Plasticville Lives! - The photos of Michael Paul Smith

Photographer and hobbyist Michael Paul Smith has a fascinating approach to combining his interests.  He sets up elaborate period dioramas depicting midcentury roadside life.  But what makes his work so brilliant is the clever way he photographs his 1/24 scale models outdoors against real backdrops, to make images so believeable you have to rub your eyes for a moment to figure out if what you are looking at is a model or not. No 21st century pixel-pushing for him.  He does all his wizardry in-camera. His photos of snowbound Edsels with period billboards in the background are dreamy and evocative, as are his night scenes with rainslick, deserted streetscapes.  His sense of composition, scale, and perspective are spot on.  As someone who grew up with a train layout in his basement and who has built scale models his whole life, the Automobiliac gives a hearty thumbs up to Mr. Smith's work!  Click here to visit his mind boggling Flickr Stream!

Photo Credit: Michael Paul Smith.