Day 214; Russian Nesting Dolls

My great aunt Glenda is one of the most interesting people I've ever met. She travels all over the world, and sends back the most beautiful things. These are two in a set of hand painted Russian nesting dolls which she sent to my sister and I a few years ago. The detail of the painting and etching is really quite lovely, and while admiring them earlier today I decided to make them the subject of today's photo. I set them up in my de-shadow box and used a black skirt as the background. I used the on-camera flash and the black background to highlight the dolls and help their color pop. The biggest thing I would change is that a fold in the skirt hides a portion of the larger doll's base.

Day 203; Doll With the Floral Dress

This doll was for the longest time tied for my favorite porcelain doll. I think it was mostly because she was plain enough that I could play with her comfortably without ruining her (although her hair has seen better days). For the past few years she's been sitting in a box with all the other dolls I outgrew. It's sad that I can't even remember her name anymore. For this photo I put her in a box of packing peanuts which you can see in the corner. I did a focal soften so it would fade into softer focus the farther out from her head you got. I also did a faded black and white to give a gentler light to her dress.