Kamiko To The Rescue (Picture Heavy)

I had planned to go to Marcel Laurin Park today where I shot the photos of the the firefight using an artificial waterfall as a backdrop. I did in fact go, but when I got there, the park was closed, not because of the Covid thing, but because they were doing new landscaping.  Anyway, I still managed to get the photo shoot, but had to do it at my usual little pile of rocks across the street from where I live.  You visit here shall be the judges of whether or not it was successful.  

Kamiko To the Rescue01 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

While searching the New Mexico foothills for her sister she now believes to be alive, Laura Neville has fallen into the hands of Erika von Stroheim and her Stahltruppen, who believe her to be a spy for the Pin-Up Patrol.  Laura of course, has no idea what this is all about.

Kamiko To the Rescue02 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Laura attempts to explain herself, but fails to convince Erika, who believes Laura is too pretty to be an rocket scientist and must therefor be part of Kamiko's crew.  

Kamiko To the Rescue03 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Kamiko To the Rescue04 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Kamiko To the Rescue05 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Kamiko To the Rescue06 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Frustrated, and angry, Erika starts getting nasty...well, nastier at any rate.

Kamiko To the Rescue07 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

As the volume of the interrogation goes up and Erika and her guard trooper are more and more distracted, Kamiko, who has been stealthily following Erika and her captive since Erika's troops crossed into Pin-Up Patrol territory to capture Laura, makes her move, raising and carefully aiming her suppressed Walther PPK.

Kamiko To the Rescue08 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

And with the skill and precision of an experienced assassin, Kamiko double taps the guard, killing her instantly and shocking Erika into instant surrender.

Kamiko To the Rescue09 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Kamiko orders Erika to free Laura meanwhile wonders just what madness she has gotten herself mixed up in and will she ever find her sister?  Can Kamiko help her, she wonders?  

Kamiko To the Rescue10 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Erika however remains defiant.

With Laura free, Kamiko and Laura handcuff Erika and make her sit on the stool. Kamiko pulls the grenade from her pack strap and brings the cotter pin close to her mouth as she taunts Erika.

Kamiko To the Rescue11 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Kamiko To the Rescue12 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Erika protests as Kamiko pulls the pin out with her teeth.  Erika thinks that surely Kamiko must have loosened the pin first.  She was after all, crazy enough to pull stuff like that...

Kamiko To the Rescue213 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr


Kamiko To the Rescue214 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Kamiko leads Laura back to safety back in Pin-Up Patrol territory, and once there, they take a break to get to know each other a bit better.

Kamiko To the Rescue215 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr

Kamiko To the Rescue216 by Gary  Menten, on Flickr


Meanwhile, Erika is still waiting for her own troops to show up.  


Well, there you have it.  Not quite the shoot I wanted it to be, but I hope you enjoyed it. Again, this is all just good fun and no ethnic slurs are intended towards anyone.  As always feedback is welcome.

Pretty cool. I think one or two “in-between” pics of Erika swinging the rising crop would help a lot with giving the impression Laura is being beaten more frequently. The one shot of Erika about to swing (or maybe has already swung) is very effective. Nicely done, even with the limitations you had to work with.

Stryker2011 wrote:Pretty cool. I think one or two “in-between” pics of Erika swinging the rising crop would help a lot with giving the impression Laura is being beaten more frequently. The one shot of Erika about to swing (or maybe has already swung) is very effective. Nicely done, even with the limitations you had to work with.

Thanks for the feedback! Always appreciated. The idea I was trying to convey was that she was not actually being beaten until Erika loses her cool. The only image in which the riding crop touches Laura was posed in such a way as to suggest Erika is more trying to intimidate than torture.

Haha, very entertaining! The poses and angles conveyed what was being said and told in the written parts very well. You might not have been able to use the ideal location, but the photos turned out well all the same. Looking forward to more, eventually.

skywalkersaga wrote:Haha, very entertaining! The poses and angles conveyed what was being said and told in the written parts very well. You might not have been able to use the ideal location, but the photos turned out well all the same. Looking forward to more, eventually.

Thanks much. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Great photos, at least she got rescued, didn't look like they where going to be too nice to her.

Glad to see you and your gals are having fun in these bleak times. Some great outdoors photography for sure. Is the shot where Erika's guard is shown falling down after being shot by Kamiko staged or did you get lucky capturing the figure as it was actually falling (whether on cue or by accident)?

GubernatorFan wrote:Glad to see you and your gals are having fun in these bleak times. Some great outdoors photography for sure. Is the shot where Erika's guard is shown falling down after being shot by Kamiko staged or did you get lucky capturing the figure as it was actually falling (whether on cue or by accident)?

I staged it. I was surprised it worked actually.

Theboo-bomb wrote:Great photos, at least she got rescued, didn't look like they where going to be too nice to her.

No, they weren't. I've re-written Erika so that she suffered a severe head injury in Afghanistan and suffers from a form of PTSD that when combined, make it difficult for her to her to differentiate between her great grandpa's WWII experience and her own in the present. Consequently, is simultaneously trying to build a new Germany in America and trying to win WWII.

