Archive Update...Head's Up?

[Geek-Viper]

I'm not sure how to refer to this post. But anyway, here's what's up. First let me be the first to say Happy Independence Day to our members in the USA and a Happy Tuesday July 4th to the rest of ya, lol. I'm sure many of you guys are sitting there thinking something like "OK, Joe Con was almost 3 weeks ago. When are we getting these figures uploaded to the archive?" Fair question. When will that happen? This month? Before the end of the summer? By Christmas? With a little luck before next year's Joe Con? LOL. Any of you that have been here a while and have interacted with me know that the answer to those questions is...yes. It could very well be any of those. Mostly it just depends on when I fell like getting around to it . Seriously though, I want to keep you guys in the loop a little better this time around.

First, no, I haven't started yet. But here's why. The camera I use I bought over 10 years ago. It still does a fine job cause we use 1000 pixels as the marker for max dimension. Since my camera shoots 3004x2004(6mp), I'm good. But this camera has been through a lot(7-foot falls, me jacking up the shutter while trying to clean it, me "fixing" the shutter, at least a couple of hyperactive pixels, dials that like to argue with me[I go down, data goes up], dead internal battery[so every time I change the main battery I have to re-input the date and time]) and when peoples phones have more megapixels in them, it's time to move on. Problem is I don't want to start with one camera and then try to match it up with re-shoots or forgotten things. I can't tell you how many times I've forgotten to take a belt off, or put it back on lol. It's hard enough to match Phil(who is KILLING it on the vintage stuff I must say), I don't want to be fighting myself too. I don't even like shooting on different days. I like to get them all done at the same time so I can batch process the whole lot with the same settings.

However, I'm sure you guys know(or at least can guess) cameras these days ain't cheap. Well, they're cheaper than the used to be. Still, it's not something you can just pick up on a whim. To top that off my truck needs a new head gasket(also not cheap). So getting back from Con it wasn't looking good.

Here's the good news. The bank was happy to extend my credit limit by a factor of 12! Don't get too excited, lol. I had it super low for a long time. I only really had it so that I could rent cars cause you need to have a "real Visa" and not a debit card(so dumb, who cares?). So it's not really as impressive as it may sound. We went with the limit we did so we could do things like get FSS6 from The Club in 1 payment and get the freaking truck fixed. Speaking of which, since my mom uses it the most she said she would split the cost with me. So that left some funds available. But I'm not fond of the idea of carrying around more debt. My debit card line of credit I first used to buy my first camera after I graduated(I used my grandfather's Canon in school). That line of credit has never seen $0 again, lol. Well, except in the available funds side . Anyhow, 2 other developments will aid in my fight against debt:

1st, and sadly, there's no new GI Joe product coming to retail. That means instead of spending money on my Toys R Us card, I can pay it off. A bummer for my collection, but a bonus for my net worth.
2nd, and more happily, I got offered a promotion at my day job as the new Quality Control Manager which comes with a $3 an hour raise. OK, THAT you can get excited about .

Which means that I could payoff a fancy new (moderately priced) camera in a month or two. So I sat down with my wife and she immediately agreed that I need a new camera and when I showed her the one in white/lime green she told me to get it. And I did just that. It's scheduled to arrive Friday July 7th. Now slow your roll, that doesn't mean I will be starting pics this weekend. Based on reviews of this new camera it takes some dialing of the custom settings to get it working nice. Hopefully I won't have to spend the WHOLE weekend getting the camera setup. But I'm sure I will play with it a bunch and try out all the new features(it has a cell phone app that let's me control it via WiFi! I'm geeking out already ) and getting used to the new software. Good news for you guys is there are 2 official holidays in July in the state of Utah, and 1 unofficial one. We get the 4th off for Independence Day and the 24th off for Pioneer Day(arguably a bigger party around here). Unofficially I take off the 14th for Bastille Day in honor of my late grandmother Georgette and we celebrate being French. So this year that means I'm getting 2 different 3-day weekends. Hopefully that means I can at least get the shots taken and maybe get the minimum amount online so you can add all of this years figures to your YoJoe! collection.

Stay tuned to this thread and I'll keep you up to date with how things are progressing. If there's any special shots, angles, poses or details in the pics you would like to see please mention them here and I'll do my best. I can use them as test shots or even for the full archive if they turn out cool. Make note that I got everything but the Joe vehicles. I just have a hard time paying Club prices for driverless souvenirs. So Phil is going to do the jet and the snowmobiles. I can't expect anyone to take requests that I don't want to do, lol.

Well, that's it. Have a safe and fun holiday! I'll talk to you again this weekend!!

Thanks!!!

[darkwise]

Great update, man. Glad to hear that life is clicking on all of the right cylinders for you. Hope the camera is a lot of fun!

[PJDonnell]

Man, your old camera pics were awesome, can't wait to see how these new ones turn out!

