Exploring The World Through Toys

February 20, 2022 Carol Vipperman

If you follow me on social media, you probably have noticed an increasing number of toy images. That is because I have been taking toy photography workshops starting last fall and this winter. I became fascinated with miniature photography at the beginning of the COVID pandemic, as I wrote about in an earlier blog. However, after meeting fellow Lensbaby Ambassador and my toy instructor, Shelly Corbett, I began to explore this genre in earnest. I am amazed at how many terrific and talented toy photographers there are. It is a real thing!

Lensbaby Edge 50 with +4 macro filter 1/80 f4 ISO 640

I am learning many things about how to construct a scene, like how to get a fairy to fly, but at the heart of toy photography is storytelling. At first, this surprised me, but I understood the importance as I continued to explore and experiment.

Lensbaby Edge 50 with +4 macro filter 1/80 f4 ISO 1600

In all types of photography, the photographer is communicating a message to viewers. The same is true in toy photography. Choice of the toy, whether or not they interact, and the scenes you create invite viewers to connect.

Lensbaby Edge 50 with +4 macro filter 1/60 f4 ISO500

Shelly wrote an excellent blog entitled, Five Reasons to Photograph Toys. I encourage you to read it. Not only is it informative, but she also has lovely images that you can enjoy.

Here are some takeaways from my exploration of toy photography:

Buy toys that articulate. For example, LEGO toys have seven points of articulation: head, arms, hands, and legs. Trust me; there are seven. More movement means that you can pose them in a variety of ways.

Lensbaby Edge 50 with +4 macro filter 1/60 f4 ISO 1600

Be playful. It is not very easy to take images of toys and be serious, or at least in my opinion. I will admit that I can get very focused when trying to keep all the pieces working simultaneously, but if the image makes me smile, I know it works.

Lensbaby Sweet 35 with +8 macro converter 1/80 f2.8 ISO 250

Think of your audience. This is a new one for me because I ultimately take the photo for my own pleasure and hope that others will enjoy it, but it is helpful to keep your audience in mind. For now, I am trying to reach people who enjoy the whimsey and simplicity of a story told by toys. This won't include everyone who might be patiently waiting for me to return to landscapes or cityscapes, but there are some out there as several have encouraged me to do a children's book.

Lensbaby Edge 50 with +4 macro filter 1/5 f4 ISO 100

The setup doesn't need to be complicated. My frustration with miniature photography was that I needed to do it inside my home, and I didn't have a dedicated space or studio. I now take toys with me on my walks with a few tools to ensure that I can get them to stand up, and I found that a simple setup on my dining room table near a window works well for an indoor shot. Also, you can use any lens, including smartphone cameras. My Lensbaby lenses work wonderfully with toy photography since they create blur, unique focal points, and moods.

Lensbaby Edge 50 with +4 macro filter 1/60 f4 ISO 640

Mix up your toys. I gravitated to this naturally, but I learned that by combining toys from different lines, like Kermit with a LEGO stormtrooper, doing something different together is called a Mashup and by doing so it can tell an incredible story.

Lensbaby Edge 50 with +4 macro filter 1/60 f8 ISO 800

Selecting the story. Some people buy a toy with a story in mind, but I gravitate to certain toys and then devise a story about them, often when I am walking around my neighborhood. There are many ways to get ideas for photos: favorite quotes, song lyrics, art images, memories, and much more.

Seek out toy photographers. I am committed to my pursuit of toy photography and love the community surrounding them. Search for toy photographers on Instagram to find ones that resonate with you. Most of the toy photographers I have encountered bring their inner child with them when playing, shooting images, and talking about toys. It is so refreshing.

Lensbaby Sweet 35 with +8 macro filter 1/60 f4 ISO 1600

I am not abandoning my other photography passions, such as flower photography and capturing water reflections, but I love exploring the world of storytelling through these little peeps. And there is nothing more fun and relaxing than playing with your toys.

If you are curious about Lensbaby lenses, take a look at their website, and if you are inclined to take the plunge, use my Lensbaby Ambassador code (wVipperman) for a 5% discount. I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, follow me on Instagram, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com. If you have any questions about photography, I would be pleased to answer them.

If you would like to receive my blog posts, please send me your name and email. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.

Happy Halloween!

