Arctic Tracker
Vintage Toy series
"Arctic Tracker" is a vintage children's toy, built in the early 1960s. My toy photo collection is a sub-set of the light painting series. These vintage toys have so much built in drama and history, which is perfect since I love creating theatrical fictions and epic dramas thru my photographs.
I shoot these in my studio where I usually build little sets for them (some of the sets are a partial, or entirely digital setting) and then I light them in a light painting style, through long exposures.
Many of the great vintage tin toys of the 1950s and 60s were made by Japanese toy manufacturer, Bandai. The company got its start creating toys (like some of the ones I've photographed: Arctic Tracker, Robby the Robby, Pack Plane and Panther) for Western markets like the US. Most of the toys were modeled after real vehicles or pop cultural characters, but some, like the Arctic Missile Tracking Car were pure fantasy.
Antique Toy World magazine did a cover story on my toy photos
"In none of his photos does Nuez exploit the obvious"
Montreal Gazette
"Seductive ... Nuez's photos do not leave one indifferent"
Ciel Variable - Contemporary Photography magazine
Light Paintings series
I sometimes fantasize that with the snap of a finger, I can escape reality ... in a moment, be transported to a dream world free of life's demands, a child's playground where magic exists and all is right with the world.My Light Paintings are that portal. Through them I can transcend reality and escape into these beautiful, vibrant yet peaceful realms.
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Although there is some digital manipulation in this series, the unusual lighting and surreal quality in the Light Painting series is achieved by using colored lights during long exposures. They are not digital effects.
