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How do you choose the toys you photograph?

Shelly - 14 Comments

This past weekend I meet up with some local toy photographers for an afternoon of companionship, conversation and photography. As I was looking around at my friends hard at work, I was struck by the variety of toys they had brought along as subjects. There were dinosaurs, Star Wars action figures, Bratz dolls, LEGO mini figures, custom figures, anime figures, and plenty more I couldn’t identify. Which brings me to my question – how do you choose the toys you photograph?

Continue reading “How do you choose the toys you photograph?”

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Designing Weird, a review of set 75154: TIE Striker

Avanaut - 5 Comments

In science fiction science is, well, fiction: the laws of physics can be put aside and substitute them with whatever fits the story. In Star Wars this means, among other things, spaceships with atmospheric flight dynamics in the vacuum of space. The X-wings fly like Spitfires, even the explosions spew flames and debris in the direction of airflow – which does not exist in space. Continue reading “Designing Weird, a review of set 75154: TIE Striker”

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Connections Reflections

brett_wilson - 7 Comments

Things I’m learnding!

As we surge towards the end of another year, it seems appropriate that I reflect on this year as a member of the Stuck In Plastic collective. I’d best get it out of the way early, because if all goes to plan (which it rarely does) the next couple of posts from me should take care of themselves. Plus, if I don’t write it now, chances are I’ll forget. Continue reading “Connections Reflections”

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Moving from the abstract to the concrete

Shelly - 8 Comments

I have raised my kids within the Montessori system of education which believes in the natural progression of learning that moves from the concrete to abstract. This concept is defined by the children first working with physical objects like wooden blocks and beads that represent abstract concepts like the number system and mathematical equations. Continue reading “Moving from the abstract to the concrete”

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Portrait vs Poor Trait

brett_wilson - 17 Comments

Is it a poor trait of the LEGO minifigures?

It was noted, as we were deciding which images to include in the next BricksCulture magazine article last Sunday/Monday (a bloody hard task I might add due to the sheer awesomeness of all the submissions), that the majority of the photos submitted were landscape format.

This got me thinking. Continue reading “Portrait vs Poor Trait”

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The ambiguity of stuff

brett_wilson - 12 Comments
End of shift on Endor

ambiguity

[am-bi-gyoo-i-tee]
noun
doubtfulness or uncertainty of meaning or intention

stuff
[stuhf]
noun
material to be worked upon or to be used in making something

Whilst fleshing out the next BricksCulture article about Star Wars, we touched on the subject of the Stormtroopers and their adoption by the LEGO photography community. These endearing characters have become a favourite amongst us as subject matters. Despite their faces being hidden behind their buckets, a raft of emotions can be portrayed with these much-loved characters. Continue reading “The ambiguity of stuff”

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Forced Perspective?

brett_wilson - 1 Comment
Peek-A-BB-Boo

Um, I think it’s just perspective when you’re lying in the dirt photographing toys?

The forced perspective technique sways our perception with the use of optical illusions to make objects appear larger, smaller, further away, or closer than they actually are. It manipulates perception through the use of scaled objects and the correlation between them and the vantage point of the camera. Continue reading “Forced Perspective?”

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Mussing’s on Community, Belonging and Toy Photography

Shelly - 10 Comments

In my G+ mentorship program we’re asked a daily question. These questions are designed to get us to think about our lives in new and different ways. I thought I would answer one of the questions that came up this week publicly since it has some relevance to recent events. Continue reading “Mussing’s on Community, Belonging and Toy Photography”

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