Grounded

[Mandingo Rex]

Not a perfect setup, but I decided to use the flash on the DSLR... Turned out not too bad, considering this was stuffed in the corner of our dining room, on the floor, with just the dining room light shining on it. I still need to paint the little bird, but this was my only time to shoot something for the chopper banner... Figures are a mix of POC, 25th, ROC (yikes!) and some customs... I didn't do as much cleanup as I'd like, and I know that the backgrounds aren't quite perfect, but it was a quick setup to just play around. I may do a tighter one later. Lemme know what you think though, or if there's anything that majorly bugs you.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

 

[Mandingo Rex]

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

the shots are awesome...the set up is awesome...the posing is freaking fantastic!...the base dio is killer...

however, that flash killed like most of them...the 8th one down, widescreen is my fave of the bunch...least flash, plus its pulled back and we get a good sense of scale...

 

[snakeling]

*braces for infraction* 9 guys in a little bird? Other than the "clown car action" I do genuinely like this. Nice terrain!

 

[Mandingo Rex]

I actually photoshopped out the shadow on the wall in that widescreen one... Let me know you guys' favorites and I can do retouching to fix em up a bit more.

I was just going for one or two shots for the banner entry, not that I'll win though. I've still got a lot to figure out with the camera. Fortunately, they didn't get as blown out as I'd feared, but you're right, that flash-cast shadow kills most of them.

I was tired of doing grainy, low-light shots so I turned it to automatic, and this is what I ended up with. I really need to find more time in natural light to shoot things. The camera's awesome, but it shows that I have no clue how to work the settings to fine-tune it.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Goddamnit, snakeling! The other bird was downed! 5 were going to cover the lift-off of Hawk and Duke was going to stay back with the second team! Have you no imagination!?

 

[Rick]

I'm no photographer but 99 percent of my shots are done on Landscape setting because there is no flash. The shutter stays open longer sucking in all the light available. Sometimes the shots look brighter than the real conditions. Key is though to use the timer and camera has to be still. Tripod or stacked on books or what ever.

Plus the timer will give you time to spin the rotors, both of them.

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Yeah, I'll need to fool around with the settings more. Since it's my gf's camera, she's always super pissed when she uses it again, because I've changed all the settings on her.

I may need to get a small tripod, all I have is a large one, but that's about the only way I figured I could get a good shot with proper exposure... I will need to definitely try that out. I know I can get a small tripod at Target for a little over $10 or so.

That's a good suggestion on the rotors, too. I guess it'll capture the motion and look more realistic, huh?

I think I'll redo the setup tonight or tomorrow, and try fooling more with the camera settings and try shooting a round 2 of pics. I have no idea how to set the timer though, as it's got the capabilities, but it's an older version of the camera we have at work, which has a digital display. This one does too, but not all the same settings are accessible through the LCD menu... it's weird. Gotta figure that out.

Thanks for the tips, Rick!

 

[G.I.*EDDIE]

lighting issues aside, i also really like 9 and the 3rd to last one...shows off the sweet landscape you created really well...

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Thanks. Yeah, I need to make more of that.

I went to a new hobby store this weekend, looking for Tamiya paints, as my local hobby store closed but no dice...

They didn't have anything I needed, but they did have an awesome "game battlefield" setup (I dunno, I don't play that shit... the miniatures and whatnot? Warhammer?) that I wanted to steal. They had this amazing setup, with hills and a backdrop. Unfortunately, it had miniature bridges and castles on it, which I would've torn off if I got ahold of it, but the terrain itself was terrific. I really need a bigger area of greenery, at least 4x the size, to get a good range of shots. Also, I need one bigass, continuous backdrop, or mountain setup, too. Gotta get to work on that...

 

[Ctrl_Z]

To help soften the flash try putting a piece of paper in front of it. Maybe play with the ISO and other settings. You may not even need the flash. Also adjusting the white balance helps with that.

really thought these are a great set of pics. The dio is killer.

 

[Monkeywrench]

Great setup! I like all the pics. Only thing I would change is to get that silly Ripcord figure out of there The close up on hawk is my favorite. #3 I think

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Ctrl_Z, I'll try that for the flash too. Good suggestion to soften it.

MW, I hate movie Ripcord as much as the next. That's not Ripcord, it's just some black dude.

Actually, the face looks decent with a helmet on. It's not a bad sculpt, which is why I hate that it was wasted on Wayans' likeness. He's just some black grunt, the same as the other guys in there who aren't Duke, Falcon, Hawk or Airborne. I guess the other guys could be a modern Breaker and Footloose, but the other dudes are just greenshirts for the mission.

Ripcord is an Irish bastard with red hair and a green jumpsuit.

 

[Tracker]

lighting issues aside, i also really like 9 and the 3rd to last one...shows off the sweet landscape you created really well...

agreed the posing is good too

 

[xhairs]

nice set up you dam spy lol

 

[Cloud Strife]

Excellent pics, Rex!

 

[Mandingo Rex]

Thanks ladies!

I need to work on the focus more... Also, figure out better lighting solutions. I played around last night shooting some TFs, and got to know the camera a little better. Next time, I'll do a more proper setup so the camera doesn't cast shadows on everything in the background.