Gubernator's Various Photos, Kitbashes, and Customs (new update 12 September 2024)

Very moody pics! I think the lighting is very good and some real spectacular shots, with the near silhuettes for example.

I agree with ElBundy that the second set looks the most "natural", but I still like the first one for its powerful dreamy look.

Valiarde wrote:Very moody pics! I think the lighting is very good and some real spectacular shots, with the near silhuettes for example.

I agree with ElBundy that the second set looks the most "natural", but I still like the first one for its powerful dreamy look.

Thank you very much, Simon, I'm glad you liked them. I also thought the near-silhouettes were very promising (and a natural thing to go for), but couldn't resist trying to cast some "fire" light on the figures themselves. Speaking of which, I think I'll manage one or two more.

Decided she needed a closeup or two, so here it goes, with yet another sunset:

He seems to tell a story of their past while she is listening Probably something nostalgic.

Did you paint that head of him?

Don't know what I did to inspire this photoshoot, but it looks good!  I do love a lakeside romance and some sunset colours!  

I am presuming you painted both of these and re-haired the blond sculpt yourself?

The doggie is very cute!

skywalkersaga wrote:Don't know what I did to inspire this photoshoot, but it looks good!  I do love a lakeside romance and some sunset colours!  

I am presuming you painted both of these and re-haired the blond sculpt yourself?

The doggie is very cute!

Thank you very much Sky, I'm glad you like it. And doggie too. I'm thinking of calling him Spot. He does technically have a spot at the top of his tail.
Well, I did think you might like the romance and colors, but the next thing I post will clarify things more specifically. In the Tutorials section.

GubernatorFan wrote:
Thank you very much Sky, I'm glad you like it. And doggie too. I'm thinking of calling him Spot. He does technically have a spot at the top of his tail.
Well, I did think you might like the romance and colors, but the next thing I post will clarify things more specifically. In the Tutorials section.

Ahhh, I think I get it now. Will look out for the tutorial.

Valiarde wrote:He seems to tell a story of their past while she is listening  Probably something nostalgic.

Did you paint that head of him?

Nostalgic, romantic, intimate, probably all of the above. Yes, I modified and painted his head, in an attempt to get a decent un-scarred Josh Brolin; not sure I'm done messing with it yet, and I might be trying it again, in part because I'm not satisfied with the degree to which Vallejo's plastic putty filled-in the scars. And hair fuzz is really hard to paint, even with a sponge. On no, I just realized I forgot to obscure the wrist joint in one of the close-ups. Ovy would call me out on this. Or maybe not, he doesn't seem to look at my posts lately.

skywalkersaga wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:
Thank you very much Sky, I'm glad you like it. And doggie too. I'm thinking of calling him Spot. He does technically have a spot at the top of his tail.
Well, I did think you might like the romance and colors, but the next thing I post will clarify things more specifically. In the Tutorials section.

Ahhh, I think I get it now. Will look out for the tutorial.

Yep, I think you got it. I hope you find the tutorial adequate.

GubernatorFan wrote:

Randam Hajile wrote:Very nice, Ian! I like the last set the best, as lights and shadows fit nicely. I would have preferred a more shallow shooting angle, but I understand that the camp fire would get in the way.

I usually reduce depth of field to blur out the background slightly, as this gives the illusion of a real 3D setup. I think your picture could also profit from playing with the camera aperture or the use of a photo app to dynamically reduce sharpness in the background. Sorry for my nitpicking...

Thanks, Ralf. And no problem, I'm looking to learn, hence these experiments. I don't think I will ever reach your level of professionalism, and this is just my phone camera (although I'm sure it has plenty of settings I have not checked yet). What exactly does a more shallow shooting angle mean? From below? The screen is only this tall, so unless both figures are sitting or lying, or I'm not showing the whole of their bodies, I won't be able to fit them against the background. I agree about the focus -- usually the camera focuses on the objects in front, so the screen becomes a little more blurry, but perhaps not quite enough. I noticed, after editing, that on a couple of images, one can actually make out the raster of the screen, which I aim to avoid. This was yet another exercise in trying to use a relatively dark screen-projected background with a non-obvious front light source (and the flame and embers were added digitally).

Sorry for the cryptic remark about the shooting angle. My approach to photography is still more based on intuition than on analysis (no professionalism here...). I guess what felt odd in some pictures is the low horizon, giving the photos a "downhill view" vibe. I'm not sure whether you were going for this impression on purpose, but I would have tried to lessen the effect moving the camera slightly down by a few centimeters keeping the overall motive. That's what I meant with shallow angle.

I like the new closeup photos, they feel very real. Nice work!

