Duplo Space Shuttle Mission
Four years ago, sets from the Duplo series came into my hands for the first time in my life. I really liked the 10944 Space Shuttle Mission set. It's small, if that word can even be applied to Duplo, and it has amazing playability! There is everything here: a space shuttle with a launch pad, a couple of astronauts and a rover with some important gear. If I had this set as a child, it would definitely have been a favorite.
It was very interesting for me to try shooting Duplo and feel the colossal contrast with System. This was a real departure from my comfort zone, because none of my processes and habits that I had developed while shooting small minifigures worked here at all. A completely different scale, requiring different approaches to light and environment. Working on some of the photographs was a real pleasure, but I also had to suffer.
Here I have a takeoff from the launch pad, repairs in outer space, and landing on an unknown planet. I myself am not happy with all the pictures, but I’m posting everything as it is, because you can’t erase words from a song.
Special effects made with your own hands from scrap materials, without using photo editors - it's always interesting. Often such effects are not too difficult to perform, but in the photo they look realistic and beautiful. Next, I will tell you how I made a column of smoke and fire bursting out of the shuttle engine nozzles.
First, I rolled a sheet of plain white A4 paper into a cone and stapled the top (narrow) part. Then I glued pre-rolled pieces of cotton wool to the paper cone. This is what I got: a funny fluffy… tree. I put a flash under the cone and took a test shot. It seems that the desired effect has been achieved.
The basis of the whole design was, of course, a flash, since I needed illumination from below.
Using rubber bands, I attached an orange filter to the flash to achieve a warm yellow-orange shade of light. I placed a glass (upside down) on top of the flash. The rubber bands holding the filter on the flash very successfully played the role of a sealant, thanks to which the glass did not dangle and stood quite firmly and securely. I placed two 2x2 trans-yellow Duplo bricks on the glass and, to complete my vertical construction, the shuttle itself. I put a paper cone with cotton wool on the glass and the subject is ready!
The presence of dark spots on the smoke column, which add volume, depends on the brightness of the flash and is easily adjusted during shooting.
I plan to shoot the shuttle from above, so it's time to move to the floor. The large piece of white foam board under the shuttle in the photo below has no practical significance for the shoot, I just forgot to remove it :)
Around the shuttle I placed dry moss and tree bark to represent the ground. The background will be quite blurred, the green-brown relief looks good.
Quality control is a mandatory step. The mustachioed inspector is right there!
I rarely shoot from this angle, from top to bottom, and the subject itself is one of the largest in my practice, it was quite an interesting experience and a real way out of my comfort zone.
Paper, cotton wool, glass, moss and bark. I sincerely hope that I managed to inspire you or at least show you something new.