October 29, 2021 Carol Vipperman

It is that time of year to celebrate Halloween. Although it is meant to be a holiday for children to dress up and go out trick or treating, for me, it is a terrific opportunity to capture images of my neighbors' decorations. Some are elaborate, while others are simple but effective. Here are several that I discovered walking around my hill over the last few weeks using my Canon EOSR and Lensbaby lenses. Enjoy!

If you are curious about Lensbaby lenses, take a look at their website, and if you are inclined to take the plunge, use my Lensbaby Ambassador code (wVipperman) for a 10% discount. I love hearing from you, so comment below, post on my Facebook page, or send me an email at carol(at)carolvipperman.com. If you have any questions about photography, I would be pleased to answer them.

If you would like to receive my blog posts, please send me your name and email. I would be happy to add you to my list of followers.

This last image is one that hopefully will make you smile. This witch shows up every year, and fortunately, the cat is still hanging on. I hope you have a wonderful Halloween!

Summer Means Sunflowers

August 8, 2021 Carol Vipperman

When I think of spring, tulips come to mind. Late summer and early fall are all about dahlias. I look forward to capturing images of these beautiful flowers during those seasons. But when I think of mid-summer sunflowers are front and center! They have color, gestures, and personalities. I know that it sounds like a strange way to describe a flower, but all of this is true in my experience.

I live close to a community garden (P-Patch), which is a wonderful place to take flower images. Many of the garden patches grow sunflowers ranging from the American Giant that can get up to 10 feet high, to smaller more accessible ones that grow about 4-5 feet tall. I prefer the smaller ones because it is easier for me to take images.

Color

My favorite sunflower is the one that is a deep burnt brown color, called Little Becka Sunflowers. I love the detail and color of this sunflower, and getting close up with my shots.

Taken with Lensbaby Sweet 50 with +10 macro filter

Taken with Lensbaby Sweet 50 with +4 macro filter

Gestures

Although there are amazing photos of sunflower fields that I have seen, I personally love capturing the details in the sunflower. Occasionally I take an image full-faced, but generally, I prefer to take pictures from the side, back, top, and part of the front. I find that I can capture the gestures better that way.

Personalities

I realize that flowers are flowers, but in my mind, they all have personalities. I love discovering them and capturing them in my photos. Some are bold, others shy, and many express whatever they want, which can change by the day.

Taken with Lensbaby Velvet 85 and Omni filter

I love taking out different lenses to see what I can capture when exploring for sunflower images. Each lens has its own creative personality as well as the flowers, which makes for a fun match. I hope you take a moment and go out to discover the beauty of sunflowers while they are in full bloom.

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One last photo to enjoy on this summer day.

Taken with Lensbaby Velvet 85 and Omni Filters

Explore. Inspire. Experiment.

July 19, 2021 Carol Vipperman

Recently I submitted a photo to a contest hosted by Kelbyone.com and won! The focus was macro shots, and when they contacted me, they asked me to describe my creative style in three words. After some reflection and consultation with a few friends, explore, inspire, and experiment emerged.

The winning image shot with Lensbaby Velvet 56

It fits in so many ways. My walks are explorations for images. I love exploring my city and neighborhood for compelling images. Many photographers and artists personally inspire me, and I hope that my photos inspire others. Finally, I love to experiment with different subjects, lenses, and editing techniques. My thirst for learning and growth underpins my work.

In addition to experimenting with different subjects, such as miniatures, I am playing with a new Lensbaby pinhole lens called Obscura, released last month. After the launch, I bought the Obscura 16mm for my Canon EOS R mirrorless camera. This has certainly challenged me as it does not have a focus ring and only three aperture settings: f22 (zone plate), f45 (sieve), and f90 (pinhole). That's right. An f stop of 90! The sieve and pinhole create the most detail, due to how much light comes through the pinholes.

To best describe Obscura, I have borrowed from Lensbaby's website description: “A zone plate is a series of clear circular rings surrounding a center hole, with each of the clear zones equaling the area of the pinhole in the center resulting in increasingly thinner zones as you move away from the center of the zone plate."

“A pinhole sieve is a field of pinholes, with the center pinhole being the largest and increasingly smaller pinholes radiating away from the center.”

"A pinhole is not, technically, a lens but is a clear, round hole in a thin piece of material, usually metal.”

I have been using this lens for about three weeks, and it has required that I do some things differently, such as look for higher contrast subjects, shoot in brighter light, and boost my ISO to increase the amount of light entering my camera. I have also had to embrace a higher level of noise and deep, darker colors in my images. I have also found that black and white photos work well.

