Vesa Lehtimäki
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avanaut.bsky.social
Vesa Lehtimäki
@avanaut.bsky.social
400 followers 120 following 230 posts
Illustrator and an occasional photographer of small things. Never won any awards but I was nominated for a HUGO once. You’ll find no AI here. avanaut.com
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avanaut.bsky.social
Small Scenes from a Big Galaxy book of my Lego Star Wars photographs was published exactly ten years ago today. Ten years! Time goes by fast when you’re having fun.

Pictured all five language editions that came out shortly after the original English edition.
Five different language covers of the Small Scenes book, French, Spanish, Danish, Finnish and English. On the cover is a Lego Star Wars snowtrooper minifigure on skis jumping over a small knoll with snow flying around.
November 10, 2025 at 8:24 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
All the Presidents Men is one of my all time favourite films, I don't even know how many times I've seen it. It is as chilling as it is entertaining, a great film altogether. That and many more from the great Robert Redford. RIP.
a man in a plaid shirt and tie stands in a busy office
Alt: A man in a plaid shirt and tie stands in a busy office. This is a clip from Alan J. Pakula's All the Presidents Men (1976) with Robert Redford (pictured) and Dustin Hoffman.
media.tenor.com
September 16, 2025 at 12:58 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
Making room for some new goodies, putting this in bags and up for sale. How much do these fetch these days? Prices on eBay vary wildly.
September 2, 2025 at 1:01 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
My new car, photographed it on a sunny day a while ago. I just love those curvy lines, what a gorgeous little car. They sure did good back in 1967.

Too bad it's less than 20 centimeters long, a scale model I built.

#scalemodel #ferraridino #toyphotography
A photograph of a yellow 1967 model Ferrari Dino 206 GT parked on parking lot in front of a building with large windows. A super wide crop, lots of sunshina. The car has headlights on, it's just to show that they work. The photograph was taken with a scale model car, looks real even if I say so myself.
August 29, 2025 at 2:52 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
I don’t recall the last time I watched Star Trek tos. Must be at least 15 years or more. So, I watched City on the Edge of Forever, the Hugo award winning episode. Damn, it’s so good!
August 23, 2025 at 5:43 AM
avanaut.bsky.social
Sometimes I get questions about the lights on the models in my photographs. People are curious to know whether the lighting is real or if it's photoshopped on. Well, the lights are always real (with one exception).

Captions in ALT text.
The Aries 1B Lunar Ascend Vehicle scale model from 2001: A Space Odyssey film standing on a light table with black background. The model is brightly lit from below with some lights from inside the cabin can be seen. Lighting the Aries 1B was a lot of work. All those ceiling light panels were lit separately. Also I cut open the floor in the elevator pit to light it as it was in the film only to have it concealed inside the model, never really to be seen from the outside. This model was the biggest effort with the least outcome in terms of lighting. Closeup of a Bandai RX-78-2 model head with light in its green eyes. The Bandai Gundam RX-78-2 model didn't need lighting, it already had it. I didn't know this when I bought the kit and it was a pleasant surprise, I was prepared to hack it but I didn't have to. The light looks nice on it. A scale model of the EVA pod from 2001: A Space Odyssey film photographed against black with all the lights on. The bright headlights and some cockpit dashboard lighting visible. The 2001: A Space Odyssey 1:8 scale EVA Pod was a lot of work! A LOT! The dashboard wasn't really designed to be lighted and was a bit awkward to accomplish. Many have done it though and with great results. Mine works well enough for me. It's actually quite beautiful a model when all lights are on, one of my favourites. The Police Spinner car scale model from Blade Runner photographed on top of a spread of an old Cinefantastique magazine. In the magazine an article about making of the life size filming model car can be seen. The longest build, this took years to finish. I messed up the wiring at some point when originally building this and it pissed me off enough to box the build. After many years I admitted defeat, took the model out of the box and finished it with what I could get to work. So, no flashing lights on top but there are some dashboard lighting and what's most important everything on the front works.
August 22, 2025 at 1:29 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
You don't really get how big those walkers are until you see one on a foggy day.

