Found photographs at National Geographic

I came across these two very interesting pictures on the Nat Geo site.  They have a section called "Found".  The above photo of a male lion, lit with a flashlight,  was taken in 1910, in Africa.  

The second is a shot of Fairbanks, Alaska at Christmas.. It has a nostalgic feel and reminds me of Michael Paul Smith's work.  Here's my original posting on his fictional village,  Elgin Park.

Here's a shot of Michael's fictional town Elgin Park.  (His photos are available for purchase on his Smugmug site):

Cabinet of Christmas

This 20 inch scene is tucked away in an antique cabinet.  Valued at $10,000 it is the work of Kevin Mulvany and Susan Rogers, fantastic miniaturists from the UK.  Visit their site, Mulvany & Rogers and also see their book, Magnificent Miniatures which showcases some of their museum quality work. 

Dolph Gotelli Christmas Designs

Mr. Gotelli describes himself as a curator, designer and artist.  Here is some of his excellent holiday work.  You can see more at his site.

My first diorama

My interest in models and miniatures started at an early age.  An eccentric, wonderful aunt of mine introduced me to scale models when I was 12 years old, and my interest was piqued.  My first project, done at that age, was a general store.  I couldn't find a crate (which would have been my preference) so I built a box out of plywood.  I stained it and used a light from some old Christmas ornament, to provide the lighting.

The top picture shows the earlier version.  By the time of the second picture, I lost the desk and bureau, and made it more of a store.