Randam Hajile wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:

Randam Hajile wrote:Very nice, Ian! I like the last set the best, as lights and shadows fit nicely. I would have preferred a more shallow shooting angle, but I understand that the camp fire would get in the way.

I usually reduce depth of field to blur out the background slightly, as this gives the illusion of a real 3D setup. I think your picture could also profit from playing with the camera aperture or the use of a photo app to dynamically reduce sharpness in the background. Sorry for my nitpicking...

Thanks, Ralf. And no problem, I'm looking to learn, hence these experiments. I don't think I will ever reach your level of professionalism, and this is just my phone camera (although I'm sure it has plenty of settings I have not checked yet). What exactly does a more shallow shooting angle mean? From below? The screen is only this tall, so unless both figures are sitting or lying, or I'm not showing the whole of their bodies, I won't be able to fit them against the background. I agree about the focus -- usually the camera focuses on the objects in front, so the screen becomes a little more blurry, but perhaps not quite enough. I noticed, after editing, that on a couple of images, one can actually make out the raster of the screen, which I aim to avoid. This was yet another exercise in trying to use a relatively dark screen-projected background with a non-obvious front light source (and the flame and embers were added digitally).

Sorry for the cryptic remark about the shooting angle. My approach to photography is still more based on intuition than on analysis (no professionalism here...). I guess what felt odd in some pictures is the low horizon, giving the photos a "downhill view" vibe. I'm not sure whether you were going for this impression on purpose, but I would have tried to lessen the effect moving the camera slightly down by a few centimeters keeping the overall motive. That's what I meant with shallow angle.

I like the new closeup photos, they feel very real. Nice work!

Thank you very much, Ralf. Looks like I understood what you meant about the angle; actually, with the close-ups, I was thinking of exactly that, being able to move the camera lower vis-a-vis the figures. In principle, I prefer that to overhead shots, but sometimes I'm limited by the background available to me (unless I'm doing much more digitally); I also have a second monitor turned 90 degrees (so it is tall but narrow), but usually that allows posing only one figure at a time in front of it.

As for the "downhill view," actually that was intentional. The idea is that she is sitting on a porch (with a firepit off camera) and enjoying the sunset, and the farmhand is coming up the stairs and joining her for a drink or a smooch (or both). Which is not to say I could not have composed the elements and their relation to each other better (or more consistently as I rotated between options).

As for professionalism, perhaps you are just born a naturally-talented photographer.

12. Tony's Angels

Yelena needed some friends, so she ended up with a bunch... The missions of Tony's Angels are covert, so we cannot reveal the details, but suffice it to say there is a lot of hunting and running around, followed by unwinding at the pub.

GubernatorFan wrote:Yelena needed some friends, so she ended up with a bunch...

And then the friends (The White Widows?) ended up taking all the guys.
(Aren't those marines from Starship Troopers?)

Nice combination of foreground props and background images to create a seamless sense of setting, particularly in the pub pictures.

Visisonor wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote:Yelena needed some friends, so she ended up with a bunch...

And then the friends (The White Widows?) ended up taking all the guys.
(Aren't those marines from Starship Troopers?)

Yes, I guess that is how it worked out. Although I only had in mind to show her suffering from an incipient hangover. These are not specifically from Starship Troopers (nor specifically intended to be), but, yes, they are wearing Starship Troopers gear. Good eye! Don't worry, we'll find her a dude (probably not a Starship Trooper, though).

davidd wrote:Nice combination of foreground props and background images to create a seamless sense of setting, particularly in the pub pictures.

Thank you very much, Dave, I'm glad you liked them. I've had these lying around for a while, never finding the time for a proper photoshoot, so I did a little impromptu one before packing them up. It's not perfect (not that I am likely to attempt a real full bar diorama like some our members, most notably and prolifically Dal), but I thought it worked ok for what it is. I love the cozy look of those pubs and thought they'd make a nice backdrop to some close-up photos. I realize I left the light a little too bright for the setting, but wanted the figures to be clearly visible.

Really nice shots, Ian! I really like that dog! It looks like the mission was successful especially as they seem to having a great time unwinding. Really nice natural positioning in the pub scenes, they really look to be having fun!

Charlie's Ian's Angels

Tha Yelena head is still one of the greatest around. I like the scenes with the troopers and the interactions

I like the pictures in front of the winter forest and the pub scenes.

BAMComix wrote:Really nice shots, Ian! I really like that dog! It looks like the mission was successful especially as they seem to having a great time unwinding. Really nice natural positioning in the pub scenes, they really look to be having fun!

