John Reiley

Hi there!

My name is John and I'm from the U.S.

I’ve been into building with LEGO and taking photos since I was young. I was one of those kids who would nab the family camera and leave tons of random photos and videos on it.

I love being able to combine my two favorite hobbies into one!

I recently got back into consistent LEGO hobbying a year ago this month which is also around the same time I discovered the BrickCentral community. It's so fun seeing the creativity around LEGO bricks combined with photography. And there are so many kind people in the community as well.

Skate

Another entry for my minimalist shadow theme this month #legominimalism_shadows. This shot was inspired by a photo shared by @aovodrones as shown below. I liked the contrast and thought using a human shadow as the subject was interesting.

I think next time I won't use the salmon pink minifig pants because that color is bright! I had to reduce saturation on the edges of the pants because they looked like they were glowing.

Abstract Minifig

You might look at this and think “it’s just a jumble of LEGO bricks put together.” Well, that’s true. But it also has a secret. It looks this way because if you shine a light in just the right spot, you will see the silhouette of half a minifig.

I like the concept of this kind of shadow art because it’s a nice analogy to life in some ways. Almost all of us struggle at one time or another to figure out who we really are as an individual. Thankfully, there’s a Light that can show us who we really are and who we have the potential to become

“Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the sun.” - Ecclesiastes 11:7

I found a wonderful photograph taken by @karleehooperphotography that I wanted to attempt in LEGO form. I loved the shot for its simplicity and that I could almost feel the warmth of the sun in the stream of light on the girl’s face. Go check out her wonderful photography!

This is my last contribution to this month’s minimalist theme of people.

Happy LEGO Day! 65 years ago today, the patent for the LEGO brick was submitted.

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." - Psalms 119:105

I love images like this where someone is walking toward the light away from the dark.

It is often very analogous of life. As humans, we are naturally attracted to light--the good and pure things of this world--both seen and unseen.

"Please let this last forever." - Cody Fry

I recently re-watched the music video for the song “Photograph” by Cody Fry and man, it is such a beautiful song and video that reminds me to live in the present and cherish the little moments I share with the loved ones around me. Thank you Cody Fry for making such wonderful music.

This shot is a recreation of the still below from the music video.

I also highly recommend watching the music video!

Above the Clouds

What happens when you combine paint clouds and a LEGO classic space minifigure.

Ready For Anything

A man dressed in a white space suit walks down a long hallway. To his right is a bright red wall lit up by the warm lights overhead. To his left, a dark clear sky after a day of rain--where he'll be soon. He's never been so sure yet so scared in his life. So much work has built up to this moment. Is he ready? "I'm ready," he says to himself. "I'm ready for anything."

The title and story is inspired by an Owl City song I've been listening to recently (any guess? 😉) The shot is inspired by a photo by Alexander Eylar:

Mistified

I shot and edited this photo during my livestream today with @fourbrickstall. It was fun sharing my thinking, shooting, and editing process.

This shot was inspired by this photo:

Do a Flip

This shot is somewhat of a recreation of the photo below. I saw it and was intrigued. It made me wonder: what in the world is that person doing up there? I also liked the duality of the two people with different outfits. One looking up and one looking down (which way is down?)

I had to do a little extra editing for this in photoshop because I couldn't get both minifigs within focus with one shot. So I took two separate photos where each was in focus, and stacked them together.

Here’s the photo it’s inspired by:

Balancing Bowls

It's neat how whitespace can be used to imply direction. The bowls toppling over almost feels inevitable.

This is my first entry in my endeavor to experiment more with minimalist LEGO photography. Each month this year I will be focusing on a different theme (people, shadows, lines, etc.).

This month’s theme is “people.” This shot was inspired by this photo:

New Doors

Some say curiosity killed the cat, but maybe the cat actually walked through a glowing door to a cool new place.

Merry Christmas!

Little Tom had to spend Christmas Eve in the hospital after an accident. He was sad about it all happening but was happily surprised by a visit from his grandpa. And even more surprised by a cute little kitten his grandpa had wrapped in a box for him! He slept a little easier that night reminded about the love his family has for him and that he’s not alone.

Lights

There’s something magical about lights during Christmas time. They add an extra special feeling of warming and coziness to the season amid the dark and cold evenings 😌

Night at The Haunted Mansion

Folks say that this mansion houses 999 happy haunts, including several prominent ghosts from all over the world; that the house has wall-to-wall creeps, and hot and cold running chills. But who would ever believe such a thing, right? ….right??

I took this photo for BrickCentral’s theme last month. I wanted to give it the feeling of an old spooky black and white film so I shot at a high ISO to add grain and added some heavy vignetting. One effect I was also happy with is I overlayed a blurred copy of the image and masked it just around the outside edges to give it a soft glow.