Art Works: Adam Brett

Sneinton Market in the Creative Quarter is arguably one of Nottingham’s best kept secrets, and one reason for that is the number of murals and artwork surrounding it. I was thrilled when I saw that graffiti artist Buber Nebz had created the incredible piece portraying Robin Hood in Lego form, and knew this was a fantastic opportunity to bring my two photography passions together: toy photography and bold scenery.

My toy-themed photography makes use of forced perspective; a fun technique in which the position of the camera – in this case, on the ground – gives a distorted view of reality and scale, allowing you to create an illusion within your photograph. Although I take photos in a number of settings, nothing beats the buzz of taking pictures in a busy public area and trying to get the perfect shot while avoiding any inadvertent photo bombing.

“Erm, what are you doing?” and “Are you okay?” are questions I’m regularly asked by curious and/or concerned passersby when I’m found lying on the floor clutching Lego.

This particular picture was taken early on a Sunday morning, which firstly allowed me to lie in the road with a reasonable chance of not being run over, and secondly, provided a lovely, soft light from the early morning sunrise. I like to keep editing fairly natural, but I added a couple of props to this in order to tell a story and bring the figure to life.

All my photography is taken on my iPhone, and edited on iPad. The photography editing software on phones and tablets now is phenomenal, and techniques that used to take me hours in Photoshop can now take a fraction of the time using apps like Enlight and Photoshop Mix.

At the moment, I do this as a hobby alongside my day job as a teacher, but I love it when I’m able to display and sell my art, as well as create personalised commissions for people. In the future, I’d love to exhibit my work in Nottingham and I’d like to continue to feature lesser-known parts of Nottingham in my work.

Adam Brett on Facebook