Pufftography

On the last evening in Hawaii I spent time relaxing at Ko’olina… time well spent.

You may be asking yourself why I’ve gone and setup a blog.  I’ve already got accounts on multiple websites where I can pretty much post whatever I want.  Those other sites already get plenty of traffic, I’m not intending to advertise this blog nor do I really care if other people see it.  I’m not looking to have a bunch of people read what I have to say, I don’t have anything important to say either.

What I want to get out of this is to have a place to talk more freely  about whatever I feel like. I’m planning to post pretty much whatever I like.  Obviously there will be posts about the figures I collect (like the large one to the left), random photo shoots that I will do, video blogs playing with my video cameras, and then just random thoughts.

I guess maybe I should share a little about myself then for anyone that does stumble upon this blog?  My name is Joshua, at the time of this post I live in Hawaii on the island of Oahu.  My two biggest hobbies right now are photography and collecting figures.

I’m a Canon shooter, the two bodies I own now are a Canon EOS 50D and a Canon EOS 7D.  Both very lovely cameras.  I shoot mostly with either the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM or the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L USM.  I’ve been a casual shooter for years but it wasn’t until after a deployment in 2008 that I decided I should get serious and bought the big guns.  I wouldn’t say that I have any talent for it.  Anyone can take great pictures, but it takes a pro to consistently take them.  Maybe with practice I’ll reach that level?

I’m a huge nerd for Japanese figures. In Japan I would be called an Otaku.  I collect figures from my favorite anime series, I have a large collection of manga (Japanese comic books), and I have pictures of anime girls hanging on my walls.  In the past I had wall-scrolls adorning my walls and even one on the ceiling.  They are still hanging out in my closet and some day I may put them back up.

Back to the figures, I’ve been collecting figures for almost six years.  I only collect female figures, I have no interest in mecha or male figures.  I usually only collect one figure of the girls I like from shows I’ve seen.  There are a few exceptions.  I have two Mugi and Azusa (Both beach girls and Alter edition) from K-On!, Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion.  When I saw a new version of her wearing the plug suit from Evangelion 2.22 I just had to get it.  There really isn’t any resale value in any of these figures, I don’t view them as a “beanie baby investment.”  They are just something I feel like buying on a whim, and since I’m single… I do just that.

But really my biggest weakness as of late has to be something called a Dollfie Dream, made by Volks inc.  Pictured left is my own Dollfie named Amaha Miu, she is an image series character based off of a girl from the eroge Mashiro iro Symphony.  She is done in 1/3 scale so that makes her a whopping 22″ tall!  Considering most of my other figures are a mere 8″ that makes her a giant.  She is also a ball jointed doll. It means she is completely poseable.  Outside of just being fun to own, and yes even dress up, she is a great test subject.

By test subject I mean I use her to practice what I would do for photographing people, without having to hire a real person.  I have literally spent hours with her just trying different lighting setups or posing her different ways just to see what works.  She is not a perfect model, her body has an unrealistic figure.  Although her joints are articulated she still has a limited range of motion.  But when you are socially awkward like I am this is the next best thing to hiring a model.  In a few years after I’ve had lots of practice I take the leap to using real human models.

I’m not just 100% geek I also get outdoors, I love riding my motorcycle.  I’ve been riding for a few years now.  There is nothing quite like riding at high speeds without the protection that a car offers you.

A few years ago I decided to really start living life, the motorcycle was part of that.  I also took on some other challenges… I went sky diving for my birthday, started hiking a lot more, and while it is a slow work in progress… I’ve begun rock climbing again.  Both at a gym and on a real rock face.  I’m working on getting my physical location to being somewhere that has four seasons and real mountains.  Until that day comes I’ll just keep doing what I can with what is around me.

I’m not a professional videographer, I never plan on being one either.  I am just a gear-heard so when I see new electronics there is a good chance I’ll grab whatever I happen upon.  The above video is from GoProHD, just a spur of the moment purchase to kill time with.

It’s late now and I still have other work to get done tonight.  More posts to come…

This is my first blog post, I wont have time till this weekend to post some real content though.