Searching for Scenery


Among the Clouds
Originally uploaded by sweetmilktea

Now that I’m out of school for the summer, I started hunting for good settings in my area to take pictures of my Claudia. Taking pictures of my doll is one of my favourite activities to do with her, because it is one of the few things that I can share with other people. I am not yet at the point where I can properly illustrate the storyline I imagine for her, and I haven’t anyone to play with. No-one would want to hear my mindless babblings about the detail on her tiny clothing and my utter inability to replicate such a level of detail. So instead, I take pictures and upload them to my beloved Flickr account.

However, I don’t want to take just any old picture, as I mentioned in a previous post. I don’t think of myself as a photographer in the slightest, but I always have something in mind when I take pictures. A few photos with flash in a dimly-lit hallway just make me feel disappointed.

My goal is to find new and interesting places to take pictures of my ball-jointed doll. I think that the setting of a photograph is very important. Dolls in particular can add a different touch to familiar surroundings due to their scale. Sometimes there are little architectural details that seem to emphasize something about the doll’s appearance or personality. They can look angelic and innocent when standing in a garden, nearly dwarfed by the flowers, or eeriely human when angled and positioned to seem as if they are perfectly suited to a certain doorway or building.

I try to pay attention to colors and textures when I scout out possible locations for photos. I don’t carry Claudia or my camera with me when I am out and about, so I cannot just plop her down in a convenient place and snap away. Whenever I’m running an errand I keep an eye on quaint places with little foot traffic. Even just a nook or glimpse of something brief is fine; I have a good sense of her size. On a later day, when the weather is good, I carefully pack her into a bag and head towards the location.

In late May I had the opportunity to take her down to the lakefront. I really wanted to get some pictures of her on the beach, but I was running out of time before I was sufficiently away from the harbor. Instead, we paused on the cement wharf, staring down at partially-submerged rocks in the blue waters.

My fiancé was a wonderful assistance. He kept things from blowing away and provided some carefully-hidden support to the young miss while I tried to maneuver myself to the perfect angle. I don’t think I could be luckier than to be loved enough for a headbanger to carefully straighten the skirt of a Victorian-inspired doll. It was quite a sight to behold!

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