Every month, we pick a LEGO photographer active in our community and share some of their work and a little about themselves. This month we flight to Holland to meet thatleonardo!

Hoi iedereen! Hiii friends! My name is Mark Leonardo, aka @thatleonardo. I’m a student, musician, certified Dutch cheese boy, and of course, LEGO fanatic!

I’ve always loved LEGO, especially minifigures! But my hobby for combining photography with them, started during a middle school art project with an old hand-me-down compact camera. While the photos were… lets just say ’’a work in progress’’, it sparked a passion that reignited after my high school graduation, I finally had freedom!
So obviously, as any young adult would do: they take their minifigs on photo adventures through their garden and on travels.

I shared my photos with friends via WhatsApp, but a friend soon told me to download Instagram, one thing led to another… And now im sharing my work online, connecting me with this amazing brick photography community, full of genuine and kind people, lots of inspiration and creativity, and it still blows my mind that I get to be part of it now.

My photography is all about capturing beauty of everyday things with detailed, story-driven shots. I love creating intricate scenes that bring out emotion and imagination in a way that makes a fig feel realistic and alive. Since I’m also a musician, I love weaving music into my photos, but you’ll also find everything from Star Wars to pirates in my gallery.
My most cherished accomplishment is being able to meet several of you guys in real life (my dm’s are always open if you want to get in touch!).

Funny enough, the remark I hear most often when meeting, is that people think its fascinating that my works sometimes feature the most random stuff and places.
I believe as a photographer you have 3 eyes: two eyes to survey the normal world, and one special eye to see your own world. My world is to see things in a different perspective. A puddle can be an ocean, a bush can be a forest, a shoelace can be a snake… you decide what you want to capture in your world!

Until last year I was rockin my iPhone 7, a compact camera and an ancient iPad (don’t recommend). Now, I use a Sony camera with a macro lens.
For indoor shots a torchlight or Ulanzi light cube.

For practical effects I use stuff like a facial mister, a water spray, disco glitter pants, bubble blower… whatever I can steal- I mean… ‘borrow’, from my friends (who’s still wondering where their stuff went). Editing? On a student budget, I mostly go for free phone apps like PicsArt and Lightroom (color grading, or removing unwanted things like wires), or my laptop (doubles as a toaster whenever I fire up photoshop). Also, Capcut (free) for editing reels/videos.
Weirdly enough I shoot hand held, and I like keeping inconsistencies like dust and scratches, since I think that enhances the genuine feel of photographing LEGO.

Inspiration? Everywhere! Movies, fellow artists, posters, TV ads, Pinterest, whatever cool stuff I find. My photo process is pretty chaotic: what starts as one idea often ends up wildly different, and I love it that way.

The exclusive photo

The fun part!
I’ve been on a bit of a break, but this Instagram feature got me back into the game.

I wanted to create an epic action shot using some practical effects I’ve picked up over the past year. The main vibe is brotherhood. Some of my friends were going through a rough time, and I wanted to show that no matter how tough things get, friends are always there to back you up.

Lately, I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with puddles. It had just rained, and when it stopped, I rushed out to this perfect puddle by a clogged gutter on a quiet road. One of the joys of shooting outdoors? People walking their dogs always give me the funniest looks, like, “why is this guy crouched by a puddle with a camera photographing?”
A pro tip: watch out for unleashed dogs! They love sniffing out your minifigs. But I’ve learned not to feel awkward about encounters with strangers. Everyone I meet has been so supportive, and it’s fun chatting with dads who reminisce about old LEGO sets, kids asking about Ninjago, or grandmas who quiz me on my LEGO knowledge, (and yes, of course I’ve watched The LEGO Movie, is that even a question? SPACESHIP!!)

For this shot, I used a water spray and poured some water around the figures. When taking multiple photos, it’s possible to overlay the images, selecting carefully which parts of specific shots are to kept in the final image.
Then some simple colour grading and tada! I normally try to include behind-the-scenes shots on my page, but in this special post, I included some more bts photos, where you can see my photo setup, a photo of me pouring water, a bts of how I put the figures together with patafix, and my travel box for minifigs.

Hopefully, this all gives you a little inspiration. Now silly, don’t linger around, go out and shoot, and have FUN!