Mesmerizing self portraits made by boy just 14 lives out his dreams as a tiny person
By Margot Peppers PUBLISHED: 23:20 GMT, 4 June 2013 | UPDATED: 23:58 GMT, 4 June 2013 A 14-year-old photographer has taken the internet by storm with his creative and dreamlike images that make normal-sized people appear tiny. Zev Hoover, from Natick, Massachusetts, goes by the Flickr username Fiddle Oak, a play on 'little folk', which adequately describes the incredible images that make up his 'miniature world'. In his fantastical photos in which people are digitally shrunken, acorns make excellent seats, Popsicle sticks are the ideal size for building rafts, and paper airplanes are viable modes of transport. Young talent: The Natick, Massachusetts native goes by the Flickr username Fiddle Oak, which is a play on 'little folk', the theme of his magical images Zev told Today.com that while he takes the photos with his own camera, his older sister Nell, 18, was the brains behind the original tiny people concept. 'She is sort of my partner in crime,' he said, adding that she is 'more of a writer'. The 14-year-old, who also writes a blog, explained the complicated process of how he creates his dreamlike images, many of which feature him as the main subject. 'It takes a long time,' he said of the resulting images, which are so otherworldly that they almost look like drawings. One image shows a boy constructing a house of playing cards, his body the same size as the cards. In another image, a 'miniature' boy and girl sit upon a raft made of Popsicle sticks, the sail of which is a single leaf. Many of Zev's images explore nature, including one in which a boy perches inside the shell of an acorn. Another nature-themed photo, which plays with and distorts size ratio, shows a miniscule-looking boy sitting on the edge of a rock, a violin in his hand. Photography and design websites have picked up on Zev's work, lauding him for being so talented and creative at such a young age. 'Zev has proven to be one photographer to keep an eye on,' wrote one MyModernMet.com writer. The youngest of four, Zev - who is home-schooled by his sculptural artist mother - grew up in a household that fostered creative pursuits. He began taking his first photos at the age of eight with a cell phone camera, before acquiring two professional instruments - a regular camera and a video camera - which he lovingly named 'Betsy' and 'Diana'. Not only is he a talented photographer, but Zev also seems to be wise beyond his years in other fields as well. But despite all his ambition and success thus far, Zev is markedly down-to-earth. When asked about all the attention he has been getting recently, he told Today.com: 'It's just so lucky and random.' |