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gedren_y

Revelry at the Dromedary Drinking Hall

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I wanted to do something for Petraea. The Dromedary Drinking Hall is what I came up with.

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History:

What is now known as the Dromedary Drinking Hall began as nothing more than a hole in the ground. More than a century ago the dwarf Noordus Blackhammer dug a hole into the bedrock to keep his mead cool while he worked in the sun. Some co-workers found out and decided to do the same.

For a time the spot was called Mead Lake.

When the work was finished the workers moved on, but the holes remained. The master of the property eventually decided that a cool place for good drink would be very welcome. He hired back all the dwarves and set them to connecting the holes and building a small drinking hall.

Over time the drinking hall passed from one master to the next, being expanded several times. It got its current name from the third owner, Shoopi Hopnon (a big fan of camels).

At the time of the slave revolt, the Dromedary Drinking Hall was closed for rennovations. A new chandelier fixture was in place and a grand floor design had just been started. During the revolt, the owner died along with the artist who designed the tile arrangement, and many of the fancy tiles were looted.

(The RL reason is gedren_y needs a better assortment of tiles.)

The drinking hall passed to the dead master's freed slave, Podnik Tok. Being short on funds, Podnik scrounged up what tiles and funiture he could. He re-opened just a week later with his late master's finest drink being sold at four times its previous prices.

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DR Overview 01 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Overview 02 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Overview 03 by gedren_y, on Flickr

^^^ I actually got some overview pics this time.

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Todays' events:

Durgen Abirneend, Official Messenger for the Cobalt Vale High Ministry, is still in Petraea, having a grand time at the Dromedary Drinking Hall.

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DR Patrons 01a by gedren_y, on Flickr

Durgen is the one in the silver helm. (Sorry for the blurry pic, got too close with the camera.)

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DR Patrons 01b by gedren_y, on Flickr

Habneeb Shabneeb Babneeb, caravan master on his way to Cedrica, spending the night in Petraea before moving on.

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DR Patrons 01c by gedren_y, on Flickr

Uurd Huurg, fourth cousin to Dextrus Flagg on his mother's side, is tasked with entertaining visiting officials.

Durgen is four sheets to the wind and feels the need to talk:

"Spent a score 'hic' years guardin' our 'hic' city wall. Never thought much 'hic' of stylin', shavin' or 'hic' even cuttin' ma hair. But now I'm 'hic-hic' da 'ficial Messen-'hic'-er, I gotsta 'hic-hic' look presen-'hic'-ble. Went to dis dwarf barber 'hic-hic-hic' 'n got da local 'hic' style."

-He drinks then continues-

"Say, dis 'hic' mead, don taste 'hic' es strong 'hic-hic' es ma home 'hic' drink, but it sure 'hic' packs a wallop. Hehe 'hic' wallop. Wahl and 'hic' Lohp, ma sister's 'hic' youngest 'hic' twins. Dey're on my 'hic' wall now. An deir 'hic' older bro-'hic'-er is da guard to da new Minister Ex-'hic'-tern-'hic'-al. Da lad's tea-'hic'-toatl'r, but plenty 'hic' good with a blade. Here's 'hic' to ya, lads!"

-More drinking-

"Now, don't 'hic' get ma wrong 'hic-hic' bout da Minis-'hic'-er. He's a braw 'hic' fighter, but 'hic' wiffin' Nocturnus 'hic' goin' ta pot 'hic' an' Aval-'hic'-nians bein' such 'hic' buggers 'hic-hic' lately, evr'one need sum'one 'hic' to watch deir 'hic' back. Mine's dat 'hic' pretty lass over 'hic' dere. Go on an 'hic' be soc-'hic'-ial, but 'member 'hic', her swords're prob-'hic'-ly sharper dan yours's. Heh heh 'hic-hic-hic' he."

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DR Patrons 02a by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Patrons 02b by gedren_y, on Flickr

^^ Shay Liih, Durgen's guardswoman, has decided to stay with their gear. Being a bit paranoid, she is watching all the people coming and going intently. Her drink is white tea flavored with pommegranate. She also refused to remove her late father's throwing axe. (Don't repeat Podnik's mistake!)

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DR Patrons 03 by gedren_y, on Flickr

Joop Yah (in the turban) is upset about not having any anchovies on his pizza. There haven't been any on the last four caravans from Mpya Stedor. Some dross about provisions for some new guardsmen.

