Poser Kens and Knowing When to STOP Adjustments

This is Ken's 50th anniversary month so various Kens will appear here at PhillyCollector. In this photo, we have some of the poser Kens. There are others, of course, like Speed Racer, etc. but these are the guys I have now. In the first photo, I took the photo and only cropped the original. It looks fairly clear to me.

Then I thought, but doesn't the darkness of their pants run all together? Wouldn't it be nice to see the difference between their pants and the background? And that's when the trouble began. I started fiddling with the contrast in my Kodak software. Slam! That's when things went wrong ... That's when I got this bleary, dreary, washed out photo:

Moral of this post? In addition to allowing for plenty of light for your photographs, it's better to reduce or to avoid using the software adjustments. What looks "good" to weary eyes on the computer screen does not necessarily translate to a good photo online.

Aside: for some reason all my Black Kens are non-posers. So I could not include them in this photo. They will ALL appear in my Ken Birthday post.

2010 and New DAF Resolutions

The time has come for me to review my collection as I have never reviewed it before. Reading other collectors' stories and viewing their photographs helped me realize that I could be having more fun with my 1:6 scale companions.

Elizabeth Allen of Love has Fangs fame sent me a link to this article by Maria Greene discussing how to reduce a large doll collection.

Reading the article, I realized that

1. I have too many dolls to fit in my available display space.

2. Some of them are still in their boxes.

3. I've forgotten about some dolls I have.

4. I'm not giving them enough attention.


Sooo ... something has to change. I have to evaluate, to make and to execute certain resolutions. Here's a starter list:


1. Reduce, reduce, reduce.

2. Diversify.

3. Learn camera settings and improve on photography techniques.

4. Photograph DAFs in settings.

5. Write DAF stories.

6. Participate in online DAF groups - again.

I've begun the Reduce step by selling some DAFs online here.

The article also has tips on avoiding DAF overpopulation and suggestions on how to reduce a large collection. While the article was written with larger dolls in mind, it has advice that I or any playscale collector can use.

Happy reading and best wishes for any collection "weeding" that occurs.

Action Figures Correct Action Shot

A funny thing happened after I shot some photos of some dolls and action figures. I wasn't sure that I would even post them today. Just fooling around with some figures in a gym setting. Minus some of my gym stuff that I tucked away. Argh. Well, I had taken the photos I wanted so I returned to my computer.

Kunkle, kunkle. I looked up and turned around to where that sound came from. The sound of plastic hitting the carpet. Twisted my head to find my two boxers no longer on the table where I had posed them, but under the table in an action pose better than mine. I laughed to see them there, posed more realistic if more violent than I had intended. Like they wanted to show me what real action poses looked like. Sigh. Everybody's a critic.

Then again, it's getting late. I'm just tired. But here are the photos for you to decide ;-D







Course being me, I had to show them "making nice."

New I-Girls Folder in Webshots

Here's the link ....

I-Girls folder

Black_Blue Photo Op - 3 Momokos

In the midst of exciting new doll series from Mattel - the So in Style dolls and the Twilight dolls - I decided I wanted to photograph my girl group, Black_Blue, which consists of three Momokos (Sekiguchi Momokos Mama Told Me, Midnight Crossing, and Everyday B Girl AKA Pink Grr, Jagged, and Fro). I've been inspired by photographs taken by other collectors so I let the girls have fun posing.

Strike a Pose




All Hold Hands




Sayonara Strut

Candi Photos in New Webshots Folder

I've got photographs of two Candi dolls in a new Webshots folder. You can see them here at Candi photos. I have a few other Candi dolls that I will add to the folder in the future.