To Thine Own Self Be True
When I first began blogging, it was just myself and my friend Boris. Then we invited one of the most influential toy photographers of all time to join us: Avanaut. We invited Vesa (his given name) to join us because we will be putting on a group show of toy [photography in 2015. It is very hard on my ego to share a blog and a gallery with Avanaut. Vesa is a meticulous photographer who’s attention to detail is both humbling and intimidating.
I have never shied away from a challenge and this one is no different. I like 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 one of my major influences.
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
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