This lensman clicks macro photos of mini vehicles

Pictures of these miniature automobiles as captured by Selvakumar G are made to appear life-size and, not to forget, adorable! The editor-photographer, who works with a studio based in Chennai, says he picked up this hobby as an experiment but it stuck — his Instagram fans are thankful for that.

“Every year, all of us at the studio have to come up with a resolution of what we will learn in the following months. It could be anything to do with photography. Most of my colleagues chose to specialise in portraits but I wanted to do something different, so I began trying my hand at macro photography,” recalls Selva.

He almost gets offended when asked where he gets the ‘toys’ he shoots with. “I don’t use toys, I source vintage miniatures of taxis, cars, vans and two-wheelers from the USA,” he states. Whenever Selva travels, the models go with him. He says, “I place them in front of buildings or on roads and click pictures using a professional camera and macro lens.”

So far, he has shot life-size pictures of miniatures in Chennai, Thanjavur and Tenkasi to highlight Tamil culture, followed by Kolkata and Hyderabad. As for the most memorable experience he has had, Selva says it was in Kolkata. “I was at the Howrah Bridge. It is a very crowded and chaotic locality, so when I was shooting with a miniature taxi, the passersby were curious and stopped to chat with me. I usually don’t talk to strangers much but it felt really nice to interact with the locals about my hobby,” he smiles.

In the coming weeks, he tells us that he is planning to shoot with a variety of miniature vehicles at different landmarks along Mount Road. He adds, “I want to capture some images with therukoothu artistes as well, to showcase the tradition and history of Tamil Nadu.” Once Selva clicks the pictures, he uses an editing software called Lightroom to ensure the colours and details are vivid, before uploading them online.