Back to blogging?

So, it's been a year since I last opened this blog. A year and a half in fact. Haha! It completely skipped my mind that I have written nothing for the entirety of 2015!  In my defense, it's a lot easier to write one line quips and tag lines on Facebook statuses and Instagram posts versus writing an entire blog. I mean, you actually have to look witty for that extended period of time that a person actually reads your rambles online. 

That being said, 2015 has been the year of Instagram for me as I have mostly put my efforts in terms of toy photography x internet visibility there. If you are so inclined you can follow me there via IG:jemmerts. (Shameless plugging right there ;) )

So, I have accumulated a little more than a few figures over the past 20 months since my last blog post, mostly in terms of SHFiguarts with most of the concentration on humanoid figures and been trying to up my skill in terms of ACBA. That's short for articulated comic book art where you use tangible effects to create a scene. Had a rough start on that as I was used to just minor editing via Photoshop for most of my photos which was really more of digitally editing out the stands and color adjustments. No heavy duty editing either which I really should learn. *Note to self*

Recently, I have been in a rut which has got me to think that I should start writing again. I'm very rusty though so expect that I'd have a lot of nonsensical blog entries on my few attempts as I try to unravel my mind again so that coherent thoughts would start flowing through. Hopefully, creativity and the like would just come naturally back in. How I do miss making stories. I mean I still do through photography but I miss writing them, spending hours on a 5 page, Cattleya notebook size paper just writing a detective story or a superhero adventure.

Maybe I will. Maybe I should.

To be 7 once again

I remember this old movie that starred George Burns, "18 again," and in the film, Burns was celebrating his 80th birthday and he made a wish on his cake that he would like to be 18 again. So his wish gets granted and his soul is transferred to his grandson and he started doing young stuff again like riding fast cars and stuff. 

Nowadays, I kinda feel the same way too. It's like the world got too complicated, too fast and I wasn't ready for it. When I was 7, it sorta felt like the time of my life. I watched my cartoons, played with my toys, hung out with my friends, got into fights with my siblings and this was the norm. You could say "pumpernickel battywangs" (yeah... I just made that up right now) and no one would think the better (or worst) of you. As an adult, everything you say means something and people often find enough reason to think that it means a bad thing and it is terribly frustrating. Seriously, I cannot even begin to count the times that I just wanted to say something, point out something and have people around me say "you can't say that coz they'll get offended, etc.." I mean why? But then again, if intentions were transparent, the word "deception" may never have gotten invented. 

When I was a kid, time flew. My imagination soared and I created worlds, characters, heroes that exhibited courage and shown of justice and goodness. Nowadays, I can only sit in horror watching the news showing death, crimes and punishment, oppression of the strong on the weak and victims of natural calamities. Even trying to go back to anything that would have spewed out hope like religion or something as simple as a feel good movie just feels so underwhelmed by all the shit that's happening in real life and it's just depressing. 

I was watching Rocky Balboa last weekend and there was this dialogue that really caught my attention. Rocky was talking to his son, Robert, and he told him that life is not all rainbows and sunshine and that nothing will hit you harder than life and it will keep you down if you let it. Something to that effect. Paraphrasing here. Anyway, the point is, is that yeah, life can really get you down, it can rip you apart, it's like a gravity well that just wants to crush you over and over again. Man... this is getting depressing. 

So what is the point of all of this? I dunno. I guess I'm just trying to unravel my mind and let out some frustration. I want to remember what it was like to be 7 again and run around the house without a care in the world, shoot imaginary bad guys with my laser gun, come out as a hero that was honest and true and loved because of it. How idyllic. 

But as Apollo Creed said in Rocky 3, it's too bad we had to grow old.

Final post for 2014

As my final toy-related endeavor for the year 2014, I recently participated in the Ozinefest in SM Megamall and it was a blast being able to once again join a convention and just be able to hang out with members of the community. I was part of the Figmanila group for the display but also hanged out with members of SHF Philippines. Here are a few pictures of the exhibit:

And of course, I couldn't go to a convention without a haul... so I got myself a Banpresto Yoko Littner statue in her flight steward costume! Loose but in great condition...and at a great price too! Yay!

And in parting, just a quick shout out before we end 2014! Thanks Blogger for letting me have a few rants and raves over the past year! See you again in 2015!

Vigilante street justice

In recent weeks, I have acquired figures of two of my favourite vigilantes: TMNT's Casey Jones and the Dark Knight, Batman! 

I was able to purchase Casey Jones due to an influx of Playmates Nick TMNT Series 3(?) line in the mall, which he happened to be part of. I've been wanting the figure ever since I saw the pics plus it's a good nod to my childhood as Casey Jones was the only TMNT figure I had when I was 7. While the new Casey looked nothing like the old one, I am liking the skull-faced scary look he sports now. 

