Tag Archives: Star Wars A New Hope

Interrogator Droid from Star Wars IV: A New Hope

11 Tuesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Interrogator Droid, Star War IV A New Hope, Star Wars, Star Wars A New Hope, Star Wars Episode 4, Star Wars Episode IV, The Tech Museum of Innovation

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This is the menacing Interrogator Droid that was used on Princess Leia by the Galactic Empire on the Death Star. They tried to extract information from her that would uncover where the Rebel Base was located. Princess Leia was strong and was able to resist the droid and did not reveal the Secret Rebel Base location.

It is interesting how this Interrogator Droid could inject drugs to its victim to lesson pain tolerance and block mental resistance. It could also use hallucinogens and truth serums to influence victims. The interrogator Droid could torture by taking advantage of the prisoner’s mental and physical weaknesses with its sonic torture, electroshock device, laser scalpel, power shears, and grasping claw.

How did Princess Leia survive? Only a small minority of individuals with a strong will could resist its torture. Princess Leia was strong-willed, but I assume the power of the Force also helped her to endure this torture and not give into the Interrogator Droid’s torture.

Even though I know this droid is not real, I still find it very intimidating. As I read about the Interrogator Droid’s capabilities, it sounds pretty scary.

Staring at the different torture appenditures makes the Droid seem real.

But in reality, it is just a really cool model with no powers.

How often do we feel intimidated by people, challenges, or objects? It is interesting to question whatever intimidates us is really as bad as we envision.

When I was a young boy, my cousin owned a big fluffy white Samoyed dog. It was a friendly dog who enjoyed jumping on people. That dog intimidated me with his jumping. I was not accustomed to dogs yet. But as I grew older, I learned to love this dog. The dog was not dangerous or a threat to me. The dog was just seeking attention and affection. So ironically, my initial feelings of being intimidated by this dog took a 180 degree turn.

Consider something or someone who intimidates you – is it a genuine concern or can your feelings take a 180 turn?

Can we be like Princess Leia who resisted the intimidation and the power of Interrogator Droid – and resist our personal intimidation problem with God’s Help?

Is your intimidation a reality or only your personal reality?

If we can conquer an intimidation, then we can experience “A New Hope”.

Learn the stories behind the photographs to learn real lessons!

 

Getting Around with Luke Skywalker’s Landspeeder from Star Wars

05 Wednesday Feb 2020

Posted by in Landspeeder, Luke Skywalker's Landspeeder, Star Wars, Star Wars A New Hope, Star Wars Episode 4, Star Wars Episode IV, T-34, The Tech Museum of Innovation, X-34

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Here is the Star Wars A New Hope movie filming model of Luke Skywalker’s Land Speeder. The model # is designated, T-34 or X-34 depending on where you do your research. It was incredible to see it up close and see the intricate details of this filming Landspeeder prop. There was a life sized and much smaller scaled model of the landspeeder on display at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose in 2013.

Luke Skywalker loved his Landspeeder. Even though, it was banged up and old, he maintained its performance. Being in the harsh environment of Tatooine, Luke tinkered with this old Landspeeder. This ship floated about a meter above the ground with its powerful repulsorlift engine and trio of air-cooled thrust turbines.

Luke sold his Landspeeder so that he could use the money to help pay Han Solo for passage to Alderaan on the Millennium Falcon. It was a sacrifice for Luke to sell his beloved Landspeeder. He spent a lot of hours maintaining it. So this vehicle had sentimental value. He sold it after the death of his aunt and uncle. Luke was moving on.

We do not have the privilege yet to own a Landspeeder. But many of us can remember our first car. My brother loves his first car. He bought a Volkswagon Scirocco 39 years ago and still kept it. He does not drive around with this old car but occasionally moves it around the block. He leaves the car outside and still admires it.

