What an interesting start to a New Year! Also got a fresh patch of snow, with more on the way! Snowed twice now Nice! Need a tad bit more to photoshoot my figures in.
But ya, I thought I’d continue with “My favorite images”, meaning my own images, from the past year – 2010. I already did it once condensing three years into one and thought I’d do one exactly after New Year’s this time. Well, time to look back to see my Figma’s roaming around Ontario, Canada, Cuba, and the birth of my Shinki collection! Oh, and sorry if this seems cliche of an article for the more hardcore figure photoshooters. I just wanted something slightly easier to look back at and to see where I should move on in the future. You know, something to gauge how much I’ve improved and to see where I should go next.
Part 1 – https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=695
Starting off after March 2010: – April 3rd’s Easter Weekend
(Link – MySite) – Miku Moose
-> Warning: Possible image overload. This article contains more images than my usual articles may usually have. Randomly worded paragraphs may or may not confuse you as well.
I don’t really have many plans for the blog this year which may cause the blog to calm down. That may be either a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on what part of the social scale you might be on. But hey, who knows what the future holds. Got a few things I want to blog about though, and hopefully they’ll find their way onto here.
But moving on…
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April 15th – Haruhi’s encounter with bad river wind on a lovely April day.
(Link – MySite) – Windy Haruhi.
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– April 23rd – Haruhi and Saber out and about at the Experimental Farm. I went there for the Cherry Blossom tree and managed to add in a few more figure photoshoots. Got a few to pick from this one. Great way to start the year with some natural creativity.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=801
(Link – MySite)
(Link – MySite)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Link – MySite)
(Link – MySite)
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April 24th – And the next one is another review merged with a meet-up photoshoot at the Experimental Farm with a fellow figure.fm’er. We both went around taking pictures with people smiling and checking out how we both took images of our figures. Again, I have quite a few to show from that article.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=811
(Link – MySite) – Signum fishes up Emiya.
(Link – MySite) – Plans failed causing Signum to flee.
(Link – MySite) – Emiya attempting to grab a lovely pair…until a kick or a slap ruins his day.
(Link – MySite) – Best clear group shot of mine and the figure.fm’ers images at the meet-up.
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April 30th – Rain ruined my plans so I thought I’d do an improvised photoshoot in-place of attempting to meet-up with fellow figure.fm’ers in Ottawa. I don’t know how many were actually interested to meet up, but I did at least get to try new camera techniques on these figures. Also the first time my figures were seen with a drink umbrella that other figure photoshooters used in their images. I “copied”, or borrowed the idea from the same person I met up with.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=821
(Link – MySite) – Sleepy and annoyed Saber?
(Link – MySite)
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May 7th – One of the few times where my figures actually joined me on an out of city trip around Ontario. Sometimes I get chances, sometimes I don’t. This was one of those scenic type chances I scored for my figures and images. Need more of these figure photoshooting trips for both me and my figures so I can get more lovely images to stare at in the future.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=841
(Link – MySite) – Image maybe blurry but it still shows the exploration side of it. Think of how Canada was formed.
(Link – MySite) – Best to show your kind side whenever possible.
(Link – MySite) – One of the few battle scenes that actually made it out nicely.
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May 11th – Not much, but I did get an intended image out of Vocaloid Rin a few days before the official start of the Tulip Festival with the International Pavilion. There is always a street performer somewhere downtown so it’s only fitting that Rin gets the scenic one in front of the yellow tulips.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=868
(Link – MySite) – Pika Rin Performance.
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June 7th – A few days after I took the images and arrived from Cuba. I tried, but it appears only a few were the intended quality while the rest are random lower quality type images. I never did get any in Europe and forced myself to take some in Cuba to the point I started ticking off a certain person. I also tried getting up one morning, though was passed out I never heard anything. Ryomu ended up in an amusing and embarrassing dramatic situation while mistaken as a tip. Fun times, fun times.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=953
(Link – MySite) – Haruhi attempts to harass Mikuru (in her own kind way) by poking at Mikuru’s uh…pillows? Chest?
(Link – MySite) – A stroll on the beach
(Link – MySite) – Saber and the sun-setting waves.
