This Mercedes AMG FT3 on a car hauler looks like a lot of fun. It’s just a Hot Wheels toy but I love it. This was a challenge I accepted from a friend. Make a photograph in five minutes or less. Spend no more than one minute in post. …

Time for some #toyphotography mixed with some aiart — I used Adobe Firefly to create the background and my Fuji X100V to photograph the two Hotwheels cars (Tesla Roadsters.) It’s mostly just a grab shot but it was fun in any event. It’s clearly not reel but at first glance it kind of looks like it could be. Tons of fun with such small toys. Remember, toys are joy.

“Optimism and hope relate to how we think and feel about the future. If we do believe that things will work out for the best, all the setbacks become easier to deal with,” — Michael J. Fox In today’s world, anger and tribalism seem to dominate, which poses a challenge…

Social media has made everyone a critic of everything. The word “critic” used to mean something important but today it’s largely been replaced with the word “troll.” I am writing this piece because I am just sick and tired of all the trolls who have nothing better to do with…

Photographers and other artists… If you’re worried about being replaced by AI, that tells me that you have allowed your work to become a commodity. Because if your work is a cliche or so mundane, so without feeling — that it can be that easily replaced by something drawn in…

#ToyPhotography at 1/64 Scale I’ve done toy photography at 1/6 scale, 1/10 scale and 1/12 scale. Now all the way down to true miniatures — 1/64 scale. It’s fun and it’s wild but it’s harder than it looks because posing the tiny little characters is like setting up 1000 dominoes. Make one mistake and it all comes crashing down. I have a guy tagging the building. The dude coming out to see what the tagger is doing is not impressed. There’s a Tesla and a motorcycle in the parking lot.

I’ve been thinking lately about the WHY — it’s always the most important question. People don’t really care WHAT you do — they care WHY you do it. Motivation is the single biggest driver in all our endeavors, including art. So why — why do you share your images? Have…

Using my Fuji X100V, I made another 1/64 scale toy photograph. I have a new set I combined with a larger 1/10 scale set and it works. I did the color grade in BorisFX Optics. I was trying to mimic a comic book look. Two light sources one main one fill — Lume Cube Panel Pros — mounted to Platypod Elbows with Super Clamps attached to two Platypods as base.

I use a lot of gear from Platypod in my toy, tabletop, macro and product photography. I am honored to be an ambassador for Platypod as a member of their Platypod Pro team. I rarely do stuff like this but I am so excited that I need to share their new product. It’s a new handle that will be of help to anyone who does the kind of work I do plus invaluable to vloggers. The Kickstarter gets going today at 1PM EST. The link is Platypod® Handle — Vlogger’s Grip / Camera Riser by Larry Tiefenbrunn — Kickstarter