El Dave Photography

In this business, it's all about networking. Who you know is just as, if not more, important, than what you know. You have to spend money to make money. The early bird- Ok, I'll stop now.

The last time a supervillain booked time for a shoot, I totally blew it and was determined not to make the same mistake again. I was on time, dressed nicely, and my batteries were charged. Awesome, I thought. Let's do this.

So I waited. And waited. Aaaaand waited.

Finally, at 2:30, Megatron showed up for his 10am appointment.

Being late? Sure, ok. Something may have come up. He may have had to crush some Autobots or something. Cool. I understand.

He was on his cellphone the entire time.

When I asked, he just slipped it into his... pocket? A panel unfolded on his hip and he stuffed it in just long enough for me to get one shot. As soon as the shutter fired, he went right on talking.

The nerve of some people.


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Be good,
-Dave

I'm talking to myself again

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I'm jealous of extreme photojournalists. I envy their bravery and determination to get the shot, no matter how dangerous the situation or how great the risk to themselves. That said, however, you won't see me doing that. The greatest danger I want to face is looking at the flash when it goes off!

Thankfully, wargaming miniatures allow me to indulge myself without anyone being put at risk.

The Set: Gothic City Ruins by Pegasus Hobbies
The Subject: Laser Grenadiers by Dust Tactics

I wanted to capture the squad of Laser Grenadiers making their way through a burning city, their lasers having cut through whatever war machines the Allies were using. To get the lighting right took a little work. I put the table lamp pointed down through the side windows and put a redish-pinkish-orangeish piece of scrapbook paper directly behind the set piece to reflect the light and color through the back windows.

I took it into Photoshop and increased the glow, making it more vivid and less like scrapbook paper. Then I added the heat glow and called it a day.

How did I do?


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Be good,
-Dave

I promise one day she'll pray for me

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Here's the thing. I don't like horror movies. Being scared holds no fascination for me and I can't handle gore. That said, however, there is something about the old black & white monster movies that just grabs me. What I like most is not the makeup effects (although Frankenstein is my favorite monster), but the cinematography. That the best tool the filmmakers had to convey emotion and mood was light and shadow.

Harsh lights, cheesy fog, and deep shadows are all a guy really needs.

Ok, maybe some sort of character wouldn't hurt the scene any.

Enter: Darkrasp, Death Priest by Reaper Miniatures.


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I think the biggest things missing are a full moon, bats, and cheesy organ music.

Be good,
-Dave

Boy be brave, don't let them take you no!

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Oh man, guys. I almost blew it this week.

One of my resolutions this year is to not miss a weekly update. At some point between Sunday and Saturday each week, I will have something new to share with you, and I nearly let you down this week. Mea culpa.

In fact, my tardiness has caused some problems here in the studio. We had an appointment for a shoot with Thanos that turned sour when another gig ran long and I couldn't get back in time. My assistant, Reflector, tried his best to keep the Mad Titan busy, but there's only so much a toy camera can do. Thanos stormed out just as I was coming through the door. He shot me the old evil eye and kept walking.

"Hey Dave, there goes your eleven o'clock."

Oops.


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Be good,
-Dave

Lock my door, close my blinds
I wanna be by myself

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Back in the scifi mood this week, so I thought I'd take the bulkhead set (is that what I'm calling it?) out for another spin.

Since I've been playing with the set for awhile now, I wanted to try some different lighting and see if I couldn't open it up a little more. Last time I kept the light low and the zoom tight to make it seem claustrophobic, but I'm hoping for a little more versatility from my set than just, "Oooh, so scary!"

In the foreground: Necron Lord
In the background: Necron Destroyer
(I would love to link to an online store, but Games Workshop makes that difficult)

The light setup on this is a desk lamp just a few inches above the set, angled down on the models. It lit up the Necron Lord's staff (appropriately called a Staff of Light) and definitely opened up the set. Now it looks almost like a glass roof or dome!

Ok, yeah. I like these sets and will be building more in the future.

Click.

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Be good,
-Dave

I walk over and ask
Ask the question will I ever last

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