Santa, Rudolph and sleigh - Merry Christmas

As I cast about the house looking for a subject for a Christmas post I came upon this little model of Santa, Rudolph and his present-laden sleigh. We couldn't recall when or why we had bought it though there must have been a reason. The best we could do was assume it was to decorate the Christmas cake in a manner that would please the grandchildren. As I put it on a black background and pointed ny macro lens at it I couldn't help but feel sorry for Rudolph. He had clearly been deserted by all the other reindeers and the reponsibility for pulling the sleigh fell solely on him.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

English Civil War soldier

Every now and then I come upon a photoshoot with a photographer, assistant and model(s) making use of a location as a backdrop. It happened again recently when we were at Tewkesbury Abbey in Gloucestershire. In the grounds, using the ancient walls as a setting, was a model in what appeared to be the dress of a soldier from the time of the English Civil War. The sky was cloudless and the photographer was using the shade of a conifer supplemented by a reflector held by his assistant to light his subject. From a distant bench, with my lens extended to its maximum I took a quick snap of the soldier whose appearance reminded me somewhat of the English actor, Brian Blessed, in the film, "Flash Gordon"(1980).

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Lumix FZ1000 2

Photographing engineering models at exhibitions

Photographing models at engineering exhibitions is a frustrating business. Each model is labelled by the organisers and the owner - these get in the way. The backdrops are broadly the same for all models and take no account of the model's colour. Lighting levels are usually low in exhibition halls. Each model is very close to its neighbour making for overlap in shots. Often alarm wires are threaded though models to discourage theft. But, occasionally, as with the beam engine shown above, you come across a model where most of these restrictions don't apply, the lighting is (accidentally) very effective, and fortune smiles on the photographer.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10