I really love this!!!! Great scene, all the poses came out great, and it all has this really atmospheric late afternoon/early evening glow. So enjoy getting to see these characters interact too!

ReverendSpooky wrote:I really love this!!!!  Great scene, all the poses came out great, and it all has this really atmospheric late afternoon/early evening glow.  So enjoy getting to see these characters interact too!

Thanks Reverend. I'm finally getting to use these figures for what I had intended them for. I guess you can call it grown-up playing....

Ask any experienced photographer, but especially one who's shot glamor images, what times of day they prefer for outdoor shooting and they will always tell you either very early morning before the sun gets too high or late afternoon / early evening as the sun is setting. This has two effects:

1. the warm, pleasant color of the light

2. The light is coming from a low angle creating long shadows.

The disadvantage is that you don't have very long a time to work with in either case.

ThePhotogsBlog wrote:

ReverendSpooky wrote:I really love this!!!!  Great scene, all the poses came out great, and it all has this really atmospheric late afternoon/early evening glow.  So enjoy getting to see these characters interact too!

Thanks Reverend.  I'm finally getting to use these figures for what I had intended them for.  I guess you can call it grown-up playing....

Ask any experienced photographer, but especially one who's shot glamor images, what times of day they prefer for outdoor shooting and they will always tell you either very early morning before the sun gets too high or late afternoon / early evening as the sun is setting.  This has two effects:

1. the warm, pleasant color of the light

2. The light is coming from a low angle creating long shadows.

The disadvantage is that you don't have very long a time to work with in either case.

Yeah, by far my favorite time to shoot too. But I swear, most of my photoshoots become an all day event, so I rarely take advantage, and often shoot inside just to keep light consistent. But seeing how beautiful these are makes me want to try a bit harder to get some more magic hour photos.

Also, totally agree about playing with our toys. Photos gives me the excuse to sit for hours and just play. Don't believe anyone who says you have to grow up.

ReverendSpooky wrote:

ThePhotogsBlog wrote:

ReverendSpooky wrote:I really love this!!!!  Great scene, all the poses came out great, and it all has this really atmospheric late afternoon/early evening glow.  So enjoy getting to see these characters interact too!

Thanks Reverend.  I'm finally getting to use these figures for what I had intended them for.  I guess you can call it grown-up playing....

Ask any experienced photographer, but especially one who's shot glamor images, what times of day they prefer for outdoor shooting and they will always tell you either very early morning before the sun gets too high or late afternoon / early evening as the sun is setting.  This has two effects:

1. the warm, pleasant color of the light

2. The light is coming from a low angle creating long shadows.

The disadvantage is that you don't have very long a time to work with in either case.

Yeah, by far my favorite time to shoot too.  But I swear, most of my photoshoots become an all day event, so I rarely take advantage, and often shoot inside just to keep light consistent.  But seeing how beautiful these are makes me want to try a bit harder to get some more magic hour photos.  

For what it's worth, I'd like to be able shoot indoors more, just because I find it easier to do so. I'd like to build a set but I'm cramped for space, so we'll see what happens. I am inspired by your sets as well as those of a couple of others in the hobby and the incredible detail that's gone into them.

Also, totally agree about playing with our toys.  Photos gives me the excuse to sit for hours and just play.  Don't believe anyone who says you have to grow up.  

"I'm 58, going on 12, so I'm in no danger of growing up."

That is some great lighting for sure, and the whole color scheme of the environment seems to complement the characters' in a glorious way. It also feels like a scene out of that movie Sucker Punch.

AlKelAstra91 wrote:That is some great lighting for sure, and the whole color scheme of the environment seems to complement the characters' in a glorious way. It also feels like a scene out of that movie Sucker Punch.

Thank-you. The scenes were shot with a sinking sun, but Photoshop was also used to increase the color saturation.

Great deserty atmosphere with B-Movie vibes. You were in the right place at the right time.

So Erika is gone full villain now? I now always have to think of JoJo when Reading her name. xD

Ovy wrote:Great deserty atmosphere with B-Movie vibes. You were in the right place at the right time.

So Erika is gone full villain now? I now always have to think of JoJo when Reading her name. xD

Yes, I needed a villain and she does have sort of a villainous look on her face.  I've been re-writing her character so as to have suffered traumatic brain injury in Afghanistan.  The injury and associated PTSD have altered her personality in a number of negative ways.

I think the story illustrates that Kamiko, despite being the main heroine of my stories and generally being on the side good, is not exactly a choir girl either.

I loved this story when I first came across it on flickr, and again when you posted it on Ammo. I have to re-read it whenever I come across it! I always forget the German lady's name, but she is great!

BAMComix wrote:I loved this story when I first came across it on flickr, and again when you posted it on Ammo. I have to re-read it whenever I come across it! I always forget the German lady's name, but she is great!

Good to see you here!