Neon's A Doll A Day Challenge 2018

[davidd]

Also Groovie Goolies

"Welcome... to Horrible Hall!" I thought perhaps nobody other than me in the entire world remembered The Groovie Goolies! You just made my day... and week... and month!

Your All Souls Day dolly photo is truly beautiful with the warm candlelight. And your description of how the day is still celebrated in your country is quite fascinating. Most holidays with religious significance are no longer observed by the US society at large.

I must know: is "in my neck of the woods" a phrase found in the Czech language, or is that something else you picked up from watching old American western TV shows?

[neon_jellyfish]

dargosmydaddy - thanks!

Alliecat - thank you! It would be hard to take a pic without any people in it, since cemeteries are packed full on this day, plus there's the new EU law about personal data and privacy and whatnot that made it basically illegal to take photos of other people (eventhough you didn't even want to and they got in your shot), but, and this might sound weird, I felt like taking photos on graveyard would be more disrespectful to the dead than to the living, especially if it was a doll photo. But I do admit that taking some graveyard photos is tempting... Maybe I'll try it next year.

davidd - All Souls' Day really isn't all that religious here (we're one of the most atheist nations in the world) - people just go visit and decorate graves of their relatives, but it still has this beautiful, quiet and peaceful atmosphere - at least on cemeteries. Not so much on the roads, this holiday really increases traffic. I guess that while we're not religious, we still need something spiritual... There isn't anything similar to "in my neck of the woods" in Czech, and I have no idea how did I learn that one. These things tend to just randomly stick to me... And thank you!

One more note on All Souls' Day - you always see some people cleaning up the surroundings of gravestones, placing candles and flowers, a few people are crying, some simply sit/stand there quietly, some came just to enjoy the atmosphere (that would be me), and there always, ALWAYS seems to be a group of very elegant old ladies clad in black, talking lively about various topics, and they somehow seem to both fit right in and be a bit out of place at the same time, and I always wonder from which side are they actually visiting...

Day 307

Tired snap of my 'artificial lifeforms' dolls. I didn't know whether to include Rochelle (she is made of granite, but who knows how gargoyls reproduce...) and Mae (she's a robot, but they seem to be an alien race), but in the end I did. So here are characters from my collection that have been made rather than born:

[davidd]

"Made rather than born." What a clever theme for a group shot!

The EU laws now prohibit photos with people in them without their permission? So... if you go to Disney Paris, basically you can't take pictures? Or if you go to the beach? Or if you go... anywhere? I thought it was absurd when I learned that taking pictures of the Atomium building in Belgium is considered a copyright violation... because it's a building for crying out loud! But now you can't take pictures with people in them?

And people here in the US complain and moan about our "repressive government" and say they want it to be more like Europe. Apparently they have no idea what "oppressive government" really means. No more cellphone selfies at popular tourist destinations if there are people in the background; or, in other words, good-bye to 90% of selfies!

So, how does that work, exactly? If the police see you with a camera, do they ask to scroll through your photos and make you delete any that have people in the background?

Okay, sorry, I know this is not meant to be a "political space." But... wow! Basically, that means that outdoor photography, unless you're alone in the woods somewhere, has been banned in Europe.

{EDIT to update} - Okay, after reading a dozen articles on the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)... well, it sounds like yeah, photography containing people is pretty much banned in the EU now.

Oh well... maybe this will lead to a resurgence in Traveling Doll photography!

[Alliecat]

Nice group photo, and a good idea for the theme.
I understand, maybe photographing dolls in a cemetery feels frivolous. And that was what I was thinking too, is it disrespectful to the dead. I would wonder what the individual people might think if you could have asked them. I mean, some might be annoyed, some might be amused. Sounds like you went with "when in doubt, don't", and that's fair. I did enjoy your description of the cemetery, and now I can picture the old ladies in some candlelight, and what a neat idea, "which side" are they visiting from!

[Lejays17]

The All Soul's Day photo is absolutey gorgeous, I love the lighting and the calmness it shows.

I understand what you mean about taking photos in cemetaries / graveyards, it does seem a bit disrespectful to the inhabitants. I find cemetaries to be fascinating from a social point of view - we've only had graveyards in a Western sense for a bit over 200 years, and they were always places we visited whenever we were on holidays to different places. It gave a bit of insight into the places.

The "made not born" idea is a great idea for a group shot. You've got some really neat ideas for the different doll lines to be in themed group shots.

[neon_jellyfish]

davidd - thank you! And yes, you're actually not allowed to take pics of other people unless you have consent, and if someone asks you to delete photo that pictures them (eventhough you were trying to take a pic of a statue, or building), you have to delete it. For the most part, people are pretty chill about it, and no one really cares, and there are tons of tourists here who don't know the law, because this isn't North Korea (at least not yet), so nobody would eect such law to be a thing here, so even police doesn't care. But it's stupid law, because it affects people's work - taxi drivers and delivery services aren't allowed to know your adress, schools can't keep records of their students, and such. This is something EU does - there's a problem, or a situation with potential to become a problem, so EU decides to make a law to address it, but between lobbyists and dilettantish approach to the problem in question, the result always makes trouble for common citizens, but big companies can make their way around it. Want something even more terrifying? Look up EU Copyright Directive (Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market) Article 11 and 13. Something wicked that way comes. Not looking forward to it at all.

