tobias m. schiel
After posting an action figure sequence from 2021, here’s a brand new contribution for the lens-artists’ challenge telling a story. Showing K2-SO in the middle of an activity (enigmatic as it may be) implies that there was a ‘before’ and there will be an ‘after’ – a story.
When I photograph toys, it’s mostly with a story in mind. So when I learned the lens-artists’ challenge was about telling a story, I just had to go through my archives. Skimming through my toy stories, I found that this Spidey sequence (2021) is one of my favorites. It’s short, sweet and consistent; it invites interpretation, and it’s about things that mean a lot to me: Jazz, narratives, and dancing. Enjoy this throwback … and let the good times roll!
Cotentin, France, May 2023. – At first it did not seem like there was much to see, or photograph. But then we started reconstructing this castle in our minds, trying to figure what it originally was meant to be: a fortification built to defend its inhabitants, then a monument to their wealth. Until the roof came tumbling down on a table already set for a wedding dinner.
As for the photography, I remembered I used to like these bright, cloudy skies because they allow me to work with negative space. So I investigated the interaction of architecture and picture plane a bit, which for me is always a very satisfying way of connecting with the ‘spacial meaning’ of built structures.
Granville, France, 2023
Küppersmühle, an industrial mill in the port of Duisburg, Germany, has been converted into a museum. It now displays a great collection of modern and contemporary art. But I never really get to enjoy the art in full because the museum now features two beautiful staircases which are themselves works of art – and they are very distracting!
With some of the old silos still standing, you get a strong industrial vibe while the building also frames the art nicely.
But I compulsively return to the stairs…
The architecture just lends itself to this kind of abstract photography I so much like – using built space for compositions within the rectangualr space of the picture. And I think the pictures lend themselves to contributing to Anne’s wonderful lens artists challenge #251: Buildings and Other Structures. Oh, and here’s one other structure, a work of art nicely interacting with the architecture.
This backlit gate is part of a larger series, and it is also my entry for this week’s lens-artists challenge.
The light from the desk lamp through a window of one of the miniature façades I use for my miniature toy photography: Glowing moments like these provide for good pictures but I also take them as proof that even with staged photos, there are moments that are unrepeatable (or very hard to reproduce). This is an enty for the lens-artists’ photo challenge #244 – only one ‘glowing moment’ cause this kind of photography is very slow.
This Cadillac is no longer than 6.3 cm (or roughly 2 1/2 inches), and the white wall was cut from a cardboard box. I added a wooden roof and paper flagstones … and the miniature dog.
Continue reading “Lucky Dog”
Although I was sure about the sign pointing toward some kind of food joint, and the construction of its lighting, I had no idea what the sign should actually say. Then I remembered a song by Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials, Chicken, gravy and biscuits – and I had it!
There was Jo’s question about an arrest in the last post, and there was also a prompt to do a noir photo in the toy photographers’ community so I tried my hand at some ‘neo noir’. I wanted to see if noir, which we mostly associate with black-and-white, also works in color. And though this picture was motivated by Jo’s question, I am afraid we’re none the wiser. I chose the mystery.
Finishing The Zone in 2019, did not mean I was done. I still feel drawn to this kind of scene (and scenery). And when I saw Annabelle Amoros’ film Area 51, Nevada, USA in a museum, it clicked. I was intrigued even though the movie has its disconcerting moments. I have been taking its imagery as a departure point for a couple of pictures – mostly working from memory to capture the atmosphere in 1/87 scale.
empire of lights 