Luke’s sacrifice teaches us sometimes we need to let go of something we love to move on in life. Luke needed to move on as “The Force” was leading him to eventually be a Jedi. His aunt and uncle were gone. He had a new calling. He needed the money to move on. So he was forced to sell his Landspeeder. He kept it even though it was old and battered. He did not care about getting the newest technology. He was smart to tinker with it to keep it working. Luke was ready to move to his next step in life.

What are we holding on to that we need to let go of? I played a lot of video games when I was single. I bought a Playstation 3 thinking this was a good way to entertain myself and enjoy being single. Well, since I got married, I no longer have time for games. I had to move on to new responsibilities and activities – i.e. learning to blog and taking care of my 99 year old mother-in-law.

I learned I had to move on in my next stage of life and embrace changes.

Tinkering is a good skill to learn. As I have been expanding on how I want to do digital photography and create my network, I’ve been learning how to tinker to make things work. Technology keeps changing. I recently upgraded my system after 10 years. I keep playing around figuring out how I need to hook everything up and how to view my photos. Learning is an ongoing process.

Can we learn to get around without possessions which stop us from moving on?

Reflect —

  • Getting around to the next life stage and lose what you no longer need
  • Dare to tinker

Photos Teach!

 

3 Lessons from the Devastator Imperial Star Destroyer Model from Star Wars

31 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by in Imperial Star Destroyer, Star Destroyer, Star Wars, Star Wars A New Hope, The Tech Museum of Innovation

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I still remember watching Star Wars A New Hope for the first time at the Coronet Theater in San Francisco in 1977. The opening scene was absolutely stunning with the  Devastator Imperial Star Destroyer filling up the entire screen, while it chased the Tantive IV Blockade Runner. It blew me away and introduced me to the Star Wars Franchise in a huge way. This got me hooked instantly to the Star Wars Universe.

It is really interesting that the Tantive IV Blockade Runner model was larger than the Star Destroyer model. The Tie Fighter model also looked gigantic next to the Star Destroyer.

Seeing the actual movie filming model of the Star Destroyer was a Star Wars fan’s dream. The entire Star Wars exhibit at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose in 2013 was the best Sci-Fi exhibit experience for me.

As I review these old pictures, I am amazed at the detail on the Star Destroyer. As indicated in the the signage for Darth Vader’s Star Destroyer, the fine details were magnified by filming closely to the model. Even though the model was small compared to their other single seat supporting fighter models like the Tie Fighter, their technique of slowly filming up close to give the impression of a large Star Destroyer was most impressive.

3 Lessons about Perspective in shooting objects

  • Reflections can give interesting dimensions to pictures as seen in my photos of the models in the clear cases.
  • Size does not matter, but positioning and proximity does matter. i.e. The Star Destroyer looked much larger due to the proximity and speed of filming the ship. Positioning the different models also gave a different impression of their sizes.
  • Accentuate details of an object to create a different impression. Focusing on the details of your photo’s subject is important to capture. Experiment to see how the details can give another unexpectant dimension to your picture.

Study photos to learn how to improve your skills as a photographer!

Photos Teach!

Stunning Movie Model of Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing Fighter

29 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by in Star Wars, T-65 X-wing Starfighter, The Tech Museum of Innovation

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I spent about 3 or 4 hours at the Star Wars Exhibition at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose back in 2013 and had a blast viewing and photographing the items on display. I wished I would have spent more time as I felt I was rushing through the exhibit. I have not seen a Star Wars Exhibit of this magnitude since. I wish I could time travel back to 2013 to see this exhibit again and spend multiple days viewing and photographing the items on display.

Why am I so fascinated with the various models from Star Wars?

When I was a boy, I was fortunate to have lots of playmates. We would regularly visit our grandparents and could play with our cousins. So what do little boys do? We enacted different scenarios of shooting and fighting games. My cousins and I are still skilled at making our own gun sounds. We were able to run around to shoot and attack one another. My mother would not allow me to own any toy guns. So we used our imagination to find ways to shoot each other. Of course, there were no fatalities in our world of fighting.