Podnik Tok (with the bottle) still wears his slave clothes now and then to remind Guild officials of his loyalties. To keep in Dextrus Flagg's good graces, the drink flows quite freely for visiting dignitaries. He is convinced that this applies to Durgen.

Namses Setesh agreed to accompany the Nestlands Clans-persons :grin: to Petraea for his good friend Aturl. He is now so drunk that he is about to start a food fight. If he can hold his balance long enough that is.

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DR Patrons 04 by gedren_y, on Flickr

Avalonian Guardsman Gifinim Cireneg (<-some name fun) has been ordered home from his comfortable embassy position. Considering that all he knows about the problems in the north is some drow rebellion in Nocturnus, he is understandably upset. But being a loyal soldier, he will do his duty for Artorious Rex. He will soon learn things are much worse now.

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DR Patrons 05 by gedren_y, on Flickr

Snuggf Gruumish (the orc) is supposed to be standing guard in case someone tries to attack the Official Messenger, but is considering thonking him on the head to shut him up.

Ourfin Mm'Driig (hat) and Lakid Mm'Driig (bandana) have been sent to inform Uurd Huurg of the recent happenings. They do not enjoy being the bearers of bad news. Particularly to Uurd Huurg, who doesn't take bad news well.

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DR Weapons Storage 01 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Weapons Storage 02 by gedren_y, on Flickr

^^ Podnik Tok asks that you stow your weapons.

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DR Food by gedren_y, on Flickr

Bread, bananas and plantains are made available to minimize the effects of strong drink. Very few patrons actually eat them, though.

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DR Display 01 by gedren_y, on Flickr

An aquamarine copy of the sword that killed Podnik's late master. Exspensive! Do not touch!

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DR Display 02 by gedren_y, on Flickr

Unicorn horn preserved in enbalming fluid. Do not touch! (Got too close again. My camera's viewing screen is useless for determining shot quality.)

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DR Display 03 by gedren_y, on Flickr

New flags hung to celebrate Dextrus Flagg's new boat.

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(Outside pics)

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DR Windows 01 by gedren_y, on Flickr

The windows are at street level. Light reflecting off the bright ground keeps the Dromedary Drinking Hall well lit during the day.

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DR Window Wells 01 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Window Wells 02 by gedren_y, on Flickr

^^ Window wells, my nod to Mike Holmes, and some nice depictions of sand drifts.

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DR Corner Close by gedren_y, on Flickr

Someone has been excavating a little too close. Podnik is considering suing.

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DR Flags Close by gedren_y, on Flickr

A close up look at the flag arrangement on the roof.

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DR LIghting 01 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Lighting 02 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Lighting 03 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Lighting 04 by gedren_y, on Flickr

^^^^ My attempt at having the chandelier actually work. Didn't work. The aquisition of a bright, white LED fell through, so I made the best of what I had to work with, which wasn't much.

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DR Chandelier Close by gedren_y, on Flickr

A close up of the chandelier.

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I will attempt to get better photos in a few days. I'll also make a thread with some (hopefully) good shots of my principal characters soon.

Edit:

I attempted to use an old digital camera that has control issues. It was never good for close work, but I got an interior overview shot out of it. Not great, but it gives you a sense of the composition.

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DR Overview 04 by gedren_y, on Flickr

gedren_y

Edited by gedren_y

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The wall details and windows are excellent :thumbup: Some clearer pictures would be nice :wink:

I like the street view showing the windows a lot :classic:

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It is just too painful on my eyes with that focus to see anything! I can tell there are a lot of details, now if only we could see them!

What camera were you using to take these photos?

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It is just too painful on my eyes with that focus to see anything! I can tell there are a lot of details, now if only we could see them!

What camera were you using to take these photos?

I'm using a cheap Vivitar. Wasted $20 on it.

Yes, there are plenty of details, and a liberal use of Brickarms and Brickforge products.

I hope the story was engaging, though. That is what made this build fun.

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I'm using a cheap Vivitar. Wasted $20 on it.

Yes, there are plenty of details, and a liberal use of Brickarms and Brickforge products.

I hope the story was engaging, though. That is what made this build fun.

