Creating Lifelike Images of American Streets Using Model Cars and Forced Perspective

For nearly 25 years Michael Smith has been working on a fictional town he refers to as Elgin Park, where all of his miniature scenes take place. To make each shot he positions an old card table at scenic points around Boston and positions his minutely detailed cars and model sets on top. Using an inexpensive point-and-shoot camera and natural light he then snaps away, simply eye-balling the perspective to get everything right.

These are his most recent photos, earlier shots from the collection have gone into a book titled Elgin Park: An Ideal American Town.