about me
I seem to take a lot of photographs of toys. I also like messing about with light.
As you may have noticed I have a fondness for taking photos of LEGO, and handily some people seem to like the results. My work has been published in national newspapers in the UK, seen on BBC television, and featured in many magazines all over the world with subjects as diverse as German political culture and Brazilian business news. My photos have been featured on many blogs and websites as well as being used in university art courses.
I do this mostly for fun, and to meet exciting, lovely people (yes, I'm talking about you).
You will also find me on Facebook, Flickr and Twitter.
frequently asked questions
- Where were you born/do you live?
- Do you really make a living taking photographs of LEGO?
- How did you get started with photography?
- How much LEGO do you own?
- What camera/lenses do you use?
- What gave you the idea to recreate classic photographs with LEGO?
- Who are your favorite photographers?
- Did you study photography at college/university?
- What's with all the Star Wars stuff?
I was born, and still live in the West Midlands, England.
Sadly not. I work as a video games programmer for a proper job. Taking photographs of toys is just a hobby.
I started taking photography seriously in late 2006 when I upgraded my compact camera to something more substantial (a Fuji 9500). Six months after that I upgraded to a real DSLR after discovering that macro photography was what I was interested in.
A fair amount, but I'm sure it's not as much as people think! I have six tool boxes full of LEGO bricks (all sorted by colour or quick access). Because a lot of my work is based on minifigures, I keep those organised separately in another box. I have the pieces to make about 400 minifigures! (I've just counted them, that was more than I thought). I'm always on the lookout for new hairstyles or interesting props to add to my collection.
All of my 'Classics' series were taken with a Nikon D200 DSLR and Nikkor 105mm macro lens. These days I use a Nikon D800 DSLR with either a Sigma 24mm, Nikkor 60mm, or Nikkor 105mm macro lens and Nikon SB-800 flashes.
The first couple of classic photographs I took came about purely from mixing a couple of my hobbies, LEGO and the history of photography. I enjoyed not only the taking of the photographs, but researching classic images and the stories behind them, the things most people wouldn't generally know. Now I enjoy the fact that I'm bringing classic photographs and photographers to a new audience through my LEGO recreations, and hopefully that might get a few more people interested in finding out more about some of the world's great photographers.
Currently Ansel Adams, Steve McCurry and Henri Cartier-Bresson, but I get inspiration from so many photographers.
No, I studied chemistry at university a long time ago. I don't use it as much as you'd think. I have no qualifications in art or photography.
I was born in the 1970s, so I grew up with Star Wars (and LEGO, of course). Like many boys born around that time, I'm still a massive Star Wars geek, and I love taking photos of the LEGO Star Wars sets. It's like the two best things combined.