There’s a good chance you’ve seen Michael Paul Smith’s photographs of mid-century cars. There’s also a good chance that you’ve seen Michael Paul Smith’s photographs of mid-century cars and not known they were intricately detailed miniatures. Smith’s work so well captures the smallest things and his models are so intricately detailed that they look like they were shot on an old Kodak in 1956. Just as we showed you the story of British sidecar racer Stan Dibben from National Geographic’s Short Film Showcase, here too is the story of Michael Paul Smith and his miniatures.
The film talks a bit about the work and how it’s done, but more importantly, it talks about Smith as a person who is responsible for this body of work. While the photographs show those nostalgic, cheery times of booming post-war America, the overall reasons for their existence reflect the life and challenges that Smith faced from childhood. He describes his fictional mid-century town, Elgin Park, as a “dreamlike recreation of my past.”
This Animal Media Group film directed by Danny Yourd really captures what drives people to their hobbies and how Smith generated his idea. It’s a good watch and a good reminder that car people come in all shapes and sizes with appreciations for different parts of the automotive world.
I was expecting an illuminating explanation of how he builds those wonderful models and what I got made me feel like sending Mr Smith a bill for a psychiatrist’s session. Look mate – I don’t want to know your life history but admire your wonderful skill. So put another video together that is more informative and keep taking the meds – or better still try to get out and meet real people more. Things have moved on since your school days and you’ll find that gay people are now accepted as valuable members of society.
Please excuse this diatribe, but I found it slightly disturbing as here in the UK (rightly or in my opinion wrongly) we do not make a habit of sharing intimate details of our life with total strangers. I really really love your work Michael and I hope you can sort things out – I really do!
The guy is very talented. I can look at those photos over and over.