Seeing Double by myautofocuslife

Seeing Double

The last time you saw J, he was being warm and comfy ( http://365project.org/myautofocuslife/365/2012-01-04 ) in his hand-knitted hat and coat. This is a different J in a different light.

I always prefer my boys to be in (faux) fur wigs but this is one of the few synthetic fiber wigs that I love. It's black with silver streaks and I find it very cool on J. Not so on the other boys. (But I may be playing favorites. 8D )

FYI: BJDs are ball-jointed dolls made of polyurethane resin, handcast and handstrung. They are anatomically correct, highly posable and customizable. My boys are 60cm tall. (About 2 feet.) If you find dolls creepy to look at, I'd suggest un-following me as I will upload photographs of my boys from time to time.
Jo
The hair looks really realistic actually. I wish my hair was like that lol I need to get myself a synthetic finer wig!

Do you build your dolls from scratch, putting different pieces together or get them as a whole?
January 25th, 2012  
I wish I was as pretty as J!! Lovely hair too!
January 25th, 2012  
Amy
My daughter, an anime artist, uses these types of dolls as possible figure models.
January 25th, 2012  
Do you make these Livia. They are quite amazing. Wonderful shot.
January 25th, 2012  
Fantastic shot, Livia! Love your dolls! Post pics anytime you want to, because I enjoy seeing your creativity with them. This is beautiful! I really like the dual mode! Well done!
January 25th, 2012  
@jlhopgood @maggie2 I wish I did but I don't have the skills to make a BJD! I bought the body directly from a company in Japan that specializes in making these dolls, and the customized head from an auction on Yahoo! Japan. J has been with me for 7 years now.
January 25th, 2012  
Jo
ah right, yes that what I wondered - whether J came with a body or you bought his 'bits' separately. I find them very compelling. I was looking at some pictures on Flickr the other day.
January 25th, 2012  
Absolutely Gorgeous!
January 25th, 2012  
so pretty! love your dolls :)
January 25th, 2012  
So beautiful. I'm jealous...I love these dolls! Who handmade the hat and sweater for J on the last shot? Great shadows!
January 25th, 2012  
@jlhopgood Here are a couple of Youtube videos on BJD making: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXKHRPHz9bA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRtodk-gJrQ

Also here are a few sites that sell these dolls. Take a look to see the sheer variety of sizes and styles available. There are a lot more sites on BJDs you will find by googling. http://www.latidoll.com/2007_en/ http://www.iplehouse.net/index.php http://www.dreamofdoll.com/ http://dollsoom.com/soom/

@maggierda The hat and sweater were handmade by a Yahoo! Japan auction seller.
January 25th, 2012  
I really enjoy seeing the unusual combination of black and white and color. And your dolls are always interesting to see!
January 25th, 2012  
Neat processing.
January 25th, 2012  
I absolutely love these dolls. Also love the this photo!!
January 25th, 2012  
Fabulous!! Love the use of colour and B&W to juxtaposition shot. Reminds me of a character in Final Fantasy.
January 25th, 2012  
Love teh contrast between black and white and colour and love your dolls! Great capture.
January 25th, 2012  
Very cool it has a ying/yang feel. Superbly executed picture.
January 25th, 2012  
love this composition, beautifully mirrored image!!
January 25th, 2012  
So pretty and such a creative shot! :-)
January 25th, 2012  
eva
Fabulous!
January 25th, 2012  
they're stunning. I love the contrast of color vs b+w
January 25th, 2012  
Very pretty. Beautiful hair! Like this treatment too. :)
January 25th, 2012  
Gorgeous!!
January 25th, 2012  
So realistic and artistic.
January 25th, 2012  
Beautiful contrast on this, Livia. Am wondering how you did this . . use of mirror and processing? My brain cells are working overtime these days trying to absorb what/how others do things. I am not liking the "over-processing" done lately with some photos. That is not where I am headed at all with photography. I'd lean more towards purist and SOOC than over-doing the poor photo. J is beautiful here . . and I would love to have hair like that!!
January 25th, 2012  
He is such a beautiful boy, I love this shot, the mirroring is exceptional:0)
January 25th, 2012  
lovely shot
January 25th, 2012  
Great mirroring! I love your dolls - so beautiful!! I just can't believe they are boys.....so gorgeous!
January 25th, 2012  
Very cool processing! Love the eyes!
January 25th, 2012  
Love it... Great idea and is freaking my poor little brain out... :)
January 25th, 2012  
love the cut; this is so well done
January 25th, 2012  
Love the shot, its very creative and true!
January 25th, 2012  
This is fantastic.. really gorgeous
January 25th, 2012  
the long straight is very effeminate. Or very Axl Rose.
January 25th, 2012  
This is a really interesting presentation with the double shot (one in b&w, one in color)! Too cool!
January 25th, 2012  
I find your dolls far from creepy.. I am a HUGE Barbie fan and these dolls are way better than Barbies.. and way more expensive too as i looked into them after a pic of this doll a few weeks ago. *sigh* One can always dream.
January 25th, 2012  
mag
I agree with Ade....they are exactly like Final Fantasy characters. Very creative shot. They do have the most feminine eyes though.....
January 25th, 2012  
Wow! Great shot! I am strangely envious of that amazing wig though!
January 25th, 2012  
Stunning shot- so creative! I LOVE your BJD shots. I had never even heard of them until I saw your photography. Wonderful!
January 26th, 2012  
they look so realistic! great shot and editing Livia!
January 26th, 2012  
wow this is fabulous Livia.
January 26th, 2012  
Cool
January 26th, 2012  
My girls and I am loving your dolls especially J, Livia. I will not be surprised if I hear one of these days that they are interested in ordering a BJD. My older daughter is a big fan of yours (and so am I). Keep J's pix coming! =)
January 26th, 2012  
great work
January 26th, 2012  
nice double image with color and white/black.
January 26th, 2012  
Beautiful dolls Livia! Love your composition with color and b&w:)
January 26th, 2012  
@karenann No mirror used. I processed the photograph with my 12-year-old Paint Shop Pro. I am not technically competent to do a mirror shot so flawlessly! (The only mirror shot I've done so far is the one with Mr Bottle.) I like some processed shots. It depends on the final result, really. I like arty, abstract shots as much as no-effects, SOOC captures. For my own photos, since I'm neither competent with the camera (still on autofocus although I sometimes set different apertures to experiment with depth of field) nor Paint Shop Pro (never learned layers and masks and such), I tend to stick to the natural-processed look. (Is there such a thing? Heh!) I always try to get my shots right--especially with composition--with the camera but I'm not averse to adjusting the contrast levels, saturation, etc afterwards. I'm not into HDR except where the shots still look realistic but with a greater degree of detail that adds just the right amount of buzz and excitement.
January 26th, 2012  
@adeakinyede Ooh. It... can't be Sephiroth you're reminded of? 8D I've only played Crisis Core (I bought a PSP just to play this FF game and then spent over 100 hours on it to complete everything including all 300 missions!) and I totally loved the Advent Children movie.