(Link – MySite) – Ryomu the maid. She nearly stayed in Cuba for good O.O
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June 15th – Didn’t really add much to the Figma side on this day. Was simply experimenting with Rin and got a good Ein picture representing her choice for freedom, or an assassination lifestyle in a positive light. Those that seen the Anime Ein is in would now how shackled her freedom is. Check out “Phantom: Requiem for the Phantom”
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=984
(Link – MySite) – Ein’s future
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June 25th – Went downtown to munch on some ribs. I also brought Figma Ein with me to assist with the figure photoshooting. Nothing special, just a shot of Ein ready to assassinate someone without hesitation.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1044
(Link – MySite)
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June 29th – Took both Ein and Yoko out to Andrew Haydon park for more photoshoots. I wanted to take images of a forgotten, or less cared for figure within my collection due to her design and joints. I have a dislike for Revoltechs due to their joint designs and how troublesomely loose they become. Also wanted to give Ein more worthwhile images while I could with summer around. Yoko broke, Ein got more emotional images, and the Fate/Stay Night figmas got their own lovey-dovey moment.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1053
(Link – MySite) – Yoko’s Love & Peace moment
(Link – MySite) – Yoko and her Sniper rifle.
(Link – MySite) – Yoko saluting to “you”.
(Link – MySite) – Ein’s peace.
(Link – MySite)
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July 16th – The true date is actually sometimes in January to February when there was actually snow on the ground. Also, I’ve been collecting Gundam ever since Gundam Wing aired on YTV back around 1999-2000. Been a Gundam guy more than an Otaku back then and never really did pay my respects to Gundam. Maybe 2011 shall see a rise in Gundam on my blog? We’ll see. I’ve started collecting Figma’s thanks to both Danny Choo and his kind-hearted & creative community. I’ve then moved onto Shinki’s while the rest of the community moved onto highly expensive dolls – Dollfies – worth $2,000 to 5,000(?). My interests appear to be all over the place; same with theirs.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1199
(Link – Flickr)
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July 20th – Wait, what? July 20th? Whoa, time flies….I still remember this as if it was yesterday. Well, I know I acted a bit silly with my figures in that store, but I did get some nice lovely shots of an Anime Otaku goddess amongst the Anime fans – Konata – from Lucky Star.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1218
(Link – MySite)
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August 7th - I took Saber Lily and Extra by request from a well respected figure photoshooter with me to Andrew Haydon park, again. I also did accidentally bash them up during transport and through posing them. Regardless of the pain they got, they did end up in some lovely images. Saber/Extra gained a new nickname – Canadian Saber. These two Figma’s are limited edition times and are worth $100+ CAD on ebay and such. Though, I don’t plan to sell them anytime soon.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1283
(Link – MySite) – Saber Lily Punch!
(Link – MySite) – Lily poking at her ahoge while amongst the flowers.
(Link – MySite) – Saber Extra attempting a royal and glorious pose.
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August 20th – As a happy tribute to the least favorite Shinki figure within various online communities – Shinki Benio. I got pissed off by the comments I’ve read for her, some behing hypocritical, that I went out and took some images of her. Her manufacturing age (2006) and her crafted style have numerous collectors raging at her quality while the Japanese re-mold and/or modernize her to the way they wanted her to look like. Her armor and head piece are flawed with aged manufacturing techniques, similar deal with Xiphos (I’m assuming).
I managed to poorly paint her thigh armor red while having the wrong white. I’ll try again when I’m better motivated for such a thing. I also linked Japanese modified Benio’s in the said article.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1338
(Link – MySite) – Benio poking at water.
(Link – MySite)
(Link – MySite) – Benio holding up a flower. Granted, her facial expression is lacking in this case.
(Link – MySite) – Having her either “ninja” her way through the tree, or casually exploring the region.
(Link – MySite) – Benio in her light Samurai armor.
Sidenote: Yes, I accept people’s hatred for Benio but then we should push for a re-print of a Battle Rondo-ized Benio with long hair and fixed head. Apparently Konami JP hates foreigners (lack of ‘gaijin’ service) so we’ll have to rely on Japanese followers to bash on Konami’s doorstep. Or, mass e-mail them from America and Japan at the same time. Sadly, I don’t see people having that much of a dedication for something they like as I’ve seen more whining than contribution. Prove me wrong though on the whining part please! I truly want a fixed re-print of Benio!
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August 27th – Acquired Figma Saber Alter and brought Shinki Kohiru with me so she could venture around Kiko Sushi Shop. I’m glad I did because I got to talk to the staff and eat great food! It also helps practicing in indoor settings as I always focus my attention on outdoor settings. It’s best to experiment as to see the type of results you may gain. Keep trying and keep examining the types of results you get with your photoshoots.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1379
(Link – MySite) – A friendly bond has been created amongst Shinki’s and the staff.
(Link – MySite) – Kohiru’s Chopsticks doubles as swords.
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September 10th – I always went with either one Figma or Shinki so I tried adding another into the equation. I brought out Shinki Benio and Kohiru to duel it out in one of the few battles amongst my figures. It ended up as a draw. I did learn that posing figures like these takes lots of patience and creativity. Also, finding a right place to pose your figures turns into an “art” in of itself. The scenery must compliment what your figure posing as well.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1417
(Link – MySite) – Clashing stalemate.
