'A city that never sleeps...'

(title is taken from a song on the VA-11 Hall-A OST that I thought was appropriate for this photoset )

 

I posted these on the DD FB group some time ago, but decided I'd post them here too since I'm sure not all of you are on there, and because I'm really happy with how these came out. They were taken as part of a photo challenge on IG/tumblr that's being run by a friend I know; the theme for this particular challenge was 'color'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Guys! I saw some girl at Shibuya crossing last night who looked just like Fuyumi! Only, she had purple hair and was dressed in all of these crazy colors…”

 

“Are you sure it was her? Fuumi is my class president, and she knows dyeing your hair unnatural colors isn’t allowed at our school.”

 

“Maybe the shadows mixed with all the bright lights were playing tricks on my eyes, then…”

Great use of... your laptop? tv? for background!

 

and ahhhhh!! You got all those lil hairclips!! They look so adorable

Very cute pictures. I like them.

I only wish that I could take pictures like this!! WOW!

You did a decent job at lighting the doll without getting reflections on the screen behind her. That's not easy to do.

Chise, it's my TV screen Unfortunately it's not the nicest display in the world, but I think some of the striations in the display just add to the aesthetic of the whole thing. I loved sticking all of those star clips in her hair, but they wouldn't stay put!!

 

Eiko82, thank you so much

 

Bouncing_Tigger, these were all taken on my cellphone! My partner has a pro camera, but I don't, so I try to make do with what I have. Usually what I take doesn't come out this nice, so maybe the stars all aligned correctly that night

 

sinclair, thanks! I was really bored and had a lot of time on my hands, so I got to experiment a bit and see what worked.

Bouncing_Tigger, these were all taken on my cellphone! My partner has a pro camera, but I don't, so I try to make do with what I have. Usually what I take doesn't come out this nice, so maybe the stars all aligned correctly that night

 

You must be kidding me!! I can barely take any kind of picture with my cell phone let alone something that looks as awesome as these! In fact, my kids have been teasing me mercilessly because I tried to send them a picture of a filing cabinet we were getting rid of just in case they wanted it and I ended up sending them a video of my office instead! (...and I have no idea how I actually created a video with my cellphone...technology *sigh*)

The concept and dialogue remind me a bit of Serial Experiments Lain--was that part of your inspiration?

I like the decora kei (?) styling as well, especially the use of those keychain round things as jewelry.

Ie-Aster, I am a HUGE enthusiast of the cyberpunk aesthetic, and SEL definitely played into some of my desire to use the background I did (funny enough, I was considering re-watching it recently! It feels like summer is the appropriate time to do it, for some reason).

 

Thanks for the compliments on the styling-- I had to play mix and match a lot to get the look I wanted for her. The little ball chains were me trying to put as much color as I could into the whole outfit

Ie-Aster, I am a HUGE enthusiast of the cyberpunk aesthetic, and SEL definitely played into some of my desire to use the background I did (funny enough, I was considering re-watching it recently! It feels like summer is the appropriate time to do it, for some reason).

SEL is up there among my favorite anime, so as a biased observer I think you should

 

Actually, to be honest, the juxtaposition of the digital background with its slight distortion with Fuyumi and her props also reminds me of the way text in SEL often appears displayed atop scenes: there's a combination of the digital and the 'real', and the two are blending together to create a different sort of 'reality'. There's an essay about SEL which talks about this motif more eloquently than I can, but I can't remember the title or the author (a film professor somewhere).

Funny, I've been considering rewatching SEL too. I bought the DVDs when I watched it the 1st time, so I really have no excuse.

Actually, to be honest, the juxtaposition of the digital background with its slight distortion with Fuyumi and her props also reminds me of the way text in SEL often appears displayed atop scenes: there's a combination of the digital and the 'real', and the two are blending together to create a different sort of 'reality'. There's an essay about SEL which talks about this motif more eloquently than I can, but I can't remember the title or the author (a film professor somewhere).

 

Do you mean the text breaks in between scenes ("What does dying feel like?" "It really hurts! ") or the parts where Lain is in class and kind of starts hallucinating? Either way, they're eerie effects I like very much, and they really add to the atmosphere of the entire show. That and the constant low-pitched electrical humming. Almost puts you in a trance-like state during the lulls in dialogue/action.

I definitely get the Cyberpunk vibe from this. For me, it's a bit disconcerting. I'm too used to art in Cyberpunk themed gaming books. In place of a cute girl I keep on expecting to see some guy wearing a longcoat and holding a gun or a Shadowrun troll.

 

I think I like the second and third ones best. For me they have the strongest feel that she is there in the environment. All are visually enjoyable compositions. The third one definitely reminds me of something, like I've seen it in b&w lineart before.

 

Chalk me up as another who really likes Fuyumi's hair clips. I also really like all her little beads.

 

MOAR plz.

How cute. She looks like she fits right in. ^^