Photographer helps action figures get a life

By Stacy Thacker
Special to the Times

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich.

With Shiprock in the background, the scene for an epic basketball game is set …. between the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The toys, looking almost real, are frozen in a photo that was shared on social media over 3,000 times in 24 hours.

Michael Scott, Diné, is the creator of the photo and grew up on the Navajo Nation playing rez ball. “It resonated with me because it reminded me of my childhood,” Scott said of the photo. People were sharing it, tagging friends and family while reminiscing about the old days.

Scott felt the photo brought the older generation and younger generation together because parents, uncles and aunts were sharing stories with their kids about growing up. “It just brought back memories for them and that’s what I really liked,” he said. “It was so humbling and everybody was just loving it, everybody was excited.”

Scott has been doing toy photography for five years and enjoys creating scenes with his action figures.

The latest big reveal was a scene for May 4th, with Star Wars figurines that he created to celebrate “May the fourth be with you,” a play on the iconic Star Wars line, “May the Force be with you.” It’s a day for people to celebrate Star Wars culture and Scott wanted to make sure he had something ready.

“I’ve always like movies, I’ve always liked cartoons and I, of course, still have a vast collection of action figures,” he said. But when Scott started his new hobby, he didn’t realize there was a large community for toy photography.

He has friends who help him create props, he has people who let him borrow action figures when he needs them and he has locals buying out his prints when he sells online and at the Shiprock flea market.

“It’s a lot of different people coming together helping me out,” Scott said. “I love what I do and I’m happy people like it too.”

Whenever somebody helps him he tries to give back. He’ll offer an action figure or a print in exchange for help.

Scott tries to do two or three scenes a month but it depends on his free time. He’s starting an online master’s program soon but hopes to continue creating as many scenes as he can. It takes him an hour to four hours to set up a scene, depending on what he’s creating. “Whenever an idea pops up, I try to execute it quickly,” he said. “I want to try to make it as realistic as I can.

Of course you can’t really make an action figure float.”

But he tries to do as much as he can during production to cut out a lot of post-production Photoshop.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles photo required a few wires and a lot of patience. “If it’s outside you hope for a good day,” he said. “But we’ve been having windy days and then we get puppies coming around and they want to eat the toys.”

There is also the possibility that the figurines will fall after everything is set up. “When that falls down it’s like a domino effect and your props move and everything goes out of focus,” he said. “But you gotta keep going at it.” Scott takes multiple photos and sometimes has to layer them in Photoshop. So the end product could be up to seven photos layered on top of each other to make one final photo, he said.

When people talk about Native American artists, they associate them with blankets, pottery or paintings, Scott said.

Modern art isn’t really recognized and while he tries to add in some Navajo themes, he’s just creating what he wants, when he feels inspired to do it. His photos with Shiprock in the background are his best sellers and he’s always being asked if it’s photoshopped. But Scott said the rock is real and he just has a really good view from his house.

Scott is getting noticed beyond the Navajo Nation as well. He has been approached by different toy companies to promote their products and he’s happy to do it. He sells his work when he can, but it’s not a big money maker. He sees it as more of a hobby and he’s thankful for the support of his followers.

Information: Scott’s work can be seen on Facebook and Instagram at his handle, “moedarknight,” and purchased at moedarknight.bigcartel.com. He has a few new projects coming soon.

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