Examining the AA-589 model (which is the designation of the T-65 X-wing star fighter piloted by Luke Skywalker) is a continuation of my love of fictional fighting. My love for fighting vehicles has become more sophisticated with the development the Star Wars’ World of technology.

It is interesting to see how my initial love of saying “Bang Bang” has grown into my interest in examining and shooting photographs of these models.

Examining what we loved as children and seeing how it has changed over time is a good exercise. 

What did you love doing as a child? Have we forgotten about our former self? It also helps us to understand who we are today by remembering what we loved in the past.

Photos help us reflect!

Tantive IV Rebel Blockade Runner

21 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by in Rebel Blockade Runner, Star Wars, Star Wars Launch Bay, Star Wars Launch Bay at Disneyland, Tantive 4, Tantive IV, The Tech Museum of Innovation

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These photographs were shot at 2 locations – the San Jose Tech Museum of Innovation in November 2013 and The Star Wars Launch Bay at Disneyland in December 2018.

I shot many different views of the Tantive IV. I do not know if these are the same model or 2 different ones. The difference in the orange/dull red colors could be due to lighting. Also the Ion Turbine Engines at the San Jose Tech Museum were not lighted versus the Engines seen at Disneyland.

This model was built larger than the other ships. But when we saw the ship in the movies, it did not look larger due to the distance of the camera to the ship.

As noted in the above placard, Princess Leia Organa traveled onboard the Tantive IV when the Imperial Star Destroyer Devastator intercepted it. Darth Vader was seeking Princess Leia not knowing she really was his daughter. He wanted to retrieve the Death Star plans which Princess Leia hid to give to the rebel commanders for their future attack.

The Tantive IV was Princess Leia’s ship which she took on several missions. Many years after the end of the Galactic Civil War, a former Imperial senator found the remains of the Tantive IV decrepit in a hangar in the Yarma system. He repaired the ship and returned it to Princess Leia. The Tantive IV was Princess Leia’s personal flagship.

I have a fascination with jet fighters which is why I enjoy shooting photos of the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds. My favorite is the Air Superiority Fighter F-15 Eagle. It had the highest kills per engagement with enemy fighters. It was fast and maneuverable with powerful jet engines.

The Tantive IV reminds me about the real jet fighters which were successful in battle. The Tantive IV had to be repaired a couple of times, but was able to serve the Princess.

Any good fighter may get damaged from the battles. But with diligent care and repairs, the fighter can rise again to succeed in battle.

Can we follow that example to be a fighter to seek victory in our personal battles – even if we may need help to be repaired?

Photos Inspire and Teach!

 

Fastest Hunk o’ Junk in the Galaxy! Millennium Falcon for Star Wars IV – VI

16 Thursday Jan 2020

Posted by in Millennium Falcon, Millennium Falcon Movie Model, Star Wars, The Tech Museum of Innovation

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Here are more photographs from my visit to the San Jose Tech Innovation Museum during the Star Wars exhibition.

I love the Millennium Falcon ship. This was my favorite part of the exhibition. The actual size of the model was larger than I expected. There are several models of the ship. There were smaller models used for certain scenes. The display lighting for the Millennium Falcon was good for shooting these photographs. Unfortunately, there was a display case that creates unwanted reflections in the pictures. But of course, the case was there to protect the model. Everyone would want to touch the model which could cause damage.

It is interesting to note the Millennium Falcon, Rebel Blockage Runner, and the Imperial Star Destroyer were all displayed at different locations at the exhibit. Unfortunately, I could not take pictures of the models together.  The models are roughly the same size as per the description in the above picture. They just filmed the models away at different distances to give the illusion of different sizes.

Do you remember Lando’s quote in reference to the Millennium Falcon?

“You know, that ship’s saved my life quite a few times? She’s the fastest hunk o’ junk in the galaxy!”

