2012 wrap up?
I was meaning to write about two shoots from last year, but never did...
That summer while watching Fate/Zero, I decided that while Saber is cool in general, nothing is quite as BAMF as her on her bike. So, I had this idea that it would be awesome to track down a Yamaha Vmax...
Saber's Vmax from Fate/Zero
Though searching biker forums and user groups, I tracked down a couple of the newer generation, but didn't find many of the first. Until one person I had mailed suggested I contact a friend of his: Rusty. I found one! A Vmax owner in Carlsbad was open to letting us shoot with his bike.
We got to Carlsbad a bit early - I was hoping to drop by Legoland, but we were too late for that. Instead we hunted for some locations (none of which we really used), and hung out a bit, then time to prep...
And shoot! After some epic sunset & ocean shots, we headed somewhere more out of the way (on PCH I think) for night shots. Key & Jan joined to help with lights and wind:
Sirian as Saber セイバー from Fate/Zero フェイト/ゼロ
After the bike shooting, Sirian and I headed to the beach right next to where we were shooting. There was no actual path to the beach, so getting down and back was a little challenging. Since the moon and the clouds were being pretty cool, I brought my tripod to shoot available light, and no light stands.
Sirian as Saber セイバー from Fate/Zero フェイト/ゼロ
But shooting without my lights just isn't me. Without light stands or assistants, I relied on slow shutter speeds to run around holding flash, manually popping it in different places, while Sirian stood still. It was exhausting, but did kinda work...
Sirian as Saber セイバー from Fate/Zero フェイト/ゼロ
But also lead to strange UFO photos...
(maybe this could be useful in some other context?)
It was a hot day, I had ideas probably too far beyond my skillset. The photos unfortunately didn't work out quite as well overall as I had hoped. So there are fewer in the final set than I was planning on. To make up for things, I tried heading more heavily that usual - there's one example on dA - http://spooky-epiic.deviantart.com/art/Processing-Process-feat-Saber-370552575 - and here's another:
BTS_3644
Sirian as Saber セイバー from Fate/Zero フェイト/ゼロ
My dissatisfaction and feeling of inability to edit properly are the biggest reasons I was dragging my feet on getting this shoot done. But finally, I've decided to declare it done: http://epii.info/anime/2012/saber/
Later in the year, I did a shoot with Twinkleprincess as my favorite character from Magi. And I tried out an idea I had initially been hoping to use for a B*RS shoot (and still to hope to... someday) 3D! In its most awesome form:
This shoot was a crazy idea. I made the shales from craft foam the night before. We shot on a weekday morning - should be good for getting away from the crowds, right? Early too - who wants to be out and about at 8am? Our first stop was the Old LA Zoo.
right... it seems we weren't the only people that thought it would be a good time/day to shoot there. And these people probably have the right permits too. So, I couldn't get to where I wanted to shoot directly, but maybe by an indirect route? Google Maps to the recuse! We found a route behind the filming.
Twinkleprincess as Morgiana モルジアナ from Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic マギ
Success! But I really wanted to go to those stairs inside... maybe we can sneak around? Furtively avoiding the real film crew that was situated in the clearing in front of the caves or whatever they are, we went in the back, and got the shot I wanted in the area I wanted:
Twinkleprincess as Morgiana モルジアナ from Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic マギ
Okay... next location! That's an hour away. My favorite beach.
Really!?? Again? Apparently I'm not the only one thinking this would be a good time to shoot these places. Fortunately, it's a beach, so it's big, and we can get out of their way.
Twinkleprincess as Morgiana モルジアナ from Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic マギ
Again, success. Especially thanks to yunaura's assistance. But... like I said, this is a weekday. I have a job to get to. And a meeting or something. Off to a full day or work! After getting covering in sand.
Happily this time, I wasn't working beyond my ability, and most of the editing was my usual pretty light editing after much time agonizing over which shot to use.
Yun has more behind the scenes photos: http://yunaura.tumblr.com/post/52493024627/unnamed-heroes-photographer-assistant-edition
And here's the full set on my site: http://epii.info/anime/2012/magi-morgiana/
To see the 3D ones, you'll have to bug Twinkleprincess, Yun, or me in person
That summer while watching Fate/Zero, I decided that while Saber is cool in general, nothing is quite as BAMF as her on her bike. So, I had this idea that it would be awesome to track down a Yamaha Vmax...
