Each month, we pick a LEGO photographer and share some of their work and a little about themselves. This month, we put the spotlight on thebrickdwarf!

My name is Thomas. I’m the father of three kids. I live in the countryside in Finland and work as a nurse.

I’ve been interested in photography for many years and started to take pictures of Lego 2017, but it’s since early 2020 that I’ve been most active.

I like fantasy, mythology, history, lord of the rings and such, and in particular, I like dwarfs. I’m not sure exactly why I like dwarfs this much but I’ve always done so ever since I read The Hobbit as a child. So when I first started my Instagram account my intention was to mainly take pictures of Dwarves, but as time went by and I looked at other people’s pictures of LEGO, I felt more and more that I did not want to limit myself.

I get new ideas for pictures almost every day, much more than I have time to take. I write them all down and the list is getting quite long.

Sometimes I come up with a short story and try to take a picture of it. Sometimes it’s the other way around, I take a picture and then a short story revolves around that.

Most of my pictures are made with only one or a few minifigures and sometimes some other LEGO elements, like a boat or a simple build. But sometimes I’m trying to photograph larger builds.

I take most of my pictures outdoors, I live close by the forest and the sea is near so there’s plenty of great places to take pictures.

What I really like about taking pictures in nature is that the conditions are always changing, not only from season to season but even from day to day. This means I don’t have full control over the end result. When I go out to take a picture I don’t know exactly how it will turn out.

Sometimes I might be outside doing something else and I see a spot and I get an idea for how I might take a photo there.

One of the most important lessons I’ve learned doing this is how important it is to put down that extra time posing the minifigures or LEGO elements and also how I place and angle the camera. Turning a minifigure just slightly, or moving an arm or leg a little, can make a huge impact on the final image and how the situation in the picture is perceived. For example, does it look like two minifigures have eye contact or not.