Photographing A Town That Never Was: Michael Paul Smith’s Incredible Models

Nov 28, 2010 5 comments

Few people put so much time, effort and craftsmanship into a project that results in photos which are totally believable, as Michael Paul Smith. Sixty year old Michael creates realistic 1/24 scale models of an imaginary town from memories of his youth. His photos tell a story that takes you back to that time and place. “What started out as an exercise in model building and photography, ended up as a dream-like reconstruction of the town I grew up in. It's not an exact recreation, but it does capture the mood of my memories”, he says.

Elginpark-WinterStreet3

The photos that recreate this imaginary town of “Elgin Park” are believable not only because the backgrounds, lighting and subject are expertly integrated, but also because of the extensive and thoroughly researched details in each scene.

Michael sets his models up on a card table and populates it with cars from his extensive collection of Danbury Mint and Franklin Mint die cast autos and trucks. He places the scene near the street or in a parking lot and lines up the camera angle and horizon to perfectly match that of the model, getting the perspective just right. Michael also does night scenes, which are usually photographed inside his small apartment using a very simple lighting setup. He is also able to duplicate the moods of different weather conditions, seasons and times of day with streets wet from rain or curbs drifted with snow made from carefully applied baking soda.

You can read more about Michael Paul Smith and his work at Craftsmanship Museum. Visit his website Elgin Park and his Flickr gallery to view more photos.

The setup of the models that resulted in the above photo

Elginpark-WinterStreet2

Elginpark-WinterStreet1

More of his creation

Elginpark-Bungalow2

Elginpark-Bungalow6

Elginpark-Bungalow8

Elginpark-DivcoPic

Elginpark-DivcoScale

Elginpark-Elaines1

Elginpark-ElginSales2

Elginpark-ElginSales3

Elginpark-FreedomPA2

Elginpark1

Elginpark2

Elginpark3

Elginpark4

Elginpark-JandLSteel1

Elginpark-JandLSteel2

Elginpark-Lighting

Elginpark-Lighting2

Elginpark-NightSky1

Elginpark-NightSky2

Elginpark-Orbit1

Elginpark-SnowyTown1

Elginpark-SnowyTown2

Elginpark-Spartanette5

Elginpark-Superette

Elginpark-UsedCarLot1

Elginpark-UsedCarLot2

Elginpark-WashDry1

Comments

  1. I am in awe of the loving attention to detail that this beautiful work shows. I'm glad he has such happy memories of this imaginary place only he knows! :o)

    Rhyme Me a Smile

    ReplyDelete
  2. quite a mind and imagination..


    ReplyDelete
  3. Great work!!!
    Where does he get the vehicles?

    ReplyDelete

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