Thank you very much. Coming from the master of pub scenes, this is high praise indeed. I think they were happy to unwind. The dog (which has theoretically light-up eyes) is from that Superboy set (from Titans) by some company.

Valiarde wrote:Charlie's Ian's Angels

Tha Yelena head is still one of the greatest around. I like the scenes with the troopers and the interactions

I like the pictures in front of the winter forest and the pub scenes.

Well, given Tony Stark's association with Black Widow, I called them Tony's Angels, but I guess he and I can share...
I still love the Yelena sculpt, and I think it is better than these older ones, which are, moreover, larger (or rather larger looking, since they use an ampler hairstyle made of "real" hair), so I'm not sure they compare very well. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos (I wish I did better with the winter scenes, but that would have taken more preparation than time and energy allowed).

Haha! That last shot of Yelena!  

Great shots all around. Love your three white angels. And Lara fits in nicely, too! 
My favourite shot is that first snowy forest group shot. Just fantastic! 

And that smily chatty dude is great for these kinds of social gathering shoots! Great energy.

Diana wrote:Haha! That last shot of Yelena!  

Great shots all around. Love your three white angels. And Lara fits in nicely, too! 
My favourite shot is that first snowy forest group shot. Just fantastic! 

And that smily chatty dude is great for these kinds of social gathering shoots! Great energy.

Thank you very much, Diana, I'm glad you liked them and they entertained.
I guess Lara needed to loosen up, but she was just not prepared for the impact of the alcohol. Apparently, neither was Yelena. Or maybe Visisonor is right, and she was upset her colleagues made off with the guys?
Smily chatty dude is Seann William Scott, Steve Stifler (the "Stifmeister") from the American Pie movies, and also from Dude, Where is my car? (so "dude" is very accurate).

That last Whiskey pic looks really great. That bar backdrop is very effective.

Btw, Leftover Starship Troopers Armor was used in an episode of Firefly and in a Power Rangers series too.

Ovy wrote:That last Whiskey pic looks really great. That bar backdrop is very effective.

Btw, Leftover Starship Troopers Armor was used in an episode of Firefly and in a Power Rangers series too.

Thanks for visiting, Ovy, you've missed a lot (I'm told you've been busy). But glad you liked them. And thanks for the trivia -- never noticed them in Firefly (but now I'd look) and I wouldn't know about Power Rangers.

Really liking those bar shots, specially the last.

That’s excellent. Love all the shots. The bar scene is cool. For a second I thought you made it over to Dal’s place.

Theboo-bomb wrote:Really liking those bar shots, specially the last.

Thank you very much, I'm glad you liked them. Yes, the last one is not particularly exciting or complex, but came out nice. Actually, I started the bar shoots with it in real life, but it made sense to place last in the sequence.

Stryker2012 wrote:That’s excellent. Love all the shots. The bar scene is cool. For a second I thought you made it over to Dal’s place.

Thank you very much, Mark, I'm glad you liked them. If only! Although I do have a pool table somewhere (and I used to have a self-made beach tiki bar (or whatever it is called -- it perished during the great migration), my bar facilities are much more limited (and largely digital). Besides, the party's always going on at the Ammo Arms! Here it was winding down.

GubernatorFan wrote: ... and I used to have a self-made beach tiki bar (or whatever it is called -- it perished during the great migration...

I, too, had a Great Migration and had to forfeit a lot of things. That was eight years ago now, and I still haven't managed to fully re-organize! I would love to see you reconstruct your beach bar.

davidd wrote:

GubernatorFan wrote: ... and I used to have a self-made beach tiki bar (or whatever it is called -- it perished during the great migration...

I, too, had a Great Migration and had to forfeit a lot of things. That was eight years ago now, and I still haven't managed to fully re-organize!  I would love to see you reconstruct your beach bar.

Yeah, it is a pain letting go of "nonessential" things during a move. I gave up my dinosaurs and my real mini brick wall, too. Also gave some figures I was upgrading to friends, although those are not really a loss. As for the bar, technically it got damaged (I literally sat on it while packing) and I got irritated enough to just toss it rarther than keep it for repairs -- there were just so many other things to do and worry about. I don't know if I will get around to reconstructing the beach bar, but in principle, I'd like to. I don't think you've seen this thread, but you can see it in some of the photos HERE. Hope you like it (and the other goofery).

13. Fruit of the Strawberry Tree

A minor installment this time. (Perhaps the others are still hung over from last time.)
They were literally getting to the point of being too ripe to keep, so I wanted to snap a photo or two. Which is exactly what I did. And accidentally discovered an ancient Shinto rite, it seems...

Very cute. The berries seem to work great with her outfit.

That's some huge berries.
No wonder she looks surprised