Artist and photographer Michael Paul Smith has spent hours upon hours photographing one special town that he holds very dear to his heart. There is something that always drew him to it, and the images he created are simple, but stunning. They glow with small-town charm and innocence, reminiscent of days and decades past.
The town he photographs is quaint and beautiful.
It’s like each picture tells a story of how life used to be in the United States
It’s like each picture tells a story of how life used to be in the United States
There’s not much going on in these pictures, but it’s obvious that this town is nothing but charm
But, as it turns out, also not real
Michael builds custom miniature models and sets, meticulously crafting every detail
Then, the 60 year-old photographer creates the hyper-realistic images
If you didn’t know any better, you might think these are vintage photos of a town from a few decades ago…
And NOT the extremely small models this man built
He started building these models as an exercise. He wanted to practice his craft and also photography
He never imagined it would be a “dream-like reconstruction” of the town he grew up in
To Michael, this is what quintessential America looked like when he was a kid
It is absolutely beautiful
It is absolutely beautiful
If “ElginPark” were a real town, I would love to live there
He creates the scenes by setting up Danbury Mint and Franklin Mint die cast autos and trucks in front of his models on card tables
Then, he uses the surrounding scenery to make the backgrounds for the photos
The perspective has to be JUST right…
Usually the resulting photos are completely convincing
Even when you know what’s going on behind the scenes
Even when you know what’s going on behind the scenes
It’s all an illusion
But Michael is able to make an incredibly convincing one
His selfies aren’t part of the official photo series, but I think they just add to the charm of his work
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