Toy Photography and the Environment

Hi everyone!

 

Over the last few years, I have been changing the direction of my hobby, steering myself away from repetitive buying to a more creative approach. In this post, I thought I’d take an environmental perspective on one of these approaches. So set all your shopping apps to silent and strap in!

 

As you can probably tell, the approach I am talking about is Toy Photography! It is a really fun experience which allows me to exercise my creativity. Ever heard of the adage: “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Well, it summarizes my hobby very well! Toy photography allows me to create new narratives based on the existing ones I love. There is no limit to the stories that can told! They can be…

 

One of sadness and loss…

 

One of thrilling action and adventure!

 

Or just be a reflection of everyday life!

 

Over the years, I have noticed several techniques other photographers use for their photos, and, having learnt about air pollution in week 5 ENV1101 lecture, I thought it would be insightful to look at their environmental effects.

 

Atmosphere Aerosols

Product image of Atmosphere Aerosol, taken from Amazon.com

To add visual effects to their photographs, many photographers use these spray cans to douse their subject matter under a fine coat of mist. While this gives the photo a dramatic effect, they emit aerosol particles that have an effect on the global temperature. These include any liquid or solid particles freely floating in the atmosphere (BORUNDA, 2019).

Their effect varies depending on their chemical type; according to a National Geographic article, particles like black carbon heat the earth while others like sulfate compounds cool it. Overall, this seemingly harmless technique (and it’s advertised this way!) has huge repercussions on the atmosphere,  with the extent of its effects still under scrutiny.

Moreover, the brand pictured above contains mineral oil which is released whenever the spray can is used. Though it only makes up 10% of the can’s composition (Zhang, 2015), mineral oil is known to have adverse health effects. According to United States Centre for Disease Control, exposure to high concentrations of its aerosolized state increases one’s risk of chronic respiratory and skin disease (CDC, 1978).

 

“Quick! Put this on!!”

Firecrackers

“*Sniff* *Sniff* “Is something burning?”

I have also seen photographers use firecrackers to simulate explosion effects. This technique is a double-edged sword which can produce a visually stunning shot straight out of a Hollywood movie, or it could potentially wreck your figure or worst, result in injury. Coming from an environmental standpoint, firecrackers produce Particulate Matter (or PM) particles which are notorious culprits of air pollution and can cause respiratory illnesses (Milind Kandlikar, 2000).

 

Given the environmental cost of these techniques, are they still worth using?

 

The environmentally-conscious side of me says: “No”, especially since the activity is purely recreational.

 

The photographer in me agrees. For One, Photoshop can be just as effective! For another, spray cans are expensive and firecrackers are illegal (in Singapore).

 

What do you think? Let me know your views on this down below!

 

Till next time!!

 

References

BORUNDA, A. (9 April, 2019). Aerosols, explained. Retrieved from National Geographic: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/aerosols/

Zhang, M. (05 December, 2015). Atmosphere Aerosol Spray is Like a Tiny Fog Machine for Your Camera Bag. Retrieved from PetaPixel: https://petapixel.com/2015/12/05/atmosphere-aerosol-spray-is-like-a-tiny-fog-machine-for-your-camera-bag/

CDC. (1978). Occupational Health Guideline for Mineral Oil Mist. Atlanta, Georgia: Centre of Disease Control.

Milind Kandlikar, G. R. (2000). THE CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES OF PARTICULATE AIR POLLUTION IN URBAN INDIA: A Synthesis of the Science. Annu. Rev. Energy Environ., 629-84.

 

7 thoughts on “Toy Photography and the Environment

  1. Dude !

    What a blog ! What the heck is with your cohort ? You folks are knocking this assignment out of the park. Wow, do I ever love my grading task this sem.

    jc

  2. Hey Joseph!

    I certainly did not see toy photography as a way of steering one away from buying repetitive models. That’s a really interesting and great point of view! You’ve mentioned that to achieve certain visual effects for the pictures, some photographers use spray cans and firecrackers to do so. Yet, these produces harmful pollutants into the environment. So I was wondering, if you’ve considered to bring toy photography to another level, where you could encourage other toy photographers like you to engage in a more environmentally friendly way of toy photography?

    – Jo

    1. Hi Jo!

      That’s a really cool direction to go in! I’m currently still brainstorming ideas, Stay tuned!

      Cheers! Joseph.

  3. Hi Joseph,

    Really liking your blog! I think toy photography is a very interesting hobby and you’re probably the first I know to practice it. Personally, I adore figurines but have yet to bite the bullet and start collecting any.

    I think it’s great that you have factored in environmental impacts of your hobby and looked for ways to work around it, rather than forcing yourself to choose one over the other.

    You mentioned how the aerosol sprays used by some photographers are advertised as “harmless”. I think this is quite the predicament we have today, as it is not necessarily true that consumers are irresponsibly consuming, but rather they are fed with false marketing. What are your thoughts on this, and also on a similar false marketing issue, “greenwashing”?

    Would love to see your full collection in the future!

    1. Hey Jia Wei!

      With regards to false marketing, I do think retailers have a responsibility to market their products responsibly. In the case of the aerosol spray, I suspect it was advertised as ‘harmless’ as the concentration of mineral oil released is probably low enough to be considered safe. However, I couldn’t find any explicit warnings from the aerosol spray company warning its consumers about the potential dangers of exposure to vaporised mineral oil (that’s not to say that there are no warnings. TBH I think it’s probably in written somewhere in the fine print). From this example, I think it’s very important that retailers not only avoid falsehoods in their marketing, but also exercise honesty and transparency when marketing their products.

      With respect to greenwashing, I think it’s downright dishonest if retailers market their products as ‘green’ without actually ensuring that they are. This is definitely a bad practice as it leads to the perception of green initiatives being nothing more than cheap marketing gimmicks.

      You can have a look at my reply to Natasha’s comment on the post ‘Consumerism and Collecting part 2’, where I took a look at Hasbro’s sustainability initiatives.

      Cheers!
      Joseph.

    1. Hi! To be honest there really isn’t a fixed formula when shooting toys! Its best to think of an overarching theme or narrative for your picture and then work from there!

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