The Failed Mascot

The Failed Mascot ::::: Paul's Junkyard ::::: October 2011

All that’s left of this 1960s Ford C-Series truck is a battered cab, sitting in the dirt, with a legless doll hanging where the mirror used to be. The roof had been pulled several feet vertically–peaked like a tent, making the center of where the windshield would be, twice it’s normal height. I set the camera up in the center of this gap, set to it’s widest setting (12mm-cropped sensor-about 19mm usable) to get as close as possible–to fill out the frame with details and enhance the distorted roof.

I popped a red-gelled strobe in the footwell–straight up into the steering wheel–to project its shadow into the ceiling (taking several tries to get the shadow placed how I wanted it, around the doll), which also filled the cab with bounced red light. I used a snooted AA maglight (from 2 sides) to isolate the doll from the red background. I also grazed the steering wheel and dashboard with a little Maglight too, just enough to show form, but not enough to distract. Then I went behind the cab and popped a blue-gelled strobe into the glass and onto the pile of debris in the background. The whole thing took 123 seconds.