Mickey Mouse and Lights - 50with50

Black and White and Color

50with50 no. 47

A black and white Mickey Mouse figurine stands out in front of colorful lights in the latest post in the 50with50 series.

It has been a while since I shared any 50with50 photos. My intent was to finish up the series before my next birthday. As that is just over a month away, I figured I should start it up again to meet my completely random and arbitrary goal. Just a few photos are left to finish up the series. I might as well make them worthwhile.

Our friends the Riedels gave me this cool Mickey Mouse figure from Funko for Christmas. I thought it would be a good subject for the 50mm lens with some, um, colorful lights in the background. Not necessarily Christmas lights that are still up. Just colorful lights. That is exactly what they are.

Interestingly, a little over a year ago I posted a 50mm photo of another Funko figure, Cap Snowman. Yes, these two photos are slightly similar. More about that in the About the Photo section below.

More About Mickey

This particular Mickey Mouse is from Plane Crazy, which was the first Mickey Mouse cartoon ever made. However, it was not the first one to be released. Disney history fans know that honor goes to Steamboat Willie. Plane Crazy, although completed first, was actually released third, after The Gallopin’ Gaucho. I was interested to see that this Walt Disney Archives series chose to use Mickey’s first created appearance instead of his first released appearance. Pretty cool.

Mickey has now taken his place on my home computer desk along with my growing collection of Funko figures. He is in pretty good company, with Maui, Captain Jack Sparrow, Indiana Jones, and a few others, too. Maybe I should do a series of them sometime? Or maybe I have too many toys? Who’s to say what “too many” might mean?

Bible Verse

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. - Ephesians 6:10-11

About the Photo

Everything about this photo was chosen with the 50with50 series in mind. The tight focus on Mickey Mouse. The light bokeh in the background. The low light level in the room. All of it was to take advantage of the 50mm lens and its capabilities. And actually, I did want to somewhat mirror that Cap Snowman photo, too. I liked the look of it, and I wanted something similar here, even though there are fewer lights in the background. And even though that earlier photo did not use the 50with50 lens, believe it or not.

I did use some additional artificial light for this photo. The lighting on Mickey Mouse comes from an LED panel light that I have. I originally bought it for a video light, although I have not done all that much video since then. I am more of a photo guy than a video guy. But that light did come in handy when we were making a few different videos at home to be part of our church’s virtual worship services before we went back to in-person meetings.

That LED light came in handy for this photo as well. I held it above and to the left of Mickey to give him a little bit of a spotlight. The light’s color temperature is adjustable, so I had it turned as warm as it would go to make it look a little more natural. If I had taken this photo on a sunny day, there probably would have been enough light in the room. But because it was dark and rainy on this particular day, there was not much natural light coming in through the window. So I was glad to have that LED light handy.

Photo: A Raw exposure processed in Luminar AI. Read more about photography tips, photo software, camera gear, and more at Steve’s Photography Tips.
Camera: Sony Alpha A7 II
Lens: SonyFE 50mm f/1.8
Date: January 7, 2021
Location: Home, Williston, Tennessee