VP Interview: Ghostly Fog Crawler

 

The world of virtual photography is as diverse as any art form. People take to it for different reasons and also have various ways of approaching the hobby. Today we have an interview with Ghostly Fog Crawler who was featured for both her Fallout 76 work here and her Red Dead Redemption Online shots here. 

Below we get a greater insight into the person behind the shots and discover what drives that creativity!

All shots on this page were taken by Ghostly Fog Crawler for more of her wonderful work check out her page here.

Fallout 76

What got you into Virtual Photography and why does it mean so much to you?

I was not into virtual photography as my page was starting off as a story platform. Later on I took more photos rather than wrote. I was told the Fallout 76 is an ugly game so I decided to prove them wrong. Now I have found an amazing amount of stunning scenes in other games too, which has got me to expand my page into other games too.

Most of your shots come from online games with a lack of photo mode. How do you get past that obstacle and embrace the medium of virtual photography?

I take screenshots with no visible hud if no photo mode, or if there is a cinematic mode. They usually provide nice angles for shots. I end up using these sometimes even there would be a photo mode! Again it requires me to explore the world with friends or alone, and the situation I feel would be great for a photo happens along the way.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Online

Out of all the games you have played and shot. Which mean the most to you and why?

Fallout 76 most likely on this account means most, as my page was built around the characters in it. The game is really much fun with friends and the community amazes me daily with stunning shots.

Later came other more aesthetic games like Red Dead Redemption 2 (the Online version), and then also the Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint with amazing photo mode and scenery, which I do adore a lot.

Ghost Recon: Breakpoint

It is clear that you have a love for Fallout 76, How has the journey as a photographer and a gamer treated you in the post-apocalyptic world?

Very nicely. I get all my ideas for my photos as we quest or mess around with friends. Luckily I am also surrounded with people with similar interests, and they allow me to just suddenly 'hop' off from the main event and go taking photos.

Currently the actual virtual photography has become more and more stressful, so I'll be going back to my story telling. It was fun while it lasted, but I need to enjoy this hobby rather than start feeling anxiety over every post I make.

What draws you into creating your own characters and narratives within the worlds you play in and out of all of your original characters, who is your favourite?

I love writing stories, starting the Fallout 76 story page was something I had never done, as previous stories I had written were not in English, but in Finnish as the MMORPG I played contained a massive amount of my countrymen. (1200 people in the guild I was in). So also this 'new' way of finding a way to play with words in this foreign language, has been a challenge, and a joy to do. 

I fail often, and am grateful to some of the people in the community to point them out, allowing my grammar to grow in the right direction, and motivating me to write more. I enjoy bringing my characters to life and getting many messages of inspiring people to start writing their own stories also warms my heart tremendously.

My all time favourite character is - who else - than Aster. I also had worked the longest with my Enclavist Julia, and fell for my Communist sisters Lilith and Svetlana. But still Aster holds a special place in my heart and therefore she is the most commonly written character of my stories. In the PDF book I am working on, all my characters will be working together/against each other, around Aster's story, who is starring it. We'll see how that works out.

Are there any other games that you would like to explore or any that you are looking forward to the release of?

I am currently playing Borderlands 3, continuing my Forza Horizon enthusiasm in the 4th game, Ghost Recon, and soon diving into Sea of Thieves too as some of my friends are playing it. 

The only release date I have been keeping my eye out is for Diablo IV. I will have to actually most likely take a time off from Instagram as it comes out, and just feast on the new chapter of the legendary tales.

Being an avid virtual photographer who doesn't use a photo mode often, do you have any advice for those who are reluctant to explore without that kind of setting?

Many games nowadays have the actual photo mode, of some sort, but the ones that have not, usually the HUD is hideable, which allows you to take clean screenshots of even action moments, views, sunsets, starry skies only the sky's the limit!

Playing on consoles sometimes the HUD is not completely hidden, so skills in cropping and having high quality photos is sometimes needed in games where photo mode is not a thing. Also patience and exploring the possibilities of the game is always good for the skills on virtual photography, even when using the photo mode.

I play through all platforms Fallout 76 and Red Dead Redemption 2. So what I have learned is that on PC (as my PC is getting old) and I have no 4k screen on it yet.The photos taken on PC require a lot eye for lighting and backgrounds to make the character or item to pop out even remotely clear. As I do not mod any other than Minecraft from my games on PC, I have to really work for the photos. Sometimes I might get lost for hours on trying to get exactly the photo I want even on my PS4 and XBox One, which requires my friends to have a lot of patience when it comes to taking photos with me, and I am blessed to have such friends. I just can not take a pose and snap a photo. I mean I can, but it usually ends up something I don't feel good about. 

So whatever platforms you're playing I am sure the photos you come up with are amazing! The Fallout Community has phenomenal, actual virtual photographers, who most likely could give tips on editing and apps to use, as I don't use anything else than my phone's photo gallery edits to mainly crop if ever needed.