Discover Top Posts Tagged with #smallish_things

“Unearthing the Giant - Cardiff, NY - Oct. 16th, 1869” (2018)

Scale: O/HO (1:48/1:87)

This is based on my favorite hoax—the Cardiff Giant. At one point, I think I had the thought that I would do an entire hoax series and recreate all of my favorite hoaxes in miniature, but then it turned out that not many of them are photographically interesting. So that idea sort of fell to the back burner. But this one really worked out. I liked being able to mix scales. I don’t get to do that very often. And I finally found a use for my little Yeti figure!

The above photo is from the actual 1869 dig. It feels so similar to what I came up with and what I was after that I assume I must have seen it at some point and forgot.

#cardiff giant #hoaxes #miniature photography #smallish_things #my photos #photos by the archivist crow

The Cottingley Fairies - Part 1

This is another hoax re-creation, based on the Cottingley Fairies series of photos by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths beginning in 1917. There are a lot of reasons I love this hoax—the entirely basic, but effective, practical effects; the fact that they managed to fool a great many people, including no less than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who publicly championed the photos as proof of fairies; and then there’s the photos themselves. For the time, they’re very well done for a 16 and a 9 year old, and I find them both technically and aesthetically pleasing.

Photograph #1 - Frances with fairies, taken by Elsie Wright (1917)

Photograph #2 - Elsie with winged gnome, taken by Frances Griffiths (1917)

At one point, I thought I would be dressing up the larger figure as Elsie and Frances, but as I got further into the project I decided it wasn’t necessary. I kinda liked the reversal of having an obviously fake “human” with more realistic fairies.

“The Cottingley Fairies, No. 1” (2019)

“The Cottingley Fairies, No. 2” (2019)

Scale: HO (1:87) / 1:12

Photos by the archivist-crow unless otherwise noted

#the cottingley fairies #hoaxes #1910s #miniature photography #my photos #frances griffiths #elsie wright #smallish_things #halloween day 9

Tomboy by Hal Ellson (Bantam Books, 1951) / Cover by Robert Maguire

Pulp Fiction - photos copyright smallish_things (2011)

#tomboy #hal ellson #robert maguire #pulp fiction #photography #my photos #smallish_things #pulp art

Taken in 2014 at the Musée Mécanique, San Francisco

Photos by the archivist-crow

#smallish_things #my photos #Musee mecanique #san francisco #penny arcade #halloween day 6

The Cottingley Fairies - Part 2

Frances and Elsie, having created a furor with their first two fairy photos in 1917, produced—under scrutiny—three more images in 1920. Published in The Strand Magazine along with higher resolution prints of the 1917 images and accompanied by an article by Conan Doyle, the new photos were equally sensational. So convinced was Conan Doyle to the photos’ authenticity that the article refers to them as “an epoch-making event”, but there were plenty of skeptics and detractors, many of whom questioned the distinctly contemporary fashion sense of the fairies.

Frances and the Leaping Fairy by Elsie Wright (1920)

Fairy Offering Posy of Harebells to Elsie by Frances Griffiths (1920)

Generally I like to work in either HO (1:87) or O scale (1:48). Those are the two most common miniature scales, but I do enjoy mixing scales whenever I get the chance. For this project I specifically bought a Figma Archetype Next figure to play Elsie and Frances. About 5” tall, made of pvc, and completely articulated, I think it’s designed for anime figure drawing, so it comes with an articulated stand and different hand position attachments. I think she worked out really beautifully. Even the neutral-but-slightly-bemused expression on her face changes depending on the light. And I was pleased to see that the scale ratio to the originals was about right.