@maggotx The BJDs I have are made by a Japanese company, Volks, that also makes anime figures, so they have that familiar, pretty-face-with-extra-big-eyes look. I'm a manga and anime fan, so I'm perfectly happy with this. There are many other BJD companies (Korean, Chinese, etc) that make dolls in more realistic styles.
January 26th, 2012  
She looks beautiful. like the reflection in B&W
January 26th, 2012  
I like the reflection and contrast between colour and B&W :)
January 26th, 2012  
wow! love the processing here, and your mate isn't bad either :-)
January 26th, 2012  
beautiful !! superlike this one :)
January 26th, 2012  
Fantastic photo, I like the mirror effect and the color/B&W division
January 26th, 2012  
Awesome composition. Beautiful, Livia, just beautiful.
January 26th, 2012  
Neat shot and composition! Very interesting dolls, so realistic.
January 26th, 2012  
He's amazing Livia and you have portrayed him beautifully! It's perfect!
January 26th, 2012  
What an amazing shot and i love the processing of the color changes!
January 26th, 2012  
Cool capture
January 26th, 2012  
Wow, great processing
January 26th, 2012  
Great composition!
January 26th, 2012  
really great and creative shot here...nice work
January 26th, 2012  
Wonderful image! You use your dolls so well for models!
January 26th, 2012  
Seriously fantastic and cool concept and photo! WOW!!!
January 27th, 2012  
I want to thank everyone for taking the time to drop by! I appreciate your comments very much. Taking photographs of J always makes me happy and I'm glad you've all enjoyed seeing him. Again, thank you so much!
January 27th, 2012  
Gorgeous shot!
January 27th, 2012  
Great shot and processing.
January 27th, 2012  
very nice. i like it.
January 28th, 2012  
Very pretty! I like the processing. It's so interesting how their expressions change with their different clothes and posing
January 28th, 2012  
They look almost pensive, sad today. Love the mirror look.
January 28th, 2012  
I think they are so lovely, love the flawless skin and gorgeous hair!
January 30th, 2012  
Fantastic shot.
February 1st, 2012  
fabulous processing!
February 2nd, 2012  
good to see but he looks really different with the different hair.
and your photo is different too so thought this was a different person.
well, glad you know you are you and j is j.
good shot for sure
February 2nd, 2012  
Better late than never, I just discovered your great doll shots. I was surprised to see that they are "boys". They look like little girls to me. Too many "girl dolls" are just too fluffy and frilly for my tastes. These dolls look like real girls, and are too pretty to be boys!
July 28th, 2012  
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