One of my favourite locations: Indiana Jones and the Woodland Monument

New toys, old ideas

Last year I got one of the new Indiana Jones Adventure Series figures from Hasbro. And I must say, it’s great to finally have Indy in 6 inch form. Although I have since ordered an upgrade in the Mezco One12 version which should be coming later in the year.

The first photo I took with Indy was really popular online but was a super quick setup at home, with a paper canyon and some rocks. As you can see above. But I was keen to take Indy out into the world and to one of my favourite locations. I knew it would be the perfect place to take him. Where I could replicate the kind of locations he usually frequents. You know, caves, tombs and Temples of Doom.

The Monument

In one of the parks local to me, a monument can be found in the woods. The monument to the 4th Duke of Beaufort stands in Stoke Park, Bristol, in the UK. It was originally placed in situ in 1764 and was repaired in the 80s. From the research I’ve done into the monument it is thought it actually commemorates a race horse.

I’ve been using this spot for toy photography for a few years now. It’s a place I tend to come back to again and again. When I can find it that is, as the twists and turns of the woodland trails always do a number on my mind, and I never seem to find it very easily. But when I do get there, it a perfect fit for figures in a 1/12 scale.

As you can see in the photos below the top of the monument is raised up on smaller rocks with about a 10 to 12 inch gap from the lower section. It’s this gap that tends to be the main focus of my photography interests.

With all of the various joins in the stone, and the patina from the weathering and aging it really feels like a tomb or temple. The effort is then to work the angles to keep getting photos out of the location.

Previous photographs taken at this location

As said, I’ve been using this location for a long time. And I’ve done my best to try and make it look different each time. Hopefully I’ve been vaguely successful and it doesn’t feel like the same photograph over and over.

Photographs from this visit

Now I will admit, something I could be a lot better at is working the angles when I take my photographs. I’d think of this as using a location to it’s maximum. However due to the complex setup of dual focusing two lenses, I tend to setup particular frames and then call it quits. It’s very rare that I take lots of photos in the same spot anyway. But in hindsight maybe not using the location’s full potential is part of what allows me to keep coming back.

This time I did work the angles though. I knew I was going to this location with this figure, with this goal in mind. And I tried to explore the location thoroughly so I could better showcase it in a post. I means I’ll likely need to find a new favourite spot as you’ll all recognise this one moving forward.

I would have done anything to get it. You would have done the same

Like the photo of Zorii Bliss above, I love the diagonal angle of the light on this photo. The woods are a great place to take photos on a bright sunny day. There’s always lots of things to create shade. And with some atmosphere in a can, dramatic lighting can usually be created fairly easily. The monument itself can also be used in the same way if I put the figures around the edge where some sunlight can creep into the shot.

The background haze also works really well against the sharper rocks in the foreground. I also like the little highlight on his trouser leg, showing the sculpture simulating the fabric.

If I was critical, I’d like Indy to be stood a little more upright or having his head a little higher, Indy inherits a problem I find with lots of Hasbro figures, that there is a big cutout on the back of the head/neck to allow for movement. It looks a little unrealistic for my liking. I also wish the whip was in a more dynamic pose. When it comes in the box it’s coiled up in a packet, so I had to leave it under a book to stretch it out.

Nothing surprises me. I’m a scientist

With all the photographs I have taken at this location, I’m pretty sure all of them until now have been in the gap between the two levels of the two monument. And I said I was going to look for all angles this time. If you look closely in the behind the scenes photo below you’ll spot Indy creeping around the foot of the monument. Genuinely I’ve never even thought to take pictures on the floor.

I always love a contrasting image and a silhouetted figure. With the angle on this setup I was able to find a bit of both. The light and dark splits the photo through the middle of the photo and gives a corner for Indy to round as part of it’s narrative. And with a figure of Indy’s nature, the monument scales well into some temple ruins. The woodland itself is quite a busy woodland. There is a lot of closely grouped trees and lots of ivy. Due to that buy nature I chose to blur out the background with a shallow depth of focus.

Indy comes with a coiled whip as well as a loose one. I chose to swap it out for this setup, and it’s a great prop to have him holding in photos. It always adds to the silhouette of Indy helping define the figure as who it is.

If you wanna be a good archaeologist, you gotta get out of the library

Reversing the situation from the earlier photo, the sun is now shining onto the front of Indy as he stands on the edge of the monument. In my mind it was a moment of peace or contemplation as he finally made out of the temple he’d been exploring.

The trees in the background are a bit more distinguishable on the left. But I’m glad they don’t cross over to the right, as it leaves a clear space to frame Indy between the two stone “pillars”.

I shot just below the line of the stone’s edge. I always try to position the camera lower than the toys I photograph. In my eyes it makes them feel bigger and more lifelike as a result. This also makes Indy’s pose feel like he’s at the top of some steps, ready to descend into the jungle below.

His whip is also much more dynamic in its pose this time

I don’t know. I’m making this up as I go

Back on the floor again. This time I moved around to the other side of the monument. Again the trees in the background are defined enough to be part of the photo. And as a side note, I think it’s the biggest challenge of woodland photography, to have a defined enough image and not a mess of criss-crossing branches. Literally trying to see the wood through the trees.

With the angle this time I wanted to have Indy even tighter into the corner of the stone. I was also able to get the monument in both the foreground, and in the middle ground. It gives an extra layer to the photo’s composition and depth.

It’s like nothing you’ve ever gone after before

Going back to my first Indy photo on the monument, you can probably see this is in the same “location”. The difference here is a slight change to the angle of the camera using the stones as a better blocking or framing device. I’ve always been a fan of a frame within a frame.

Turning Indy into the light gives enough detail in the highlights of his character, and making him less of a silhouette. Using a short shutter speed on a sunny day meant I could get the contrast I wanted from the photograph.

As I mentioned before I probably need to find some new favourite spots as I’ve used this one so much now. But that’s all part of the fun, right?

For those of you that shoot outside or on location, do you have your favourite places to photograph?