Welcome to my little blog about Toy Photography… mostly.
My name is Joseph Cowlishaw. I am a Toy Photographer. I enjoy Dual-Functionality and so most my toy photography has some aspect that makes it dual functional. I discovered Stereoscopic photography back in summer of 2019 and have been creating stereoscopic versions of my toy photography ever since. I am also a flute maker – so I wear many hats. This blog is mostly a place for my more in depth articles about behind the scenes and other aspects of photography but I also have connected my instagram feed so when I post – it shows up here too.
Recently, I have been working on different NFTs and love the idea of collectible digital art. I will be adding more content to this website in the future as I develop NFTs and other items related to Stereocopic Toy Photography.
Why Toys?
Well, that is a good question. I have always liked well designed toys. LEGO® is by far my favorite mainly because of the creativity that is necessarily applied when playing with these blocks. I especially am a fan of the LEGO® Minifigure in all their thousands of variations. There is a nostalgia that comes with toys that I find fascinating. It helps connect people on a more personal level relating back to when they were a kid. I also choose toys for my art because they are fun. I like to make people laugh and I have found toys to be a good medium that can bring on some good clean humor.
I have always loved photography as a hobby, but I never really learned how to do it that well until I stumbled upon toy photography on Instagram. I was hooked and thought I could do it just as well. I love small items, and therefore macro photography was already something I enjoyed thoroughly. Photographing LEGO® Minifigures was just like macro photography but I did not have to wait for insects or move around the lens as much. Toys are generally stationary (except for the windy days). I learned how to use my camera in a much more detailed way including all the modes that I didn’t bother with much before toy photography. I guess you can say toy photography was the catalyst to get me to buckle down and learn all the technical aspects of photography including f-stops, depth of field, manual focus lenses and anything else photography related. I am still learning every time I go out shooting which can be anytime with the portability of toys.
Thank you for taking the time to enjoy my photography and blog.