Why go on a toy safari ?

When the #BalticToySafari was first announced I was really looking forward to attending.

I was hoping to learn how to take better pictures of Lego. I was looking forward to meeting some of the tiny digital people from inside my mobile device in real life. And I was hoping not to find professional photographers who would only smile about a guy taking his pics with his cellphone. Little did I know…

Little did I know what I would meet in the land of Elks, Volvo and serious table manners. I know a lot has been said and written about the weekend of the #BalticToySafari so far and to everyone who couldn’t attend this fantastic event I´d like to say:

It was all true.

Now instead of raving about the greatness of the weekend itself and rubbing it in for those who couldn´t be there I´d like to share a thought or two about what I learned (or remembered) about myself, about life and about future events like this one.

First, when you enjoy shooting plastic: do it! Do it at home, in a loft, a garage, underneath your bed or in it. If you want to just go out and experience different conditions of light, or wind (oh BlueTack, how could I live without you for so long??) and textures. The rule of “just do it” is oh so simple yet oh so important. Instead of hesitating and thinking too much about the where/the why/the how- get up and do it! You may be surprised by the results you will come up with…

Secondly, if you have been shooting for some time and feel you got stuck somewhere and want to move on but don´t know how…get reading. Let curiosity run free and learn about the “rules of engagement” as Boris called them in an earlier post. Catchwords as “golden ratio” or “rule of thirds” but also the scientific effect of colors on the human brain and our feelings about an image or a well-made structure of a picture are interesting topics that might challenge you to give it another try from a different perspective (just as the basics of photography itself: ISO, aperture, depth of field…).

Another important lesson for me: time. These circa 48hrs with roughly nine hrs of sleep were energy-sapping and I´m sure most everyone would’ve wished for more time. (Not being the most social being in this community I only realized back home that I truly wished I had talked to the others more. About the persons they are, their daily jobs, their opinions and dreams. Hoping to get deeper into that when meeting at least some of them again somewhere someday…) Still it was absolutely worth it, every minute of it; thinking of crawling in the sands on the beaches of touristical (!) Vaxholm just as shooting plastic in a former military facility or fishing for a “man who went over board” (thank you to the entire rescue team!) to being accepted in the inner circle of #balticdipping… If you get a chance to attend a future gathering get up and go there. You won´t regret it. Meeting new and old friends can (although not necessarily) change your perspective towards a topic. Plus teaming up with others can be a new creative inspiration.

One last important thing that I truly want to mention here:

Thank you, Boris, for making us get up at half past four am to experience the difference of light that the dawning of a new day provides. I do remember this with every sunrise I see now. (And should you want to redo it you might want to get up on top of the citadel´s tower. If this is open at 2 am on a full-moon Saturday night it might as well be open early in the morning…)

I want to thank every single one who was there that weekend for simply being there and making it special:

Boris and Wiveka, Kalle and Birk, Shelly and Sierra, Ian (!) and David and David and Stefan and Kristina and Christoffer!

~ Stefan (@HerrSM)

HerrSM

A Non-Belgian living in Hamburg, Germany. Curiosity-driven and mostly to be found on tiny adventures and great journeys.