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miniature photography

Photographer shoots an abandoned building he made from Styrofoam and wood

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When it comes to amazing miniature photography, Felix Hernández is the man. He often builds his models from scratch using available materials. Although he’s had some works inspired by famous movies (like Star Wars or Back to the Future), this time he was inspired by the feeling of deep solitude.

Felix’s works range from fantasy-inspired to super realistic photos. This time, he went with the realistic look and chose a beach to be his studio. He built a miniature house using materials we can all get – Styrofoam, wood, cement, plus some glue and paint. And as always, I am impressed with the final result and the mood of his work.

Photographer recreates places from his dreams using only a few cheap materials

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Dreams can be an endless source of inspiration for artists, and photographer Vatsal Kataria turns his dreams into reality in a quite literal way. He recreates the places he visits in his dreams using nothing but a few basic materials. And then, with his camera and some post-processing, he creates a fantasy-like series of photos. Vatsal shares his dreams with the world, and he shared some details about his project with DIYP.

Photographer creates realistic locations for miniature photography on a budget

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We enjoy presenting you with creative photographers who shoot miniatures, make stuff on the budget, or take realistic photos of miniatures. Indian photographer Vatsal Kataria combines all three! First of all, he uses some cheap materials to build surroundings for his miniature photos. Then, he takes miniature photos that look as if they were made on location – and in reality, he doesn’t leave the studio.

He took his time to share some details behind his project, and how it all began in the first place.

Photographer recreates 20th century scenes from model cars

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Do you enjoy vintage photos from the mid-20th century? Photographer Michael Paul Smith has a vast collection of such photographs. They show the world as it was from the 1920s to 1960s – but they were all made using model cars and model buildings he makes himself. His photos are so masterfully done, you would never say those cars and houses aren’t real.

This photographer creates wildlife and underwater photos without leaving his studio

Do you dream of traveling the world and taking photos of wildlife all over the globe? And does it sometimes get you down if you can’t do it? Egyptian photographer Amr Elshamy has the same dream, but he turns it into a reality – without leaving his studio. He creates “wildlife and underwater photography” using toy models of animals, a minimal amount of gear and a couple of props. And the results are pretty cool.

Photographer recreates famous TV show scenes with model toy cars

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For those of us who grew up in the 80s, scenes like those above were pretty common to our TV screens. The Dukes of Hazzard, The A-Team, Knight Rider, and countless other shows would deliver us 30 minute chunks of the most amazing vehicular acrobatics we’d ever seen. These days, it would probably done with CGI, but there was something about those practical effects that makes them stand out.

One photographer not going the CG route is Felix Hernández. He’s proving that these same images can still be acquired practically. Although, it might not be the way you’d first think. Instead of full size vehicles, these images were created in the studio with miniatures. For those who follow Felix’s work, this probably doesn’t come as much surprise. Felix is a master of making the miniature look and feel real.

Go behind the scenes to see how this VW bus was shot in the snow

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The photography of Mexico based Felix Hernández is nothing short of remarkable. Felix specialises in turning dreams into reality, at least, photographically, and he does it in some absolutely amazing ways. Utilising an array of techniques including miniatures, dry ice and even cigarette smoke, his work shows some elaborate thinking.

In this video, we get see some of that process, and a look behind the scenes on how the image “Inner Trip” was made. Felix describes this image as “a journey to my inner self”, bringing yet another dreamy vision to life. Utilising miniature models, long exposure photography and some light painting, he sure seems to have had been on a great ride.

These photographers created an apocalyptic world in miniature

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Creating apocalyptic worlds isn’t an uncommon theme for many photographers. Usually, however, this creation is finalised in Photoshop. They’re often composited images, blended with some CG textures to give those last little touches. But what if you don’t want to do it in Photoshop? What if you want to shoot it for real?

That’s exactly what diorama artists Lori Nix and Kathleen Gerber have been doing for over a decade. The pair specialise in post-mankind miniature environments. Crumbling buildings, nature taking back what is hers. In this short documentary by filmmakers The Drawing Room we meet these two amazing artists and get some insight into their work and thought process.

US Marine photographer recreates iconic war photography with Star Wars action figures

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We just posted about Felix’s Sandtroopers project yesterday, but is it too soon to post another Star Wars miniature related project?  We don’t think so, so here’s a behind the scenes look into photographer Matthew Callahan’s essay, Galactic Warfighters.

As a US Marine, Matthew serves as a combat correspondent, giving him special insight into war photography that many of us will never be able to experience first hand.  In his Galactic Warfighters series, Matthew aims to humanise the faceless soldiers of the Star Wars universe by combining the worlds of science fiction with real world war photography scenes.

I Built This Miniature Photography Studio From The 1900s In Honor Of Old Photographers

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I spent 9 months working on the studio using hundreds meters of wood and lots of other materials like plastic, copper, paper etc.  I built more than 100 miniature objects all designed and built according to that era.

All the objects were made from scratch.  There were lots of challenges especially when I was doing the research.  I could find only few pictures from old studios all in white and black.

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