Inspire in 300 – Chris Nitz

Inspire in 300 is a guest blog series where creative photographers share who and/or what inspires their photography, and in at least 300 words.

I can admit that I never grew up. I still play with LEGO’s, I collect Kidrobot and Funco figures, and Toys-R-Us is still my favorite place to shop. Travelling means picking out a handful of figures to bring along with me and then figuring out how and where to use them in my travels. I photograph toys and it makes me happy with every click of the shutter.

For me, toys bring on a life of their own thanks to my own childhood memories and the current pop culture. I see this life whenever I hang my art at a show and a parent and child laugh as they look at it. These smiles and giggles are what fuel me to keep going, to push my work in new directions, and to strive harder at creating more unique scenes.

There is a unique challenge in bringing life to an inanimate object. A LEGO Minifig is just some plastic parts, but put together and they make something we can associate with in real-life. It is playing off this recognition and using life experiences that make this so much fun. Sure, I may not be shooting epic sunsets or going crazy with portraits, but I can make a kid laugh when they are having a crappy day. That, as many parents can attest to, is both magical and contagious.

Take time out of your hectic life to embrace that little child inside you. We spend our young years yearning to be adults and then our adult years remembering the great times we had as a kid. Laughter is good for everyone. As longs as I can help make people smile, I will continue to do what I enjoy: photographing toys!

Chris Nitz