My 5 Favorite Doll Photographers ~ Summer 2014

I love looking at pictures of dolls. Scientists have proven that looking at pictures of puppies and kittens can alter your brain waves and calm you. Then, there are those exciting, romantic landscape photos that give you a glimpse of another part of our planet. I love those, too! But, I love the doll photos best.

My favorite professional photographers are Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino and Edward Steichen. They each have a distinctive and unique style and when you see one of their photographs, you know immediately who shot it. Their point of view through the camera lens is quite different from anyone else's.

In the doll world, we are blessed with many talented and creative doll photographers. It's a great deal of fun to see how each photographer's work changes over time as they learn new camera techniques, Photoshop tricks and all the other things that go with being a fashion doll photographer. These are my current Favorite Five!

Ready?

1. Sharon Marie Wright
She is a card carrying member of Screen Actor's Guild and an Emmy winning film director. Her experience is truly reflected in her photographs, too. Her images aren't just static pictures of dolls. Sharon's pictures tell a story. She's very artistic in her use of light to set a mood and her sense of humor is always evident. Often imitated, but never duplicated, she has raised the bar on doll photography since she emerged a couple of years ago.

Sharon is very generous as an artist, sharing tips and tricks about her techniques with other shutterbugs. But, even when you know how she did it, it's still difficult to make photos that look like hers. Sharon is one of a kind and much loved by her huge fan base of doll collectors and fellow photographers.

UPDATE: "Congratulations!" on Sharon's recent appointment by Jones Publishing as Executive Editor of Haute Doll Magazine. I'll look forward to seeing the next edition!

2. Deb Buckner 
(flickr handle: *disenchanted*deb)

Deb lives in Ohio, so I envy her the four seasons! (Here in Florida, we have a wet season and a dry season.) She often shoots her girls outdoors, and it's fun to see the changes in the weather through her doll photography.

I was first attracted to Deb's Poppy photos because she stages many of them in wonderful dioramas. She creates these dioramas, sewing, sawing, screwing and gluing things into place. I saw a vintage Susie Goose vanity in one of her dioramas that had been painted and I liked it so much, I messaged her and asked how she did it. Ever gracious, she told me everything I needed to know to make my own, including which paint works best!

It comes as no surprise that Deb is a talented seamstress, too! When I have admired her doll's fashions and inquired where they came from, her humble response, "I made it" just blew me away! We share a love of Poppy Parker and have become Facebook friends where I discovered she, too, collects the Fashion Royalty girls. We must be kindred spirits because we have a mutual admiration for Vanessa and Victoire Rouge. I've used several of Deb's photos for the banner photo on my Poppy Parker Fan Page on Facebook and I am extremely grateful that she is so generous in sharing her photos.

3. Barbara of Adelaide, Australia (flickr handle: poppybelle)

I cannot remember when I became aware of poppybelle. I think it was her Poppy Parker pictures that first drew me in. Browsing her flickr photos, I discovered that she does remarkable portraits of Poppy Parker and the Fashion Royalty Girls (I think Agnes is her favorite!).

I am particularly fond of how she redresses and restyles her girls, making them look so different from their original incarnations. The way she uses light and how she poses the dolls make her pictures clearly recognizable.

I am most appreciative of poppybelle's generosity in permitting the sharing of her photos. I am somewhat envious of her Poppy collection, too! She has many of the early dolls!

4. Lisa/Alex's dolls via flickr

This photographer gets around! Her travels take her to visit people and places which are reflected in her flickr photos. She photographs indoors and out, and I'm guessing she lives somewhere in the northeast, as her winter photos include snowy scenes!

I like Lisa/Alex's casual outdoor style a lot. She places her dolls in such a way that it appears to be perfectly normal for a doll to be there. Some people might find that a little strange, but I like it. It's why she's on my list.

She does really nice portraits of her girls, too. Her pictures clearly show her love of fashion dolls and that's REALLY what it's all about, in my humble opinion. Many thanks for allowing the sharing of photos!

5. Michaela Unbehau via flickr 

My opening photo comes from the lens of this up and coming fashion doll photographer. She was recently profiled in the Winter 2013 issue of Fashion Doll Quarterly.

Unfortunately, Michaela does not allow sharing of her photos. No. Pinterest. No Tumblr. No Facebook or Twitter sharing. Which is a big bummer for me. She creates these amazing images of fashion dolls and we all want to see them, but she doesn't make it easy. I apologize if it sounds like I'm coming down on her. I just don't understand why people participate in photo sharing web sites and then don't want to let anyone share their pictures. I just don't get that.

