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.

[davidd]

23 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

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A Hole in the Side of the House

The previous homeowner had installed a "doggy door" in the side of the house. Although long sealed up, the "sealed up-ness" has become considerably less sealed as of late, to the point where mice are finding their way in.

Time to fix it right. This is a job for Janie and Trivia!

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24 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

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A Hole in the Side of the House - Out with the Old

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25 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

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A Hole in the Side of the House - In with the New

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26 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Green Girl with Guns Action Figure

I had to look up the name again:
Marvel Legends Madam Hydra
1/12-scale (6 inch) toy action figure.

I'm not that much in to Marvel Comics, so I know nothing about the character. I thought the action figure looked pretty cool, so I picked it up recently via eBay for what I thought was a good price.

Turns out if I'd waited a week I could have nabbed one for even less. Ain't that always the way?

[Alliecat]

Awaiting pictures of the gold Minnee!
Before scrolling down to the description on Flickr, I was thinking, “are you installing a pet door?”

[davidd]

Before scrolling down to the description on Flickr, I was thinking, “are you installing a pet door?” 

It was a very effective pet door... for pet mice.

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27 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Maudlynne is Displeased

Maudlynne is displeased.
Then again, Maudlynne is generally displeased. Indeed, she is at her happiest happiest when mildly displeased.

Now, however, Maudlynne is seriously displeased. Maudlynne has zero tolerance for blurry photos.

The Fat Photographer Dood is trying to get the hang of a new camera, an OM Systems TG-7. He has a long way to go.

In his defense, he has been out of practice when it comes to snapping photos with a small hand-held camera. He's been busy playing with AI image generation.

The Fat Photographer Dood wants to blame the poor photo on the new camera. But the camera has generally exceptional reviews online, and offers some features that, in theory, should render it quite effective at small-scale photography.

The likely cause of the blurry photo is poor technique on the part of Fat Photographer Dood.

Maybe if he practices a bit more.

Maudlynne is fine with that, as long as he doesn't practice on her. Go find somebody who doesn't care... like Barbie.

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28 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Promenade in the Park Barbie is Displeased

Promenade in the Park Barbie is displeased that Maudlynne so callously suggested that Fat Photographer Dood use "a Barbie" as a photographic model until he has mastered the learning curve with his new OM Systems TG-7 camera; or until the hangover wears off and his tremors subside.

Alas, Barbie's promenade in the park... or on the appropriately named Promenade Deck of a doomed ocean liner... will have to make due with blurry photos for a while. Sad, seeing as how this is her premiere appearance in this photostream.


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29 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

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The Reaper is Simultaneously Displeased and Pleased

CooModel NS005 Reaper Figure with Scythe

Mostly displeased.
Because blurry.

Fat Photographer Dood is becoming increasingly convinced that the problem is with the camera and not with his masterful framing, posing, and lighting techniques.

On a brighter note, Fat Photographer Dood and The Reaper are very pleased to have at last found The Reaper's scythe, which has been missing in action for three or more weeks. The missing scythe has presented such a p'sychological block that Fat Photographer Dood has been unable to concentrate on the A Doll A Day Project, and has been turning, instead, to the alluring succor of AI Image Generation.

Now that the scythe has been retrieved, Fat Photographer Man will likely use the "crummy new camera" as an excuse to avoid taking toy photos. After all, one would not want to displease The Reaper.

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30 September - A Doll A Day 2026:

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"You look hungry!" Ya wanna sammich?"

Rae and Lexx simply refuse to take the Grim Spectre of Death seriously.


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1 Rocktober - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Rocktober Rulez!

Emily the Strange (by Ashton-Drake) and her kittycat Mystery welcome in the Happiest Month of the Year!

Doesn't Emily look happy?
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2 Rocktober- A Doll A Day 2026:

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Death Can Has Cheezeburger?

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3 October - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Nice Cups

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Still a little bit blurry, but getting better... maybe.

Possibly a depth-of-field issue in this case.

Phat Photographer Dood continues to attribute the photographic deficiencies to the camera.

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We be kott upp!

[Alliecat]

I was going to try to recall, and say something potentially helpful, about the thing I've forgotten on my K-x about adjusting the viewfinder to your vision so that things are really in focus when you think they are, but then I looked up the camera and I see it's not an SLR.
That's a bummer, and would be frustrating. Will it go on a tripod? Have you tried shooting some pictures with just a grid of lines or something flat to see if that's blurry too?
I don't suppose there's a camera shop to get it checked out, within a fortnight's ex-pedition distance...

Well, Barbie is very fashionable! And Lexx and Rae apparently don't fear the reaper

[davidd]

I was going to try to recall, and say something potentially helpful... Will it go on a tripod?  

I looked at the EXIF data on the photos. Eksposure time varies between 1/8 and 1/10 of a second.
Probably a little long to hand-hold with one hand in low light while holding a light in the other hand, huh?  
Especially when I'm out of practice.

I need to set up a bit better lighting and probably use a tripod for "dark shots" and see if things improve.

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4 Rocktober - A Doll A Day 2026:

Time to Fix It Right

The previous homeowner had installed a "doggy door" in the side of the house. Although long sealed up, the "sealed up-ness" has become considerably less sealed as of late, to the point where mice are finding their way in.

Time to fix it right. This is a job for Janie and Trivia!

They are using "weathered planks" for the final covering to better match the existing siding.

[Alliecat]

Oh goodness yes, you don’t hand hold below 1/focal length. Even with a tripod I find things to be in less sharp focus in very low light.

As always, impressed that you take time for doll photos in the middle of these projects.

[davidd]

As always, impressed that you take time for doll photos in the middle of these projects.

The doll time is my thinking time. When I'm between steps or trying to figure out how to do something, the dolls step in to help out.

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5 October - A Doll A Day 2026:

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Nice Pumpkins

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Still hand-held at 1/10. Boosted the "definition" and "sharpness" a bit in the Apple Photos app. Not perfect but better.

I did some in-depth reading about the OM System TG-7... that I should have done before buying it. The "aperture priority" system is not a true aperture adjustment. The camera has a limited physical aperture adjustment and uses an internal filter to emulate larger f-stop numbers. So a larger f-stop (smaller aperture) setting does NOT result in greater depth of field. That's a major disappointment.

The camera does offer a feature called "focus stacking" that I have not yet tried, that, in theory, provides extreme depth of field by electronically combining multiple eosures focused on different areas of the scene. Cool, I guess, but why doe everything have to be an electronic emulation rather than just physical and tangible and real? I wanted a "pocket camera" to carry around for quick snapshots because my old pocket camera does not focus consistently anymore. But this new TG-7 camera, that is reviewed highly online for its "physical" nature, is basically just another electronic version of physical.

Oh well, at least the TG-7 has eosure compensation that's fairly straightforward, so that makes it better than my phone camera.