Small Life Stories
Photographic novels · miniature worlds · small heroes
Small Life
Stories

The scale is small. The feelings are not.

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Piper's Notebook
In progress
Piper’s Notebook

After her father dies, Piper keeps a notebook to catalog the world around her — butterflies, neighbors, the quality of afternoon light. Observation is the only form of holding on she knows.

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March 2025 On building the backyard set — what worked and what didn’t

The stone path took three attempts. The chairs were easier than I expected. The greenhouse was the thing that finally made it feel real.

February 2025 Shooting the butterfly sequence — a new macro lens changes everything

I’d been working around the limitations of my old lens for months without quite knowing it. The difference with the new one was immediate.

January 2025 Why I replaced the telescope with a notebook

A telescope says: I look outward. A notebook says: I pay attention to what is close. Piper needed the notebook.

Worlds built
by hand

Small Life Stories is a self-published photographic novel series made entirely at 1/4 scale, using handmade sets, miniature props, and dolls as characters. Each story is shot in chapters and published here as it’s made.

The work sits somewhere between photography, sequential art, and the picture book tradition — borrowing from all three without quite being any of them. The scale is small. The feelings are not.

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