“Why are you taking pics of Lego?” Ha, easy one, right? Well…is it?

Many people who I asked this question either looked irritated not knowing what to say (no, that´s not a trick question) or they promptly replied “For the fun of it, yeah”.

The other day I was asked this simple question at a friend´s birthday party. The man who asked was the owner of a well-known and famous diner. Running a diner may sound like a lot of fun but I think it´s a very hard business. I do respect what he does so I thought he deserved a serious answer.

I told him that shooting Lego is what keeps me from going insane. Insane? Ok, further back.

Some years ago I was looking for some kind of creative outlet to distract my mind from the job I had then. About the same time I came across this little thing called Instagram and much to my surprise found out that there were people taking pics of ….Lego. Pics of toys I had played with as a kid, too. This was something so dear to me, so connected to a happy childhood, memories connected to my father´s step parents in Denmark, something I knew. Yet something so new. The pictures I found on IG were not just pictures of collections (“look here, do you have this, too?”) but ones that brought the toys to life! I still had some Lego from childhood and was instantly back from my own dark ages and attracted to the new sets. And holy moly- how had it all changed from the spacemen and Fabulandias I knew to today´s sets..

So not only did I find my way back to Lego, I really fell in love with taking pics of it. Thinking of little moments in the lives of the mini figures, building up scenes they may get caught in or simply taking them places one isn’t supposed to find a Lego guy in. It´s a great outlet for creative ideas.

Another important aspect of this hobby to me is that I have met many lovely folks. Everyday people who throw themselves on the floor, climb on trees or jump into in basements (!) just to get a certain image they have in mind of a piece of plastic. I would´t consider myself a very social person and I was more than a little surprised by the great respect and comradery within this community. If there´s a toy photo meet-up it simply doesn´t matter whether you know someone attending or not; you simply go there and have a good time.

To me taking pictures of Lego (with a mobile phone or a DSLR) has been a fantastic journey. From my first attempts (never had an idea of photography before) to one of my latest pics that even made it to the BricksCulture magazine, it´s been an interesting ride. This hobby is always teaching me new things about creativity, photography, patience and people. I found out that taking pics of Lego is not a strange thing to do but a perfect normal way to spend my time.

So, why am I taking pictures of Lego? Because it´s good for me.

-Stefan/ @herrsm

one-of-my-first-lego-pics

“One of my first LEGO photos…”

and-one-of-my-latest-coffee-party

“…and one of my latest photos.”

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