pieces? I could also start to take those "photos by doll" differently... Really I just did same as I wrote Rämä to do; captured portrait-like pics with that torture tack.

Problems of being unfinished

My last doll of 2016 came visible for my other dolls already when she wasn't even finished. I doubt it wasn't so fun to her.

At first I simply took some comparison photos to save memory. Her legs are slightly too short, but at all she seems to be just same height as male Breyer dolls. I keep them as a general reference of measurements and so on, still not trying to copy everything "because they are made that way". I in fact know that they have really too short arms, but as well, all people have unique limb lengths too...

At first, before my imagination flew too high again, I took some progress pics to compare the newbie with other dolls. I also think that although I have some nice pics of her as more finished, I'm not goingot publish them because of anatomy (nothing detailed, just shapes, but still).

Rämä is a really short boy.

Hupi was interested. Now he met a dumbo girl, who's not even too small compared to him. That's nice, because he could be as 1:1 about 200 cm tall, if I counted right... (I've missed my 30 cm ruler, so I was forced to use a 15 cm long only... And my skill with maths is horrificly bad.) But I'm sure he IS huge, because the horse I compare him to, could be 193 cm tall (and I counted that with the 30 cm ruler and calculator). And Hupi is clearly higher than that. 

Hupi: "Hello gal, what's your name? Isn't here cold for you?"

More realistic angle, if you know that I personally am quite short human, and often imagine things photographed from my own view.

Hupi: "Well... She's silent. Maybe shy."

Hupi: "Okay, let's leave her here, I think we can meet her later too."

Then the younger boys, together, found her. Of course they decided to take some stupid posing pics like if she's okay with it... I know that Juoru got his first image of that girl after Rämä told about her with his own teen-boy-view to things.

Juoru: "Let's be friends already, hehe!"

Asko: "Boys... Just leave her alone, she's not ready yet. Now."

Well, luckily she got finished for good photographing (what I haven't done yet) during the same day she was started: 29/12/2016! Here's her selfie (or one of them):

Grievous, alias Kippura