So, now you're wondering where I got these photos posted here, right? Yep. Figured as much!

I found them on Pinterest. There are only a few. Like I said, she doesn't permit sharing. But, I did find a few and that's all we needed for this purpose.

That said, you can click on the link and go to Michaela's flickr site where you can see her amazing photos. Enjoy!


A final thought: I encourage doll photographers to watermark their photos before they upload them to the internet. When they are watermarked, we know who they belong to and can give the proper credit. As a long time doll collector, the internet has provided a wonderful environment for us to share our hobby, most often through photographs. If you're a photographer, claim your work so we can "LIKE" it! Isn't that what it's all about?

bullies on the highway ...

I have a really big beef with folks who drive. It's one of those things that no matter what a person does, it's not going to change anything. But, I still have a beef. So, I have decided to air my grievances here on my blog. After all, it is MY blog.

I live in sunny south Florida and use I-95 every day to get to my job. I follow all the rules of the road. I don't talk or text while I'm driving. I don't get in the fast lane and drive slow. I don't cut in front of people. Consequently, I haven't been involved in a traffic accident for 10 years.

Monday through Friday, I drive west on Sunrise Boulevard to the entrance ramp for southbound I-95. The problem is with the access to the entrance ramp. I don't know what engineer came up with the design, but I'd like to smack him up aside his head!

Sunrise is a 3-lane major roadway. On the approach to the left turn lane for the southbound ramp to I-95, the left turn lane is a single lane. There is a traffic signal to allow the traffic crossing Sunrise to the northbound ramp. On the other side of this intersection, the lane continues as a single lane until 5 car lengths before the traffic signal that permits that left turn onto the southbound ramp.

THIS is where the problem is. At the 5 car lengths point, that single left turn lane expands into two left turn lanes, allowing 2 cars through the signal on green, thus moving the traffic quickly onto the Interstate highway. What wasn't taken into account by that engineer was all the jerks who were going to race by those of us in line single file to cut in front of the cars approaching that 2-lane section of road. They speed by the line and cut right in so they make the next signal, instead of having to wait as many as three rotations of the signal to get through the intersection like the rest of us respectfully do. And, they appear to have no conscience about it. I blow my horn at them. I yell at them. I have even engaged in unladylike gestures when a driver is particularly rude, but all to no avail.

This vehicle cut in front of me and when I honked,
the driver used a rude gesture to express his annoyance
that I would blow my horn! Talk about jerks!

When I was a school girl and someone cut in the lunchroom line, there was a lot of verbal protest and the person was forced to go to the end of the line. We can't do that here. The police don't care; they've got real crimes to solve, real criminals to chase. So, I am stuck with these bullies on the highway and there's not a darned thing I can do about it.






Then, one morning I started taking their photos. I love my Galaxy S5 and its 13 megapixel camera. So, that is how I vent my frustration now. It's how I prevent "road rage." Instead of yelling or honking, I take their picture. If they have no regard for me, why should I have any regard for them?

I know it doesn't change anything. These drivers are still bullies. But, it makes me feel better to take their pictures. (The ones you see here are from August.) And, it is a relief to post them here and put them out to the Universe.

If you recognize a car, feel free to tell that driver to stop being a bully.  I hope you embarrass that person. They deserve to be embarrassed, among other things.

The world is tough enough without having to fight to get to work. No one is going to get where they're going any quicker by being in bully. In fact, you might even make yourself late. I think they call it karma ...

around here ...

Lord, have mercy, it's August again already! The last month with no "r" in it for this year! Holey mackerel!

Around here I've been ...

basking in the joy of "Tea with Barbie" at Old Davie School! For the fourth year in a row it was an amazing success!

playing with the new Poppys, Girl from I.N.T.E.G.R.I.T.Y. and Agent Lotta Danger

toiling over the 2014-2015 schedule for Art Gallery 21

reading "Older, Smaller, Better," measuring how the character of buildings and blocks influences urban vitality

searching the neighborhood for vacation home rentals; they are everywhere and changing the character of the neighborhood ...

cleaning off my desk at work and making a scrapbook page from the refuse (left)

waiting for my darling husband to create his first piece of 1/6 scale doll furniture; he's been studying and designing, so, now I'm waiting ... patiently ...

editing my doll collection

napping on the weekends

missing Jazzercise A LOT!

What are you up to?