Tamid Photo Essay in Lego® #3

The Shot

Down Below

The Memuneh, along with Yonasan the Levi, make their way through the labyrinth of passageways beneath the Beis Hamikdash.

The Story

You are here

The Memuneh's destination was the Beis Hamoked, the large building that served as sleeping quarters for the Kohanim. To get there, he would walk through a system of underground tunnels and passageways that crisscrossed beneath the floors of the Beis Hamikdash. These tunnels were lit by lamps mounted along the walls and could be used to access various areas and chambers within the Beis Hamikdash complex.

The Setup

This shot is modeled and rendered in Bricklink Studio with depth of field added in Photoshop (read more about this process in my introduction). The few lamps themselves did not quite illuminate the scene sufficiently, so I added a few plates (also in Luminous Soft Amber) to brighten some shadows.

The walls are curved. In real life, it is possible to create this effect by building the wall out of 1x2 bricks and then gently bending, or curving it, to the desired radius. Two such walls, pinned in position with arch bricks, will hold their shape nicely. In Studio, the effect can be replicated in a much more painstaking manner by rotating each 1x2 brick ever so slightly after it is placed in position (don't forget to turn off Snapping). After building the walls, I placed the whole structure onto a floor of tiles. Although purists will debate the legality of "bending" Lego®, I am a big fan.

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