See above Hans Solo’s quote about the Millennium Falcon?

“She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts.”

Here’s another one of Hans’ quotes about this ship.

“You’ve never heard of the Millennium Falcon? It’s the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs!”

So even though, this ship may not have had a polished finish or maybe even the latest technology, it was able to perform quickly and efficiently. It still could race thru and get its crew to their destination and win the important battles.

Luke Skywalker’s initial reaction to seeing the ship was “What a piece of junk!”. Why was the Millennium Falcon able to perform? Well, thanks to the expertise of Lando Calrissian, Hans Solo, Chewbacca, and Rey’s special modifications to the ship, it was able to exceed expectations for speed and maneuverability.

Even in “The Force Awakens, Rey said “That one is garbage” when she first saw the Millennium Falcon. When the other ship they ran to blew up, she exclaims “The garbage will do”.

So appearances can be deceptive.

Be careful not to judge that all Junk is actually Junk!

Interiors can be better than the Exterior – Understand the inside and outside of people and objects

Photographs Teach Great Lessons! Keep photographs to teach!

Star Wars Tie Fighter at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose

15 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by in Star Wars, The Tech Museum of Innovation

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I love models! I especially love the models used in the Star Wars movies.

Here’s a photo of the original Imperial TIE fighter from Star Wars Episodes IV-VI. It was on display at “The Exhibition” Star Wars Where Science Meets Imagination at The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose. The Exhibition was from October 19, 2013 to February 23, 2014. I am hoping that there will be more Star Wars Exhibits of actual movie models and props in the future.

It is interesting to see the progression of technology for using the models with a blue background made it difficult to distinguish a blue TIE fighter. Thus the TIE fighter had to be grey to be seen with the blue backdrop. Fortunately, technology improved and the color of the TIE fighter became bluer.

Poe Dameron was excited to fly one of the new TIE fighters with Finn in the new episodes of Star Wars. He knew about this fighter’s reputation for being fast with great maneuverability. So he had been itching to try out this fighter. The Force perhaps influenced Finn to make the drastic decision to end his life as a Stormtrooper and get out with Poe. They were fortunate to come across a fighter at a convenient time during their escape from Kylo Ren who was seeking the map to find Luke Skywalker in The Force Awakens. They crash on Jakku and are thrown from the ship, before it is sucked under the sand.

I am reminded it is always a blessing to have someone to help pull you out of difficult situations. Having someone around to support you when you are down or facing a big problem is a wonderful thing. It would be pretty cool especially if they had a speedy TIE fighter to quickly fly you out.

When I was single, my good buddy was always around to go out to eat dinner with me on Valentine’s Day. He knew I would be blue about facing another Valentine’s Day as a single person. In fact a month after I met my “future” wife, I still went out on Valentine’s Day with my good buddy instead of my new girlfriend. I made the announcement I met someone. He was excited and perplexed why I was going out with him instead of her. I obviously was not thinking about my logic for this action either. I guess I am a creature of routine. Fortunately, I did make it up to my girlfriend later.

Learn to be a wingman to someone. Be consistent and faithful.

Be Speedy and Flexible to go with the flow. Life is unexpected, and we need to adapt to the changes. The TIE Fighter is known for being speedy and easily maneuverable. This is a good lesson for me since I love routine a little too much.

Stand out from the background colors – learn to distinguish yourself. I am trying to figure out how to do photography with my own style. I would like to distinguish myself as a photographer which is why I do not alter my photographs to make them brighter or colorize the images – etc.

Photos Inspire! Learn from photographs!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke Skywalker’s T-65 X-wing Starfighter

10 Friday Jan 2020

Posted by in Star Wars

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This is an actual movie model prop of Luke Skywalker’s Rebel Alliance T-65 X-wing Starfighter from Star Wars A New Hope. You can see R2-D2 mounted on top of the X-wing. The model was on display at the Star Wars The Exhibition at The Tech Museum in 2013 in San Jose, CA.

