An homage to chickens

Hello, my name is Melli, and I live in the beautiful Altmühl Valley in Bavaria, Germany. I love photography and have been doing so for several years, but it was only last year that I got into toy photography.

How it all began

I read an article in Photo Weekly magazine about Mitchel Wu and his toy photography. I was so excited that I wanted to give it a try. It seemed like a perfect fit because during Advent I create daily stories, puzzles, or tasks for my family and friends. I share these through status updates on WhatsApp. Sort of like a “fun Advent calendar.”

This year I grabbed two decorative chickens and sent them off on a grand adventure. Two chickens who want to celebrate Christmas in the legendary Christmas village. I had them embark on an adventurous journey that I posted in MeWe under the hashtag: #countdownchristmas.

I had a lot of fun with this project but the chickens were too big and heavy to be used in more ambitious “action” photos. While the story ended at Christmas, my joy for toy photography continued. At the same time I was creating my advent calendar I discovered this website and its community on the MeWe platform. Receiving feedback and comments on my posts has motivated me to continue. But how?

I need a plan

Of course the story of my two adventurous chickens should continue. The original Advent story quickly became Season 1 of their adventures. What was important now was a common thread like in a series, with the main themes being the seasons. However, I couldn’t find any suitable, cute-looking chicken figures to buy so I made some out of modeling clay. This is when I came up with my idea for three part challenge.

I’ll make the figures and the dioramas myself.
I only buy basic materials like paint, glue, modeling clay, etc.
I only use things I already have or can borrow from friends.

Because I liked the idea of the Toy Photographer’s Bingo Challenge, I wanted to align the story with the new bingo prompts. I had my chickens return to their home coop (with a stolen giant egg) and incubate the giant egg until a dinosaur hatches. From here the story will be based on the 2025 bingo prompts which is where Season 2 begins. The finished bingo card will be a photo story, read line by line from left to right.

The second season starts when the two chickens bring the little dinosaur back to his family. With the help of a treasure map, they embark on an adventurous journey. Their goals is to find the “Forgotten Valley.” This is where dinosaurs live and Dinki, the little dinosaur, will find his family and satisfy the prompt: once upon a time. Then my two protagonists, Fanny and Honey, will make their way back home, wistful but happy. I want to use the last prompt, “song title” as the inspiration for this image. Let’s see what I can think of.

What draws me to this type of photography?

I like that in toy photography every picture tells a story. When I string images together into a longer story, then I’m also a writer in a way. I enjoy exploring my imagination . Plus creativity is a fun and affordable hobby for me. While action figures, Lego figures, and other commercially made toys are usually used for toy photography. I opted for self-made figures which I realized could be my “trademark.” It makes me happy when I can briefly captivate others and make them smile with my photos and stories.

My equipment

I use a Nikon Z7 camera,; often with a macro lens. For illumination, I use studio flashlights, video lights, or flash lamps as needed. I’ve set up a “photography area” in my basement and rarely photograph outside. My homemade figures are made of air-drying modeling clay. My photos are edited using Affinity Photo.

Why chickens?

For the past four years I’ve had garden chickens. This is something I never would have imagined for myself. But I’ve discovered that they are such funny, cheerful, and individual creatures. I simply love them. This photo story is my little homage to them.

Melli