And just so people don't think I'm just sitting on my butt, here's a few things I've done since con!

http://www.yojoe.com/action/85/dusty.shtml
http://www.yojoe.com/action/85/shipwreck.shtml
http://www.yojoe.com/action/86/liftticket.shtml
http://www.yojoe.com/action/89/aeroviper.shtml
http://www.yojoe.com/action/90/decimator.shtml
http://www.yojoe.com/action/90/vapor.shtml

And a shout out to Terry for helping out with some of these, too!

[Geek-Viper]

OK, It actually came in a day early so I was able to do the updates and get the battery charged. Yesterday after work I sat with it and adjusted all the dumb little parameters to the way I like. I tested the macro capabilities of the kit lens a little. Then I installed the app and FREAKED OUT!!! It's even more fun than I imagined. Only thing I don't like is the camera WiFi doesn't connect to my router, it only connects directly to my phone. I know, weird right? It acts more like Bluetooth. But when I went outside today to get some shots...I totally fell in love with it. It's so awesome to be able to adjust the camera and see what's going on without having to crawl around in the dirt or jam my sweaty face into the camera and eyepiece. I kept moving the tripod around to try different things(like make sure my old remote worked with this new camera). So if you'd like to see another angle of this shot head over to the "Cravin' some random dio pics" thread and see the other one. They both have different feels and I couldn't decide which I liked best. So I figured I would post one in each thread.



I'm hoping tomorrow I can get the studio lights and table setup again and find the right contrast and saturation settings to just blow through these Joe Con pics.

[Geek-Viper]

Alrighty, here's the next stage. I just recently found the Hot Soldiers Transformers series and got me a Soundblaster and a Soundwave. So since he was sitting here on the desk, Soundblaster got to be the model as I tested settings and exposure.



The great thing is they're about the size of Joes. So here he is with a Volcano Viper cause he too was just sitting around here, lol. But they have similar color palettes so it kinda works



Then I tried a nifty interval picture setting so it'll take a set of pics I determine ahead of time (like a pic every 5 seconds for a total of 4 pics). Then when I do the turnarounds I can just tell it go and slowly turn the figure around without having to keep pressing the shutter release. Here's a couple from that series. Granted they're not actually turnarounds, but I'm sure a couple of you would like to see him in his alternate mode. Plus it's good practice for the Club crossover set and that sweet new SDCC Revolution set.



Anyway, I believe I have some good settings to help this move along quickly. So I'm gonna get to it. I put away the box set(I know, dumb move for a guy that still has to take pictures of it). But I know it has a home and the wall of boxes fits nice. I'll do the extra stuff(attendee souvenirs) this week. Then I'll dig out the box set for next weekend's 3-day-off set. Stay tuned.

[Alchemist]

Looking good! It’s about as clear as having an actual figure right here in front of me.

[Geek-Viper]

Ok, quick preview of what I got done today. Although sadly my battery died with 3 figures to go and couldn't finish Corrosion, Backstop or Zartan(from last year's SDCC). So I started working on what I had. As some of you may know I decided early in my modern collecting that I liked the idea of the MARS Trooper 3-Pack and want to have a Squad Leader with 2 troops(or 3 max for the Star Wars Republic Commando setup). So I have my own little archive on my computer showing the teams. That way I can get an idea of how they look together before I start opening or purchasing more. Of course in some cases, like Laser-Vipers from Joe Con, it has nothing to do with that and more to do with conformity or completing the picture collection. Anyway, here's the pic I took for that purpose.



I noticed once I got home that the Officer has the same paint scheme as the v2 from 2001. Although they could have given us more accurate weapon load-out like Arctic Destro/Repulsor's rifle. But whatever, this one works, it's cool. The point being I like it when something new makes me look at something old in a new light. Originally I had a Python Patrol Laser-Viper leading a couple of regular ones. While at the same time thinking the v2 was sort of what a Laser-Viper looks in training or before he gets the armor and backpack. Now, I'm thinking it's the other way around and he gets a promotion and doesn't have to lug that big freaking pack around everywhere, lol.

[Geek-Viper]

Here's another quick squad update as things progress. It took a while to find the right settings where colors were vibrant but them neons weren't totally blowing out. I think this looks pretty close. Tell me what you think.

[Geek-Viper]

One last one for the night. I'm not going to use this one because his pistol looks all squirrely and I didn't feel like wasting time trying to straighten it. I'm just going to use a different angle where it isn't as noticable.

[Geek-Viper]

Ok, So here's the first couple you can add to your online collection! The 2017 page hasn't been fully created yet, but you can access these from the "Alphabetical" section. Or just click these:

http://www.yojoe.com/action/17/backstop2.shtml

http://www.yojoe.com/action/17/corrosion.shtml

I've got to do the Burst shots for the title. I didn't have the file cards handy when I took the first couple rounds of pics. So I had no idea where to start. Plus the packaged pics need taking. Not to mention going back and finishing last years, lol.