I had so much fun examining and photographing the many movie props on display at this exhibit. I spent the whole day shooting pictures while my friends were waiting for me.

Many of us have grown up watching the many episodes of Star Wars. Watching the new generation of characters in “The Rise of Skywalker” was enjoyable. We planned our outing to go on 12/26/2019 with our group of friends and bought our selected seats a couple of weeks in advance. I did not want to even read the movie reviews to tarnish my enjoyment or expectations for this anticipated event.

One unexpected event was my mother-in-law did not want to stay home alone. She wanted to go too, even though her English comprehension would not allow her to understand the movie. We have good friends who love my mother-in-law and welcomed bringing my wife’s 99 year old mother with us.

Our friend did the last minute arrangements, so my mother-in-law would sit with her a few rows lower to make it easier for accessibility. My wife sat with me, while our friend sat with my mother-in-law.

My mother-in-law watch movies at home with us and just takes a nap or watches quietly, even though she does not understand the English. This was our expectation for this movie. Well, unfortunately this was not the case. Since the movie was naturally loud and the screen was big, my mother-in-law was alarmed and uncomfortable. Plus my wife was not sitting with her. So, my mother-in-law did the unthinkable during the movie – she talked every 30 minutes or so asking for my wife. Fortunately, there were not many people around where she was sitting. Our apologies to our friend and anyone else who heard my mother-in-law who has a pretty loud voice.

Fortunately, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie thanks to a good friend watching my mother-in-law.

I look forward and hope for the opportunity to photograph the new models and memorabilia from this last Star Wars movie in the future.

What did I learn from this last movie that I will seek to achieve in 2020?

  • Learn to Forgive my past hurts to obtain victory for today
  • Strive to win no matter what are the adversary odds against you
  • Do not bring my mother-in-law to the movie theater

Photos inspire and remind us of important memories and lessons!

Display the photographs that matter!

Where to see the Tantive IV Glow

10 Thursday Jan 2019

Posted by in Disneyland, Star Wars

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  • A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….at Star Wars Launch Bay – See the Tantive IV glow
  • Tantive IV Model

We went to see Star Wars Launch Bay at Disneyland in December 2018. I could have stayed here for a real long time and amused myself taking photographs of the Star Wars memorabilia with my new Pixel 3XL. If you have looked at my older posts, I have photographed other Star Wars exhibits, since I am mesmerized by all the props.

These are 2 glass exhibits cases. The front ship is the Resistance X-Wing Fighter featured in Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens. The back ship is the Tantive IV Rebel Blockade Runner seen in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

The effect of the glass cases gives an artistic look to this photograph. I was also impressed with the lighted back engines. The lights gave a nice glow to the photograph. Things do not have to be perfectly staged for a good photograph. Even though these ships were in 2 separate glass cases, the glass and lights in the display worked together to give a special effect to the photograph. So try to surmise your surroundings to see how you can optimize the light to take a good photo.

Here’s a clip from the Star Wars website where the Tantive IV is being chased by the huge Imperial Star Destroyer. Size does not matter as the Tantive IV survived the attack. In the movie, the Imperial Star Destroyer was protrayed to be much larger than the Tantive IV.

By the way – an interesting fact of reality – the models for the 2 ships were actually opposite in sizes. The Tantive IV model is a little larger than the Imperial Star Destroyer.

So even though I did not use my big and heavy Canon camera and lens, the Pixel 3XL still took a pretty decent photograph of these 2 ships. I’m hoping my new Pixel 3XL will provide good photographs, when I do not bring my heavy duty camera equipment…size does matter for convenience.

Tantive IV from Star Wars

Gallery

Tantive IV Rebel Blockade Runner Model from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope

12 Saturday Dec 2015

Posted by in Star Wars

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This gallery contains 9 photos.