He mostly has a grey-black outfit but still utilizes sports equipment as his arsenal. Albeit. this is a younger version of the character, he now utilizes roller blades and a hockey goalie guard in addition to the traditional hockey stick and baseball bat. For a Playmates non-Turtle release, he's got really good articulation and is actually more posable than most DC Collectibles figures. 

If I had one gripe about this fig, that would be the non-painted weapons and lack of a backpack. The weapons look really plain with the white wash and the "hooks" on the back where he carries the weapons isn't really aesthetic. Otherwise, he's a really good figure that I am proud to put alongside my other Turtle figures: 

My other more recent acquisition is one from my personal fanboy wishlist: the DC Collectibles Arkham Origins Batman. The Batman costume sports his game look from Rocksteady's Arkham series and it is awesome! Definitely one of the best Batman sculpts ever! (And I am very picky when it comes to Batman figures so I don't say this often.)

Again, absolutely awesome. Articulation, surprisingly, is at par with that of Playmates plus it has an ankle pivot which is awesome! (Yeah, I'm using the word "awesome" one too many times.) With some free time, I think I'll be pitting this guy against another famous billionaire: 

Till then!

Turn-back Thursday (TBT) featuring Figma Emiya Shirou and Saber 1.0

Introducing a new segment here in TRCP that I would like to call the Turn-back Thursday (TBT) feature! (Now, there's something original!). In this new segment, I propose to feature an old photo I've taken each week as a sort of a looking back on my more than 10-year history as a toy collector. This would feature my earlier works that for me, gives me a good perspective of how far I've come from my simple point and shoot to the pictures I am producing today. 

Today, I feature my very first Figma power couple: Emiya Shirou and Saber 1.0 from the anime Fate Stay Night which was first aired in 2006. 

Both characters exhibit a strong sense of duty but both clash continuously as Shirou is a weak mage with a naive sense of justice while Saber is a powerful Servant but driven to correct past wrongs caused by her insecurities as King of Camelot. It's an interesting dynamic as they struggle with each other throughout the series but eventually come to a mutual understanding by the end. 

I took this shot in 2012 as part of my Figma collection catalog and I use it as the cover photo of that album on my Facebook account. It's also, in my mind, a good representative of a staple I have used for most of my best photos which is the half-body, close up shot. I think many of my own favorite shots have this similarity in composition as I feel it provides ample emphasis on the character's face yet still provides enough body expression to make the shot look alive. 

Anyway, that's it for this week's feature. Tune in next week! Thanks! 

A toy shoot... Finally!

Finally got a chance to do a photoshoot last night! It's been ages since my last one in my eyes and I was really excited to get back in the saddle. So, with no pending agenda, family-wise, I decided to whip out my old light tent and set up the camera:

I am now utilizing a Dioback city ruin background, a darker background than I'm normally used to, for the shoot. I had ordered the background from the Dioback Facebook page and have to say that I am pretty happy with how well these (I got 4) have been printed. I'll do a quick shot of the designs tonight but to the curious, they function just like the Decobacks with a background board plus base and two designs (back and forth) per board.

For this shoot, I decided to take photos of my SH Figuarts Domon Kasshu and Robot Damashii (Spirits) God Gundam. I've been raving about having/playing with the RD God Gundam for sometiime now and I'm really happy with the figure as it exceeded most of my expectations. Here's a quick preview of what happened during the shoot:

I also re-shot Domon just to get in the mood and I have to say that for a 2008 release, this one is still pretty good. Of course, my opinion is biased with regards to this fig. If I had one gripe on this fig, ok... two gripes on the fig, it would be the angry face that looks awkward from some angles and that the King of Hearts tatoo isn't too clear on the right hand. 

Used a different Dioback for this one, a burning planet background, and it worked out pretty well. 

The shoot took about 3 hours before I called it quits. It was a pretty tiring but pretty satisfying and fun experience and as stated in my previous blog, I missed holding my camera. 

I still have a bit of post processing to do but that's gonna come in later as I plan to shoot a few random shots of other figs just to maximize the opportunity this week. 

Thanks and cheers! 

Missed my DSLR

It's been awhile since I last dished out my dSLR or made a non-mobile camera shot of my toys. I took out the laptop the other day and noticed that I still had a pic or two up for editing and posting from my laptop.

I have several figures ("several" being the operative word) that I have not shot a single shot of or shot too little and most of my FB albums are actually outdated. I'm aiming to correct that this week.

Should be fun! Stay tuned!