(Link – MySite) – The staredown.
(Link – MySite) – Kohiru’s provocation.
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September 20th – I tried to spawn another battle with the Figma’s – Figma Saber & Emiya vs Saber Alter. I’m actually quite pleased by the results, wanting to get around to doing a belated part 2. Use your scenery to the best of your ability!
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1468
(Link – MySite) – Emiya helping Saber down a steep boulder.
(Link – MySite) – Emiya persistently carrying Saber down a mountain side.
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September 28th – Just randomly went out wanting to take more images of my Shinki partners. I wasn’t aware that it was supposed to rain a bit which caught me a bit off guard. It rained awhile where I was at, with me trying to take advantage of it by getting “sleekness” and shininess the rain adds to the environment.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1475
(Link – MySite)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Link – MySite)
– Improvised umbrellas. It was actually a good thing that I forgot to bring those paper drink umbrellas.
(Link – MySite)
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October 2nd – More of a review than a photoshoot. I simply reviewed Black Rock Shooter while trying to get neat images to go with her. She was one stubborn girl…I acquired her with plans to photoshoot her during nighttime urban settings (i.e Sparks street at night or some well lit back road). I need to form new ideas for her instead of having her silently creep in-and-out of various images as a background character.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1484
(Link – MySite)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Link – MySite)
– BRS Silouhette at sunset & I don’t know why I make my figures salute.
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October 11th – Canadian Thanksgiving day – Shinki’s raiding my Turkey. Well, just random holiday fun that needed to be shared to brighten up people’s day at least :).
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1525
(Link – MySite) – Benio and Kohiru raiding my turkey dinner.
(Link – MySite) – Their punishment for raiding my turkey dinner.
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October 24th – Just some random non-Halloween and Halloween fun. Again, more festivities with Figma’s and Shinkis to brighten up one’s day.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1540
(Link – MySite) – Kohiru using her chopsticks to pick up sushi.
(Link – MySite) – Benio practicing her swordsmanship in a Halloween setting.
(Link – MySite) – Halloween cupcakes for all!
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October 31st – Tried to find some Halloween homes and improvised with Kohiru by giving her Figma Halloween wear. I basically took images in-between meals as to not appear rude…or while waiting for food to cool down a bit as they are served boiling hot. Amusing convo’s to be had.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1546
(Link – MySite)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Link – MySite)
(Link – MySite)
1) Cosplaying Kohiru attempting to look elegent in a high-class way.
2) Cosplaying Kohiru balancing on-top of chopsticks on a Miso bowl.
3) And then Kohiru’s trademarked chopsticks in at Kiko Sushi Bar.
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November 2nd – Acquired and instantly photoshooted Renge because I was waiting for her since mid-August. My impatience was growing each month as I was taunted and teased with various images. Now that I got her you can see how far my impatience with her reached. I mean, look past this day till the end of the article and you’ll see the interest I have for Renge. She’s not just a figure, but my blog side/proxy-mascot, and the cutest figure amongst my figure collection. She also has claws and great weaponry!
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1425
(Link – MySite) – Jet-lagged Renge.
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November 3rd – Wanted to do a little prequel and ended up getting a few nice images. Also gave Renge a decent back-story that I could work off of in future 4koma projects. Also, I don’t hate Benio but wanted to make Renge appear to be a worthy Shinki.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1578
(Link – MySite)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Link – MySite)
1) Benio gets pinned by Renge’s claws.
2) Stunned, she falls and gets stepped on by an agitated and jet-lagged Renge.
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November 14th – Second Anime convention – Naru2u! Brought Shinki Renge along and am pleased with how Renge looks in a few images I took of her there. She gained a few looks and even a few polite laughs.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1594
(Link – MySite) – Friend’s Ita-top and my saluting Shinki Renge.
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November 26th – Ah, snow! Finally! With the lack of snow photography, I needed something with my figures in it. Renge was the right figure for the photoshoot, but the wrong posing techniques were used during this day. Wind blew Renge over the rock edges about three times and cracked the peg causing Renge’s hair to break. Regardless, I got decent Renge images to share with you all from that day! Lessons to be learned from this one!
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1615
(Link – MySite)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Link – MySite)
1) Renge toying with her blue umbrella in a similar way that Saber and Signum did back in summer.
2) I love Renge’s expression more then the image quality in this one. Also drank some tea after coming back from the photoshoot.