Saber's Vmax from Fate/Zero
Though searching biker forums and user groups, I tracked down a couple of the newer generation, but didn't find many of the first. Until one person I had mailed suggested I contact a friend of his: Rusty. I found one! A Vmax owner in Carlsbad was open to letting us shoot with his bike.
We got to Carlsbad a bit early - I was hoping to drop by Legoland, but we were too late for that. Instead we hunted for some locations (none of which we really used), and hung out a bit, then time to prep...
And shoot! After some epic sunset & ocean shots, we headed somewhere more out of the way (on PCH I think) for night shots. Key & Jan joined to help with lights and wind:
Sirian as Saber セイバー from Fate/Zero フェイト/ゼロ
After the bike shooting, Sirian and I headed to the beach right next to where we were shooting. There was no actual path to the beach, so getting down and back was a little challenging. Since the moon and the clouds were being pretty cool, I brought my tripod to shoot available light, and no light stands.
Sirian as Saber セイバー from Fate/Zero フェイト/ゼロ
But shooting without my lights just isn't me. Without light stands or assistants, I relied on slow shutter speeds to run around holding flash, manually popping it in different places, while Sirian stood still. It was exhausting, but did kinda work...
Sirian as Saber セイバー from Fate/Zero フェイト/ゼロ
But also lead to strange UFO photos...
(maybe this could be useful in some other context?)
It was a hot day, I had ideas probably too far beyond my skillset. The photos unfortunately didn't work out quite as well overall as I had hoped. So there are fewer in the final set than I was planning on. To make up for things, I tried heading more heavily that usual - there's one example on dA - http://spooky-epiic.deviantart.com/art/Processing-Process-feat-Saber-370552575 - and here's another:
BTS_3644
Sirian as Saber セイバー from Fate/Zero フェイト/ゼロ
My dissatisfaction and feeling of inability to edit properly are the biggest reasons I was dragging my feet on getting this shoot done. But finally, I've decided to declare it done: http://epii.info/anime/2012/saber/
Later in the year, I did a shoot with Twinkleprincess as my favorite character from Magi. And I tried out an idea I had initially been hoping to use for a B*RS shoot (and still to hope to... someday) 3D! In its most awesome form:
This shoot was a crazy idea. I made the shales from craft foam the night before. We shot on a weekday morning - should be good for getting away from the crowds, right? Early too - who wants to be out and about at 8am? Our first stop was the Old LA Zoo.
right... it seems we weren't the only people that thought it would be a good time/day to shoot there. And these people probably have the right permits too. So, I couldn't get to where I wanted to shoot directly, but maybe by an indirect route? Google Maps to the recuse! We found a route behind the filming.
Twinkleprincess as Morgiana モルジアナ from Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic マギ
Success! But I really wanted to go to those stairs inside... maybe we can sneak around? Furtively avoiding the real film crew that was situated in the clearing in front of the caves or whatever they are, we went in the back, and got the shot I wanted in the area I wanted:
Twinkleprincess as Morgiana モルジアナ from Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic マギ
Okay... next location! That's an hour away. My favorite beach.
Really!?? Again? Apparently I'm not the only one thinking this would be a good time to shoot these places. Fortunately, it's a beach, so it's big, and we can get out of their way.
Twinkleprincess as Morgiana モルジアナ from Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic マギ
Again, success. Especially thanks to yunaura's assistance. But... like I said, this is a weekday. I have a job to get to. And a meeting or something. Off to a full day or work! After getting covering in sand.
Happily this time, I wasn't working beyond my ability, and most of the editing was my usual pretty light editing after much time agonizing over which shot to use.
Yun has more behind the scenes photos: http://yunaura.tumblr.com/post/52493024627/unnamed-heroes-photographer-assistant-edition
And here's the full set on my site: http://epii.info/anime/2012/magi-morgiana/
To see the 3D ones, you'll have to bug Twinkleprincess, Yun, or me in person