I have to start my reflections on the photo challenge that Shelly presented on December 6th by being frank and tell you the truth: I don’t like writing about my pictures. I believe strongly that my pictures should be able to stand by themselves. Words are much stronger then pictures and we’re trained to take in …
Reflections on a different kind of photo challenge Read More »
I read an article on The Photographers blog about avoiding chasing trends in photography and the lesson they were trying to teach is, in my view, summed up by a quote by Gregory Heisler, “shoot the photos you can’t help but shoot.” Reading this article made me think that toy-photography is just a trend; a trend …
This time of the year it’s almost impossible not to think about the fact that the year is coming to an end with Christmas right around the corner and the New Year quickly following. This time of the year inspires me think about new possibilities, maybe even more this year because I have, like all of us …
In the genre of still life photography we can control everything. We can control the light, the angle, the composition, the motive, what fits in the frame and not. That is one of the things I like about the genre. But the ability to control everything can make me feel a bit predictable as a …
In Shelly’s post “The problems with Chima” she pointed out that there is a benefit, for us as still life photographers, to work with toys that have a well-known back-story. We can use them as symbols and let the back-story work for us in the picture. I try to do that in most of my …
I make pictures to explore the world and in some ways my photographs make me see the world through different eyes. But as I have confessed earlier I can’t make fiction, I can only retell stories I know or have heard of, and that is why the myths are so important in my photography. Artists have always …
I have read Shelly’s excellent post “Violence in Toy Photography” several times and thought it through, and I agree. I don’t want to see more violence, toys splattering in blood, or decapitating of heads. I stand in Shelly’s corner when she says that We have the power to change our world, lets start acting like …
I always think it’s easier to make pictures if I have an idea. If I have an idea for a picture, I usually try to make a mockup of the picture before I go out and then try to make the actual photograph. I enjoy visualizing the idea, trying angles and the setup before I …
I know that we already had a vote for the next location for the US toy-photo-safari, and we came up with Chicago as the winner (60/40). I really like Chicago, but after a week in Seattle with Shelly as my host, I have to say that you might want to reconcider and put your vote on Seattle …
The best part of this already amazing week was the opportunity to meet other photographers, work together and share the fun of photographing toys. Yesterday Shelly and I hosted a toy photography workshop at the Bryan Ohno Gallery in Seattle with a group of curious photographers.