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November 30th – Boring days = subjects getting bored easily. Had some sloppy weather causing both me and Renge to stay indoors while the blowing snow, rain, and wind pounded Ottawa. Just one of those days were you also want to stay in bed and sleep….well, I didn’t but other people would of. Also, people found sleeping Renge very cute and amusing after I took these images.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1621
(Link – MySite) – Renge attempting to sleep but O-Chan disturbs her.
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December 14th – Ah! Another day with nasty weather. This time I could go out. Also managed to get over a useless cold that allowed me to marathon a bit of Votom’s days before. I took Renge out for a shoot. I’ve been warned that Shinki’s don’t go too well with winter weather so I tried being a bit caution, not so much with the camera. Well, I was but not overly cautious. I shielded the camera from the droplets, but some still found their way on the camera. I managed to take decent images and looking forward to taking more ice related images. Well, that is if the weather wants to sprinkle out more ice. Though, my fellow Ottawaians would curse at me for saying such a thing so I’ll just say I’m glad with the images I managed to snap :P.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1643
(Link – MySite)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Link – MySite)
Battle Ready Renge and a calm Renge in an icy environment. Claws are needed to claw your way back home encase you slip and close traction.
(Link – MySite) – Saluting Renge. I seriously don’t know why I post my figures like that. Out of respect and in greetings?
(Link – MySite)
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December 23rd – Another attempt at snow pictures. I thought it came out well enough. Tried adding Benio into the mix to add some extra atmosphere into the image. Also liking how Renge’s temper came out in this, even if by mistake. That’s the fun thing about figure photoshooting, you try to pose and take pictures in one way and there are those images that come in another way. When you return back to “base” you’ll attempt to mold a proper scenario or story out of it. Sometimes people give you their own perspective which makes it all the more worth it. I chose Renge getting moody over lack of Christmas decorations as it was the first thing that came to mind.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1651
(Link – MySite) – Renge exploring the winter wonderland.
(Link – MySite) – Samurai Benio and a frustrated Spirit Fox Renge.
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December 24th – And our final festivities before the New Year! I can’t miss out on this while other people were taking festive images with their figures! I just had to take images of my Shinki’s and Figmas together to please my camera skills, my creativity, and those that maybe interested in such images – Merry Christmas!
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1658
(Link – MySite) – Christmas gathering.
(Link – MySite) – Ribboned Renge and her blue power-source for her supernatural abilities.
(Link – MySite) – Playful Renge; Fox spirits are known as tricksters and troublemakers.
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December 29th – Acquired Shinki Tsugaru in a very awkward manner. Thus, I translated such happenings into her personality giving a more “comical” outcome – Tsundere Tsugaru. And because she arrived before New Year I still gave her a Christmas themed review & photoshoot. Came out great, if frustrated by her fragile parts.
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1662
(Link – MySite) – Tsugaru ready for combat.
(Link – MySite) – Tsugaru powering up her HIPER-EML for show.
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December 31st – Happy New Year! Goodbye 2010, and hello 2011! 2010 was a great year for me, my blog, my photoshooting, and various other things. I shall miss 2010 for it’s greatness that it gave me and everybody else. I found it to be very fruitful and allowed me to discover numerous things. I’m also hoping to grow on what 2010 laid down and expand on what I laid down on the foundation as well.
Also thought I’d finish off the year by giving back Renge’s “fearsome” personality that would somehow co-exist with her “spoiled-princess-fox spirit-of-a-Renge”. Ya, I know. Final images from 2010!
https://arcticukitsu.com/Blog/?p=1680
(Link – MySite)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â (Link – MySite)
(Link – MySite)
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And done! I hope all these images didn’t kill your internet browser. Was quite a lot for my usual article. Looking forward to seeing what kind of images I’ll snap for this year and what other Anime merchandise I’ll obtain. Maybe not many as I promised myself that I would cut back on figure photoshooting. Need to spread the “love” to other figures as each only got about an article or two for themselves. Time for their ‘air-time’ before I get move on. But hey, future ain’t set in stone so I might be lieing to myself.
2011 is the year of the Rabbit right? Yup, that is my year! Let us see if I can harness 2011 to my advantage in a non-selfish manner.What I mean by this is pleasing both myself and you guys at the very same time, just as long as I don’t fish up any trolls by mistake :P.
Oh, and one last thing to note:
– Blog = Fox (Shall explain more on February 14th, 2011), while the year and myself are both Rabbits. Fox eats Rabbits, correct? I may get eaten by my own blog if I ain’t careful, or careless. If not my blog mascot, then by Renge herself. Uh oh! I’ll try to be cautious of my own blog/mascot/Renge while satisfying both you guys and myself!
Enjoy your 2011! Peace!