Project Naruto is the first in what is to be a series of photographic adventures of various animated figures on trips around Vancouver and possibly beyond. I’ve been toying (no pun intended) with the idea for a while, thinking of having a 6 inch Naruto Uzumaki suspended from fishing wire from a branch and using some tricks to make it looks as if he was leaping through the trees. Instead, Naruto ended up being placed in a few poses during one of my frequent journeys through Stanley Park.

It turned out to be quite interesting once I moved out from the trails in the forest and then onto the sea wall and out to Canada Place. The forest seemed quite fitting considering that Naruto itself takes place within Konohagakure (The Village Hidden in the Leaves). The figure proved to be a challenge when placed in position and toppled over comically a few times while I adjusted myself to take the picture. I had bought Naruto a few months earlier on eBay, and he arrived without a stand — this made things a bit interesting since the feet are aren’t really designed to support the top of the character, thus requiring the use of the special stand. I encountered a few strange looks at Waterfront station from a group of tourists after Naruto capsized off the sign holder and onto the platform.

The next set will be, hopefully, featuring Sora from Kingdom Hearts II. I’ve already got a few thoughts of how I want these next pictures to turn out. I might have better luck with this set as the game Kingdom Hearts II utilizes a vast world — everything from the beach to a dystopian cityscape. Sora shouldn’t be too much of a pain, considering his shoes are much larger providing a little more stability when poised. That, and the Keyblade weapons can be removed from his hands, whereas Naruto’s kunai are permanently affixed.

All pictures from Project Naruto can be found in The Lab on Gallery.