Alliecat - thanks! I think I wouldn't be so hesitant about cemetery photos on some other day, but on All Souls' Day, I really don't want to disturb the atmosphere. But there are many cemeteries in Prague, and some are becoming more like tourist spots, and aren't so... personal as the one on this street, so maybe I'll muster up my courage and take some photos there next year (for some reason, I just imagined myself knocking on a gravestone, saying 'excuse me, would you mind if I took a dolly photo on your grave? I'll leave you some candles in exchange!')

Lejays - thank you very much!


Day 308

Zombie Apocalypse! (I have migraine apocalypse, so everything's blurry!)


"The Braaaaiiiiiinsss... The Braaaaaaiiiiiiiiinssss!"
"The Brains? Shouldn't it be, you know, just 'brains'?"
"The Brains are the newest hot G-pop boy band."




*sounds of turmoil, despair and utter mayhem can be heard in the background*
"G-pop?"
"As in ghoul pop. Maybe you heard their songs in the radio? Like Snow Blight, The Creeping Beauty or Anne of Gangrene Gables? The band is kinda average, but the boys are super hot. I think the bassist has some potential. They're that kind of band that only attracts immature teen girls who are interested solely in the boys' looks."
"I see."
"They're insanely popular with zombies, so when ticket sales for their concerts start, it's a total apocalypse."




"The Brains are the bestest!!!!!!"
"Oh boy."
"Well, this was practically bound to happen..."

[Lejays17]

even when you're not feeling well, your pictures are great!

Love the zombie princesses fighting over the band, like any group of teens. And Frankie & Abbey not really u der standing the appeal ( like other teens who aren't into that particular group)

[davidd]

A Doll A Day becomes A Photo-Story A Day!

Frankie and Abbie look so disgusted as they watch the zombies parade by! It's quite amazing how eressive the MH figures can be. Lala, in contrast, looks appropriately giddy and starstruck.

I imagine the "rush" by a zombie horde to get concert tickets is more like a brisk shamble. And briskly shambling was obviously more than their death-impaired coordination could cope with.

"Anne of Gangrene Gables." Okay, I shall never ever be able to here the regular title again in my life without thinking of it this way!

Uhm... is Photostory-a-Day going to be the challenge for 2019?

[neon_jellyfish]

Lejays - thank you! My OUAZ are actually all very good friends, but they did have fun while pretending to fight, especially Sleepy and Punzie, who for some reason really enjoyed strangling each other Once upon a time, I was a teen and I totally wasn't getting boy band fads and music styles popular among other girls, and they all seemed a little brainwashed in their adoration of the young musicians, which is where this particular zombie apocalypse comes from...

davidd - I don't think Frankie and Abbey are disgusted, more like slightly amused and not completely sure why is it worth causing a raging inferno...

"Anne of Gangrene Gables." Okay, I shall never ever be able to here the regular title again in my life without thinking of it this way!

Heh, you're welcome! And don't worry, I don't plan on making photo stories a regular thing.

Day 309

Love Your Red Hair Day. I'm not a redhead, but I have major soft spot for red hair, and I originally wanted to make a group photo of all my redheads, but they, once again, didn't fit, so here's a representative selection



And prettified instagram one:

[Alliecat]

Hahaha, that's cute! I like Abby with her hand over her face. Hope the migraine is better -- it helped your creativity that day, at least
Your redheads are very elegant!

...But it's stupid law, because it affects people's work - taxi drivers and delivery services aren't allowed to know your adress, schools can't keep records of their students, and such.

...wait, what...? How can these things work then? o.O
They'd have fits if they lived in this little community, where everyone knows everything about everyone... or thinks they do. And where delivery drivers ask at your workplace if they can leave something there for someone else who isn't working today, rather than going to their house on an extra trip.

...(for some reason, I just imagined myself knocking on a gravestone, saying 'excuse me, would you mind if I took a dolly photo on your grave? I'll leave you some candles in exchange!')

Heh. I'd say "Sure, go ahead. I wish I could see it "

[davidd]

Red hair... and bangs! What a heart-meltingly lovely trio!

As for Frankie and Abbey, yes, "disgusted" was too strong a word; "bemused" would have better fit what I was trying to say.

[Cornflower Blue]

I love me some redheads, too!

[neon_jellyfish]

Alliecat - thank you!!! As I mentioned, most people just ignore that law, because whoever made it obviously didn't think about these everyday things, and so far, nothing major hapenned. Haha, I bet you would be one of those ladies I mentioned earlier!

davidd - thank you!!! I have 15 Pullip family dolls, and only monochrome Alice has parted hair, others have bangs or swept bangs or at least a few strands of hair falling on their forehead...

Cornflower Blue - redheads rule!


Day 310

The migraine fest continues, so I'm going to make do with a cliché B&W CE Lala photo.

[davidd]

Cliché or not (I'd say "not," myself), this is a stunning, eerie, atmospheric photo of the beautiful vampire girl!

[Lejays17]

Lovely shot of the red-heads, I think I saud that on the IG post already.

Lala looks like one of those elegant 50's portraits - stunning!