I am often pleasantly surprised by the images that I have taken when I get back home on my computer. Here are a few examples. I admit that I tend to favor the sieve (f45) and pinhole (f90), but occasionally I find an image where the zone plate works wonderfully.

Seattle Center’s entrance to the 1962 World Fair’s Monorail still in operation f45

The Center for Wooden Boats on South Lake Union f90

Seattle’s Fremont District near the Canal f90

Seattle’s Fremont Troll located under the Aurora Bridge f90

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One last photo. This one looks like a selfie since my shadow is in the image, but I think it works.

Fremont District, painting by Henry. f90

My Tiny World of Miniature Photography

February 12, 2021 Carol Vipperman

As most of you know, I love taking images while out walking, so it was a surprise to me when over the last six months I became fascinated with the tiny world of miniature photography. I follow a number of photographers and many of them over the long pandemic have turned to creating landscapes and portrait sessions inside using miniature people. The reason it has taken me over half a year to post a blog with my images is that it has been a real learning curve. I do enjoy playing, so hopefully my photos will make you smile.

One of my early captures - these guys are 1/2” tall. Taken with my Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

The first challenge I encountered was where to purchase the little peeps, as I call them. I searched in a variety of places, including Etsy, Amazon, and train hobby shops online. I also learned that there are a variety of sizes. The climbers are HO scale (1/2”). I have also purchased some figures that are O scale, which are about 1-1/4” high. It is easier for me to work with the larger figures, but I am still playing with the smaller ones. I also found some very fun figures that are 3-5.5” high. More about them later.

These are O scale figures that I got from a hobby store. Shot with my Canon EOSR and Velvet 28 lens.

The key thing I have learned working with miniatures is that it is all about storytelling. Photography is about telling a story, but I found it different to create indoor scenes that tell a story. I shot my images on my tabletop using vegetables, cookies, fruits and other items to create scenes. Some photographers have very creative props, but I am working with what I have, which has been interesting.

This little guy is telling his mom about a nightmare he had and asking to be let into their bed that is made of cheese and crackers. Shot using my Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

The little guy is negotiating with his grandfather for another story before bed. Shot with my Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28 lens.

Since I don’t have the most ideal indoor studio for shooting these images, a friend suggested that I take some of my peeps with me on my walks. That was a real ‘ah hah’ moment for me. I had purchased some figures that are about 3” tall, and some pretend professionals that are 5.5” tall, so I stuff my pockets with a couple of them when I take off on my walks. They have added color and fun to these winter walks.

This worker is sitting on a ledge along my walk waiting for the bus. Shot with my Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

This capture generated a number of comments on Facebook and Instagram. People found it very evocative and had many stories that came to mind. Shot with Canon EOSR and my Lensbaby Spark2 with Sweet 50 optic.

I captured this little guy with his catch in a community garden. Shot with my Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

In my pretend professionals’ collection (I now have 36 of them) I found a photographer! That opened up so many more possibilities, such as the “professionals at work” series. In addition to my enjoyment, I have found that my neighbors who walk by love snapping quick photos as well.

One of the first photo sessions with a veterinarian. Shot with my Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

A professional tennis player who is ready to play at any moment. It is amazing what interesting shots you can create outside. Shot with Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

Honoring our medical heroes. Shot with Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

Women at work. Shot with Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

As I continue to experiment with creating stories with my little peeps, I am finding that my creativity is growing. I now see things and places on my walks that would tell an interesting story. I am also playing with ways to create a better indoor studio set-up to capture more images. Here are a few more that hopefully make you smile.

When I can’t get out for a walk, my little climbers take care of exercise for the day. Shot with my Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

Honestly, they will climb anything! A potato masher is a challenge to be met. Shot with my Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

And these hikers came across a photographer in the bok choy forest. Shot with Canon EOSR and Lensbaby Velvet 28.

I am still on quite a learning curve, which actually feels good. I love expanding my horizons and skills. There is so much more that I continue to learn about indoor lighting, how to keep those little ones to stand up (putty or glue stick), and what to use as props. I get inspiration from looking at what other photographers are doing. As you may have noticed, I primarily use Lensbaby’s Velvet 28 lens for these shots. Although it is wide-angle lens (28mm), I can get up to two inches away from the subject, which is a real advantage when taking photos of 1/2” and 1” miniatures.

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