When this blog started it was party of two, just Me2 and myself. Then we invited Avanaut to join us a few months ago for a variety of reasons, our upcoming group show for one. But let’s be clear, it is very hard on my ego to be sharing a blog with Avanaut. After his post yesterday that revealed the level of detail he is willing to explore to capture a photo, this was both humbling and intimidating.
I have never shied away from a challenge and this one is no different. I like that fact that Avanaut keeps the bar raised high; it keeps me reaching and striving for my own version of an incredible photograph. I will continue to push myself so that in my own eyes, we stand on equal footing.
I know I have come along way since I started on my own journey several years ago as a toy photographer. When I first ran across Avanaut’s work I didn’t even know what toy photography was. I was merely a distant admirer in awe of what he was able to accomplish with forced perspective, Lego and some baking powder. It makes my head spin a little to know that in just a few months I will be sharing wall space in a gallery with one of the people who has been a major influence.
Will my work be able to stand up to the inevitable comparison? Probably not, but I am not worried. We are each on our own journey that makes sense for our individual needs; and this is how it should be. Avanaut strives to capture a specific world, to bring a beloved movie to life, to recreate and understand that world in all its complexity. While I am on a journey to discover the world I live in. I want to understand my own humanity and I seem to have found the perfect vehicle in the lowly Lego mini figure.
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” ~ William Shakespeare
~ xxsjc
If you are new to Stuck in Plastic, please take a moment and look around; I hope you will like what you find. If you are already a fan of Stuck in Plastic, thank you for your continued support!
Your work will stand up because it’s different. One of the things I most like about all three of you on this site is the different subjects and styles you represent. I hope you all have a happy holiday season and an awesome New Year! Enjoy your travels, wherever you go!
Thank you Lyn! I think you have nailed it exactly. We each approach our subjects with such different styles and intent that there is very little room for direct comparison. It is still scary. 😮
I hope you are having a wonderful Chanukah. Happy New Year!
I agree with Lyn: the main subject on this site is toy photography. To that everyone has an own way of approaching.
I´m so happy I signed in for the book swapping. The only “rules” given were “a book” and “twelve best photos from 2014”. (At least that´s how I understood it, not too sure though.)
What I´m looking at now are three completely different books. The all have different formats, different layouts, different fonts, printed on different papers. And the photographic content is just as different. What a beautiful variety. Guessing this wouldn´t have been half as exciting if we´d all picked the same books and only added our own pictures (ok, there´d still be a difference but I think you´ll get the point). To me these different books are a source of inspiration. Not that I want to copy anything but compare my work and my view to those of others. To me that´s an important aspect of becoming creative and I would like to thank You, Shelly and Me2, for having started it all.
So don´t be intimidated by other´s work. Be encouraged and go on walking your way!
(What I really want to know btw:
How many people took part in the book exchange?
Next year I´d like to trade more books with some fellows on here as it´s telling so much more about people´s views and work than “only” in a digital way.)
Happy holidays to all, wherever you may be…
Thank you HerrK for your kind words. I am very glad you took the plunge and participated in this challenge. The pay off is in all the books together as you have found out. I hope we will do this again!
I will be posting a wrap up blog post regarding the photo exchange soon with stats on who participated.
Best wishes to you this holiday season!