There’s a fantastic photography book that’s just been published by Chronicle Books called LEGO In Focus. Please note though, I am a little biased because one of the photos in that book is by me.
That’s right I took a photo that has been published in an official LEGO book. I thought I should write a quick blog post to talk about that. Because If I’m not going to write about that on here then what am I going to write about!
A vibrant and adventurous LEGO ® photography book that sees the world in LEGO bricks and minifigures. LEGO ® In Focus celebrates the boundless creativity of LEGO play through stunning brick and minifigure photography. Look through the lens of 30 toy photographers as they imagine the world from a LEGO point of view. This distinctive collection from creators across the globe explores minifigure-sized perspectives on nature, urban life, travel and adventure, and much more.
How it Started
Back in 2021 when I was part of the Brickcentral mod team our esteemed leader (BC’s Lego ambassador, Fourbrickstall) was approached by LEGO and Chronicle Books about Brickcentral contributing towards a photography book (in conjunction with Stuck In Plastic).
This was of course a very exciting opportunity. The mod team and some community members were invited to be part of the project. The team started work on planning their work for the book and FBT worked hard with Chronicle and LEGO to agree the scope/theme etc.
Unfortunately as the project started to take shape (the theme of the book was loosely “LEGO in our world”) I did not feel able to join in. The timescales were tight for me, the theme lent itself towards shooting outdoors (something I’m less comfortable with) and I was very busy with work. I didn’t feel up to it so I dropped out and wished the team well.
Anyway, several months later FBT reached out to me to encourage me to submit a few photos, a lot of the things I was initially worried about taking my time had come and gone, so I said yes. I came up with two ideas and set out to shoot them both on the one weekend that I had free before the deadline. At the end of that weekend I had two photos and sent them off to Fourbrickstall (who also kindly helped me with the edit).
I want to say a massive thanks to Brickcentral and specifically Fourbrickstall for making this happen.
What Next?
After the shoot there was not much else for me to do but wait to see if one of my photos would make it into the book. I submitted a caption and a short bio and a few other admin type tasks.
But at this point all the real work was with Chronicle, LEGO and the respective ambassadors of Brickcentral & Stuck In Plastic. A couple of months after submitting my photos I was informed one of my pics had indeed made the cut. A truly surreal thing to hear and I don’t think I fully believed it. At least not until the release approached someone told me they had seen a final copy and it was in there.
The Book
To be very clear, I am a very small part of this book so I do not want to sound too boastful… but I am still very proud to contribute my small part!
Just over a year after taking the photo I now have the book in hand. A beautiful coffee table hardback chock full of amazing LEGO photos. In an age where photos are mostly consumed digitally it’s amazing to see these photos IRL, printed in such a deluxe format.
Having my work displayed in this way alongside the work of my friends from Brickcentral and others in the community means a lot to me. For so long I was quite embarrassed about this hobby, I kept it to myself and treat it like a secret but over the last few years I have learned to embrace it a little more. Now having one of my photos utilised in such a way provides a weird sense of validation and I am genuinely proud of this achievement. But I am also super grateful for the opportunity.
I want to say a massive Thanks to Brickcentral and specifically Fourbrickstall for making this happen.
The Photos
I’m not going to share the actual photo that made the cut here. If you want to see that then you will have to buy the book.
You can see a sneak peak of it in some of the images of the book I’ve shared on this post. And one of the photos in this post is very close to the final submission
First, here is the one that didn’t make it.
The Brickcentral team really wanted to focus on more than just a single minifig. The plan was to include a small build too. So I imagined a construction site with a roadworks sign being misinterpreted.
The photo did not come out as well as I had hoped. The joke was not as clear (or as funny!) as I wanted and it just didn’t pop like I had hoped.
As for the photo that did make the cut? I decided to do an updated version of this old shot I took with my mobile.
This time I headed to a quiet train station with all my gear while also making sure the train line was going to be inactive while I was there.
The builds I added to the shot were very simple, just a seat and a newspaper dispenser. Having these extra elements hopefully help merge the LEGO world with ours a little more. Below is an alternative take of the photo that did go into the book.
Finally
My favourite part of this book is the variety of photographers featured and the fun mix of ideas people came up with for their shots. I especially love the photos by Joschka Vanderlucht and YC_solo whose work I already liked but their photos in the book still surprised me. There are many, many fantastic shots here though. I found myself inspired to try new things by many of the shots. If you get a chance I implore you to check out this book not for my photo but for the fantastic work by the BC & SiP communities.
FREETHEFIGURES 
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