Book II, Chal V, Cat A: The Sultan's Rider

[MKJoshA]

See the previous tales:

Wyndor's Saga:

Chapter 1

-What Has Past-

Chapter 2

-What Has Past-

Chapter 3

The Green Dragon Inn

Bustle at Treacleheim

At the Gates of Budd-apest

Dragon-Forged Blade in Treacleheim

Charlemagne's Residence

Dragon Taming

Defense of the North

Charlemagne was missing! And with the war looming on the horizon, the Sultan of Budd-apest knew he would need Charlemagne's help. So he sent a rider north to Dalig Ulv to warn Wyndor of the coming battle and of Charlemagne's disappearance.

 

 

 

 

(Better pictures coming in the next day or two!)

They're in!

[Henjin_Quilones]

I like your plant life and the tar pits (or oil pits?), as they create an interesting landscape, though maybe not the upside-down bushes. Also, there are a few too many angular pieces on the ground that are a bit jarring to me. I think I would prefer something to smooth out some of those edges and make them seem more organic and natural. All told, though, the landscape is nice and brings to life a side of Kaliphlin that I had not seen before. Well done!

[zoth33]

I love this.  Great combination of colors.  The dark red plays nicely off of the different tans.  The use of the whip as a plant is brilliant.  The tar pits are great too and give the build nice texture.

[Leonardo da Bricki]

I like the idea of a tar swamp, like the La Brea Tar Pits in California. However, using some more rounded edges on the pits would look more natural. The foliage is great, the colors work quite well together.

[LittleJohn]

Excellent build MKJ, I especially like the red tentacle plants The tar pits are well executed too, with the occasional 2x2 round dish to break up the flatness.

[Slegengr]

Nice build, MKJ!

I like your representation of the Kali oil fields with the slick black surface and the bubbles!  I agree with others that smoother contours on the landscaping would be better, but the wedge plates work as well.  Your different types of plants seem characteristic of Kaliphlin as well, and I like the 'ice cream cone' mushrooms!

[Umbra-Manis]

Awesome environment MKJ!

[mrcp6d]

I've been to the La Brea tar pits in CA, quite the site in the middle of Los Angeles! I quite like this MOC Josh, good color choices to my eyes. 

[TitusV]

Very cool MOC, I really like the landscaping and vegetation, though I'm no big fan of the upside down bushes. But that's a detail  Nice job

[soccerkid6]

Really cool representation of the tar pits in Kaliphlin Nice use of the medium dark flesh blades

[MKJoshA]

Thank you everyone! They are indeed meant to be tar pits. After hearing the recommendations for rounded edges instead of angled ones, I think I agree with you all. Thanks for the feedback and I'll keep it in mind for future builds!

Also, I've updated the photos with ones with better lighting. Enjoy!

[Blufiji]

Outside of the red spiked plants, i like this build. Good addition with the tar pits.

[Muakhah]

I like this as a semi magical area that was forced to adapt to the presence of the oil pits. The vegetation is strange but I think it works. I really like the rider. Is that torso from Chima?

[Gideon]

Creepy plants!

Others have already commented on the build but I'd like to give one piece of photography advice, and that would be to step back and zoom in instead for the overview shots. Try the 55 mm end of your lens next time and see the difference in perspective
It could also be an idea to step it down a bit to maybe say f/9-f/11 for the overview shots to increase the depth of field, at least if you can put the camera on a support like a tripod to compensate for the slower shutter speed needed then.

The last picture with the closeup is on the contrary great, with focus on the minifig and nice shallow depth of field which suits that kind of shot. Not surprisingly that was taken towards the longer end of your zoom range

[MKJoshA]

21 hours ago, Muakhah said:

I like this as a semi magical area that was forced to adapt to the presence of the oil pits. The vegetation is strange but I think it works. I really like the rider. Is that torso from Chima?

Thanks! The torso is actually from Lord of the Rings. It's Eomer's.

 

19 hours ago, Gideon said:

Creepy plants!

Others have already commented on the build but I'd like to give one piece of photography advice, and that would be to step back and zoom in instead for the overview shots. Try the 55 mm end of your lens next time and see the difference in perspective
It could also be an idea to step it down a bit to maybe say f/9-f/11 for the overview shots to increase the depth of field, at least if you can put the camera on a support like a tripod to compensate for the slower shutter speed needed then.

The last picture with the closeup is on the contrary great, with focus on the minifig and nice shallow depth of field which suits that kind of shot. Not surprisingly that was taken towards the longer end of your zoom range

Thank you for the advice! I have a relatively new DSLR and I'm still learning the ins and outs of the various settings. I've used SLRs many times in the past, but never for Lego photography so I feel like I'm still in the learning curve. I'll give your suggestions a try.