Photographing a Destroyed Home Diorama Using Dollhouse Supplies
For the photo above, titled “Dead Little Things,” I wanted to create a scene out of strictly dollhouse supplies. Inspired by many of the weather events that have occurred in recent years: tornados in Joplin and Oklahoma City, Hurricane Sandy and even Katrina.
I was struck by the indelible photos of homes destroyed in various ways that almost make them look fake, a physical upending of one’s life as defined by materialistic possessions.
I constructed the house in layers in order to create a realistic feel when it was “deconstructed”. The diorama itself is very shallow (about 4 feet deep and six feet wide). The lighting was the tricky part.
I wanted to create a very specific quality of light, late afternoon very warm beautiful and inviting. To do this, I used a video projector with colored gels and varying patterns of shadow and light areas. I then made several exposures or “passes” much like the old school film makers would capture the differing elements of their miniatures.
The sky was so large I had to build it at a separate location and then composite it in, the hardest part was shooting the two elements separately so that they line up perfectly. In total it took 7 months to create, three weeks of which was spent just getting the photography right.
About the author: Matthew Albanese is a photographer working out of New Jersey and New York City. He’s best known for his Strange Worlds project, a series of photos showing highly detailed miniatures created using simple materials. Visit his website here.
