Let me start at the beginning…
I have had a “proper” camera for around 2 years. I have always loved LEGO but never thought I was creative enough to build MOC´s and had very few sets.
Cue.
Lockdown in March 2020.
And suddenly I had plenty of time on my hands.
I discovered people using LEGO in their photography.
This started a chain reaction that quickly included many LEGO orders.
Me visiting a toy shop at every possible opportunity.
And a questionably slight obsession with LEGO Photography developed.
Sometime around Christmas I started following Stuck in Plastic on Instagram.
And I did start visiting their website for articles to read.
I thought their posts and reviews were super and before I knew it, I was seeing images from the Winter Workshop being shared and was immediately intrigued.
Fast Forward
Fast forward a few weeks and the notice of the Spring workshops was posted.
Was I good enough?
Could I keep up with the standards of the other guys and gals attending?
Could I deliver that many shots in a short amount of time?
Did I even have enough LEGO to keep up with the others who have been doing this much longer?
After a few hours of asking myself those exact questions and a little push from Boris in the right direction, I signed up!
BEST DECISION EVER !!!
Next up came the magical mystical envelope that was to be kept sealed until the day before the workshop. My husband had to hide it from me as the excitement of wanting to know what was inside was killing me but it was SO worth the wait!
Friday Night Fever
Roll on Friday night for the meet & greet and much awaiting envelope opening.
A few hours before I was super nervous.
Questioning once again what I had gotten myself into.
But I distracted myself by getting ready and setting up on the dining room table.
Laptop and charger.
Second monitor.
A sufficient supply of LEGO.
Mandatory cup of tea with a beer chilling in the fridge.
Snacks and fully charged camera batteries and lights.
Within minutes of joining the call, the nerves started to subside.
And once we got underway with the first task, the nerves disappeared completely.
And I felt like I was in safe hands.
3 warm-up tasks down, I went to bed raring to go for the workshop the next morning.
The next morning
Up bright and early, we started all with more new activities. Most of the participants have plenty of experience with taking photos with LEGO, but Boris threw us a curveball and sent us all Playmobil and a 3D printed mystical character to mix up the sessions.
Don´t panic, we got LEGO too :P
Once we all settled down with steaming mugs of tea and coffee, off we went.
All activities challenged each of us to work independently. To create the required shots but also work as a team creating a consistent story that should be recognised throughout the images as well as connecting our images together in the Play Mo Bil Grid. Being that we were in several different countries with different time zones, this was certainly interesting but we all settled into the rhythm quickly.
Almost 6 hours later, many cups of tea, brain completely fried.
Yet I can say with every confidence it was 100% worth signing up.
And I am so glad I took the plunge.
No comfort zone
My comfort zone was shattered and shattered again, but in a great and well supported way. It was the first time I had worked with a deadline. And it is amazing what you can push yourself to create with the clock ticking in the background. At no point did I feel that I wasn’t good enough to be there. Every question was answered and tips and tricks were shared when someone got themselves in a pickle.
Personally, I can see how much my images improved from activity 1 through to the last. And I am incredibly proud of what we all achieved in a relatively short amount of time.
This for sure has inspired me to push myself further.
Research new techniques.
Practice the ones I know and most importantly, build more LEGO!
If there is anyone out there, with the will to join up but you have any self doubt or are unsure, don’t be.
Sign up.
Join the fun.
And experience a few hours with a super bunch of like minded people!
I am writing this blog post a little sad that our session is already over. But I am incredibly proud of what I have achieved over this workshop and I cannot wait to be able to participate again in a future workshop. And maybe even meet some of my workshop mates once the world has returned to normal.
I hope you enjoyed this post from a newbie´s perspective as I get the pleasure of meeting some of you in future workshops.
And then there was me as Master Story Teller
Head on over to the previous blog post to see our my creative story writing. And our team photography that was created in just 90 minutes!
I would like to say a massive thank you. Thanks to Boris, Stefan, Natasja, Bev, Maelick and Chris from the SiP team for allowing me to come on this journey with you all.
Can I come back already? :P
Claudia
Big fan of photography that became entwined with a love of Lego during lockdown 2020. Now there’s no turning back!
