davidd's A DOLL A DAY 2026

[Alliecat]

Oh, these are so cute.  Did you throw sawdust into that shot??  I love the action it implies!

are double eksposures an option on digital cameras?
I suppose it would have been easy-peasy if I had Photoshop and used Layers.

I didn't think it was; I used to enjoy doing them on film.  I have an e-mail from a photographer I follow that purports to have a video ex-plaining double ex-posures; I haven't watched it yet but I ex-pect it will involve a camera with more settings than I have, cos I haven't figured out how to do it with mine.  I'm pretty sure it won't do them.
Yes, layers can be handy.  But in-camera effects are da best kine 

[davidd]

But in-camera effects are da best kine.

Oh! I figured it out! So simple!
At 4am, when I was still awake -- you know that story -- just stressin' about one thing or another, it dawned on me – the classic "olden days" method for taking "ghost" photos: a long ex-posure! Remove the figure partway through the long (and probably light-painted) ex-posure to achieve the "transparent" effect.

That shot you did with the perfect level of ghostly transparency must have taken multiple attempts... or you got really lucky on the first try!

I'm gonna have to try that. It's been so long since I tried light painting that I've completely forgotten how to do it.

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28 August - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Magic Mermaids 2026 Edition

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I first purchased a package of Magic Mermaids Sea Party back in 2013. Periodically I run across the same figures repackaged under different names. Today I found them at a grocery market in Kanab, Utah, now called My Mermaid Play Set and including a cuttlefish!

The Magic Mermaid Sea Party from a dozen years ago included plastic seaweed but no cuttlefish.

[Alliecat]

So did you buy the mermaid play set to play in your pond?

.. or you got really lucky on the first try!

I'm gonna have to try that. It's been so long since I tried light painting that I've completely forgotten how to do it.

I wish. If I recall, it was something like four hours.

Yeah, you should. Go make some photos!

[davidd]

29 August - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Finding Fasteners

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30 August - A Doll A Day 2026:

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59-7/8 Inches

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31 August - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Making Matching Reference Marks

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01 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Rafter Rasslin'

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02 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

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"No worries, I got it!"

[Alliecat]

You have been busy! A fun series as always. They always look capable of actually doing these things, and I like the last photo best. Great posing.

[davidd]

3 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

Pushin' Ply

Triv (Smart Doll Symphony) hoists a sheet of plywood on to the shed roof.

Here's the snarky caption I put on this pic when I posted it to Insipidgram:

This post is for the currently trendy "Would You Do This With a $XXX-hundred dollar toy" fad.

"Yeah, but that's not an ex-pensive 'action figure,' that's just a dumb old doll."

Uh huh. Go check the price on a Culture Japan Smart Doll. Add in an outfit. Some shoes. An extra hand pack. A hat -- if you only knew how much that hat cost!

And then keep trying to impress me when you take your Superman and Star Wars toys down to the riverbank where, ooh, they might get wet. I'll laugh at you, but keep trying, your efforts to impress amuse me.

Then, when you're ready to level up your toy photography game, start following a few doll photography accounts. That's where you'll find the real action... and a lot less flex.

#smartdoll #sarcasm #bossflex

[Alliecat]

Do they ever fall off these precarious perches while you're working?

[davidd]

Do they ever fall off these precarious perches while you're working?

Yes.  

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4 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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"What're we waiting here for again?"

[i]"And how much longer must we keep waiting?"[/i]

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5 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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New Camera - OM Systems TG-7

Not as good in low-light and with depth-of-field as online reviews and info suggested it would be.

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6 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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Western Landscapey Stuff

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7 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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Free-standing Pinky Pic -- First One I've Done in a While

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8 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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Even Janie is Feeling Overwhelmed

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9 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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Soffit to me! Soffit to me! Soffit to me!

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10 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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"D'you got it? Don't let it slip!"

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11 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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"I think I'm gonna need a ladder!"

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12 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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"What is this, some kind of cartoon house?"

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13 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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"This place still exists?"

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14 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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See's that you Chews Wisely

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15 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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Measure Twice etcetera etcetera

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16 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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Eighty-Three and a Quarter

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17 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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Sixty Years of All-You-Can-Eat

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18 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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Mac & Cheese

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19 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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What a Gas!

(And I totally neglected to acknowledge Talk Like a Pirate Day!)

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20 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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Ken-in-a-Box

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21 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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Walmart Find: Five Minnees; Three Came Home

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22 September – A Doll A Day 2026:

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What are the odds?

No, seriously. I've seen different numbers posted as to how common or uncommon the "special" version of the Zuru Minnee dolls is. The online consensus seems to be 1:128

I found five Zuru Minnee Dolls on the shelf at Walmart earlier today. I purchased three of them.

I ended up with Candy Couture, Magic Academy (YAY!)... and this one.

This is a pic of the collector card that is included with each doll. I have not yet opened the plastic bag containing the actual "uncommon" or "chase" doll.