anhm #30 by Hot Shot and Ultra Joseph O. Holmes

Without fail, each batch of Hey, Hot Shot! entries includes work made inside the American Museum of Natural History. This isn't necessarily a bad thing. We love the museum too. Just a fun fact. And maybe something to keep in mind when shooting. Those scenes have probably been shot before. If you must shoot there, make it work in your own way. (Another day we will discuss shopping carts, for you seem to also really love shopping carts.)

My favorite example of AMNH work is from Fall '05 Hot Shot and Fall '06 Ultra Joeseph O. Holmes. His diorama series is splendid, and can be found on 20x200 as well. (There is only one print of this edition left!)

The Museum itself recently launched an online portal into its own archives of photographs, "Picturing the Museum: Education and Exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History." It is worth a look.

Shoot The Blog reprints a great Sugimoto quote about the dioramas:

"Upon first arriving in New York in 1974, I did the tourist thing. Eventually I visited the Natural History Museum, where I made a curious discovery: the stuffed animals positioned before painted backdrops looked utterly fake, yet by taking a quick peek with one eye closed, all perspective vanished, and suddenly they looked very real. I'd found a way to see the world as a camera does. However fake the subject, once photographed, it's as good as real." - Hiroshi Sugimoto