Yes the history of the hall was quite interesting! Time to get a new camera... :sweet: I as well need to get a new camera. I've been looking around but I'm still very lost when it comes to determining the differences between cameras. I wonder if there is a thread somewhere here on Eurobricks comparing quality of MOC pics each camera takes that also catagorizes them in different price ranges.... :look: I would have bought a new one already if I had this figured out. I just don't want to repeat the mistake I made last time I bought a camera. I upgraded to a new camera but the picture quality wasn't any better than my old one...

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I have used a couple of different point and shoot canons and both have been fine. One is 7.1 megapixels and the other is like 12.1 or something. The one with the higher megapixels has a better light sensor, so I use that one the most, but I can tell you good photos can be achieved by either. I think higher quality cameras make it easier to take a good picture, but I think nearly any camera priced near $100USD is probably useable with the right settings/techniques.

I think the key is to have good lighting (outside on an overcast day or in the shade works best for me) and to not snap the picture until you are sure the autofocus on a point and shoot camera is focusing on the right thing for your picture! I also turn off the flash and hold the camera as still as possible. No flash means the camera takes longer to suck in enough light to get a good picture but that also means the picture will "smear" if you don't hold the camera still.

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I have used a couple of different point and shoot canons and both have been fine. One is 7.1 megapixels and the other is like 12.1 or something. The one with the higher megapixels has a better light sensor, so I use that one the most, but I can tell you good photos can be achieved by either. I think higher quality cameras make it easier to take a good picture, but I think nearly any camera priced near $100USD is probably useable with the right settings/techniques.

I think the key is to have good lighting (outside on an overcast day or in the shade works best for me) and to not snap the picture until you are sure the autofocus on a point and shoot camera is focusing on the right thing for your picture! I also turn off the flash and hold the camera as still as possible. No flash means the camera takes longer to suck in enough light to get a good picture but that also means the picture will "smear" if you don't hold the camera still.

That is what I was thinking. My current camera has taken great shots before but I had used 2 shop lights and a ceiling light to achieve it. Outside shots are usually ok but not as bright as I like. I haven't had a chance to try a taking pictures with the sun overhead. Maybe it might make a difference but it seems that most people think shade is better...

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New pic added. Not good, but it's a composition shot.

I'll have to get my hands on something better.

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The build looks nice, with good details and scenes. And the story is good too. But as other have mentioned, better pictures sure would help. Looks like the lighting is good; you're outside for at least most of them. I find that taking pictures in the sun is not so good -- usually too bright with deep shadows and reflected bright spots. But taking pictures in the light shade on a sunny day is the best! As for a camera, I use a Canon Powershot SD980-IS, and it seems to work OK. It's about three years old, maybe four. I think any of the Canon Powershot or Digital Elphs would be fine, and I'm sure the Nikons are too. Probably any Canon, Nikon, Olympus, Sony, or Panasonic point and shoot in the $100-$300 range is fine. (Or buy last year's model for cheaper or used even) Just make sure you use the macro function when trying to focus close up -- that could be the problem with some of these shots.

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I like the history you created for this MOC. And it looks pretty cool, too! There are a lot of details that I wish I could see better, but that's the camera's fault.

As far as cameras go, I personally use a DSLR because I grew up with a film SLR camera and know how to take pictures on full manual settings. But since DSLRs are generally more expensive than point-and-shoot cameras, you'd probably be better served by a point-and-shoot camera. I've mainly used Nikon cameras and can vouch for their quality. I know Canon also makes good quality cameras, so either of those two brands would be good to research. Finally, getting a small tripod might be a quick fix to some of the blurriness, since some blur is caused by the "camera shake" that occurs because our hands move ever so slightly when we are holding them "still," which isn't a problem for wide-angle shots, but gets more and more pronounced the farther you zoom in or the longer the shutter is open. Having a tripod can allow you to get away with not having the flash turned on, which is nice when the lighting is a little too dark but a flash would cause unwanted glare.

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Here are the results of the final reshoot. I changed the image setting on my netbook web-cam and got some better images. Looks like I'll be using this for all my Lego pics from now on.

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DR Reshoot 01 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Reshoot 02 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Reshoot 03 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Reshoot 03a by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Reshoot 04 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Reshoot 04a by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Reshoot 04b by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Reshoot 05 by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Reshoot 05a by gedren_y, on Flickr

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DR Reshoot 06 by gedren_y, on Flickr

Now that I've gotten some clear shots, I'll be dismantling this build to begin work on some Cobalt Vale vigs.

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