Picture of the Week Award ~ Al Gudka

I came upon this stunning photograph of the new Mini Avantguard doll Androgyny on the W Club board.

 Property of Al Gudka

Al's photography is  a favorite of mine. He's a master of composition. You will come across his posts not only on the W board but also on Doll Divas and BC.Com.

Here are the answers Al sent to my questionnaire:

-This gorgeous doll is the Mini-Clone Androgyny AvantGuards with her original wig

-No changes were made to the doll itself, but I did release the wig's ponytail

-She is wearing the Barbie by Jonathan Adler dress; corset and stockings from Aerodynamic Vanessa; shoes from last year's W Club Eugenia; jewelry from Flight Pattern Kyori

-The Hows:

• The camera I used was a 15 megapixel Canon Powershot G10
• For the backdrop I used a white foam-filled poster board; doll is leaning against it
• The only prop was a little desk fan that doubled as a large industrial fan in 1/6th scale
• For lighting I used a cluster of three 35 watt daylight florescent bulbs placed directly in front of, and slightly above the doll, at approx 6 ft away.  I hung a large sheet of tracing paper 2 feet in front of the lamps.  This diffused the light and made it look like natural light.

-My inspiration for this shot was some behind the scenes footage of model Gisele Bundchen during a photo shoot.

-The biggest suggestion I would give to budding photographers is to get acquainted with Photoshop.  It can transform a dull, lifeless photo into a brilliant, high contrast eye-catcher. It is also indispensible when it comes to white balancing your photos if your camera can't do it properly.  I see so many beautiful photos that have been unintentionally marred by green or yellow color casts. 

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Thanks for sharing your expertise with us, Al. 

W Club Mini Androgyny - Aphrodisiac Giftset

A nice sized box arrived the other day. It looked exactly like an Avantguard doll box. Opening it and peering inside at the two dolls was a really satisfying feeling. You know how it is when your expectations of a doll are met. It just makes you feel happy.

It is amazing that these two, who sport the Monogram sculpt, looked just like their bigger sisters. Actually, this mini Androgyny is prettier than the larger version. The outfits are almost exactly the same as well. I had heard that there was an issue with Andro being stained but mine did not have a mark on her. The pant suit is very, very tight and the fabric looked a little shaggy. The wigs, which are not shown, fit very well.  Each wig came packaged in its own teeny hatbox. The stands have the AG symbol on them - again exactly the same as the maxi AGs.

The new packaging sports little green rectangles here and there which are the moisture protectors being used now instead of the silica packets. Although there are a few packets amongst the accessories.

I decided that I didn't need to duplicate the outfits in miniature so I have redressed these dolls.
Androgyny is wearing a Kio wig, the outfit from Incandescent Monogram and carrying a Purse of the Month pink leather bag. Her diamond pin is from a Gene Marshall fashion. I have removed the hooks from the jacket as I like it better open and the hooks didn't look good.

I thought Aphrodisiac's exaggerated makeup would work with the outfit from Mina, Bride of Dracula. She is wearing a wig made for Puki Puki dolls. The pin on her lapel is from Facets. It attaches by means of a small magnetic disc.

I love these two dolls redressed. Because they are wigged gals, there are so many play possibilities. The giftset earns a 9 out of 10.  It's a winner.