#scalemodel #starwars
A single Star Wars AT-AT walker standing still, towering high above lush green treetops in thick fog.
July 6, 2025 at 4:11 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
I was unwinding from a busy week the other day, leisurely photographing garden flowers on a sunny day. Just playing with the camera, no plan, having a moment. Then a bee arrived and before I knew it The Blue Danube Waltz began playing in my head. You know?
A bee in flight approaching a white flower in closeup. A still from 2001: A Space Odyssey movie, the Orion shuttle approaching the rotating Space Station 5.
June 17, 2025 at 1:55 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
The Pit Stop (2015). When you gotta go, you gotta go.

The dog in the photograph is still with us, turns 14 in September. #FlashBackFriday
A slightly frosty, misty hayfield, early morning, hay cut short. On the foreground a small dog (a borderterrier) is having a poop, on the background sitting on the field with boarding ramp open is the Millennium Falcon.
May 23, 2025 at 11:07 AM
avanaut.bsky.social
I opened some folders in the archives to look for something. I found this instead. From 2009, I had bought Corel Painter software and I was figuring it out by making random illustrations with it. Not using Painter anymore but for a while I used it very much.
Three Star Wars Stormtroopers in dark and smoky atmosphere, one trooper fires his blaster and it emits bright red ray of light. This image is a digital painting.
May 12, 2025 at 4:57 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
My lightsaber. A charming little thing.

#maythefourthbewithyou #starwarsday
May 4, 2025 at 8:59 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
A #throwbackthursday post from 2017. The idea was to make a pair of photographs to sell the illusion of the X-wing better. As if I'd just walked in there and took some snapshots from different angles.
A Star Wars X-wing starfighter parked in a driveway of a large parking house with cockpit canopy open. The driveway is several stories high open space with surrounding walls covered with large air ducts and piping. Very industrial looking place, clean, no cars can be seen. A Star Wars X-wing parked on a driveway insode a large parking house. Photographed from the side so that only lower half of the X-wing can be seen. Top is behind the low ceiling of the section the X-wing was photographed from. Some concrete pylons also obscure the view. No cars in this one either but white parking space markings can be seen on the foreground.
April 24, 2025 at 6:00 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
On screen Genevieve O’Reilly is the greatest gift to Andor. Her portrayal of Mon Mothma transcends anything Star Wars.
April 23, 2025 at 9:17 AM
avanaut.bsky.social
The Last of Us season 2 delivers so far. I liked the first season very much. Episode 2 was… quite an episode.

Also, Andor S2 starts in a day or so. So far everything I’ve heard about it sounds great. I hope it’s not mere hype.
April 21, 2025 at 1:20 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
There is a Mandalorian planet called Kalevala in the Star Wars universe. Kalevala is also the name of the Finnish national epic.

In the new game Star Wars: Zero Company there is a character Cly Kullervo. Kullervo is also a character in Kalevala.

Kullervo’s story in Kalevala is quite something.
April 19, 2025 at 8:46 AM
avanaut.bsky.social
A second drone shot to go with the one I posted a couple of days ago. Reposting the other one together with the new one to make a diptych of a sorts.

#toyphotography
A white coloured custom built Star Wars Mandalorian N-1 Starfighter photographed from directly above. It is parked on a clear patch on a terrain that looks like sand with greyish earth colours, it is a sunny day and everything has a strong and clear shadow. Around the N-1 there are some items that look like service tools, a small generator maybe, a big toolbox and a smaller one with what looks like a wrench set inside. There are track marks of maybe trucks on the ground. A black and white coloured "Partisan" Star Wars X-wing fighter photographed from directly above. It is parked on a small clear patch on a terrain that looks like sand with brownish and grey colours, it is a sunny day and everything has a strong clear shadow. Around the X-wing there are some mounds of sand and there are track marks of maybe trucks on the ground.
April 16, 2025 at 4:13 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
I wanted to try drone photography (not having my own I got some help from a friend). It's quite cool how our Earth looks like from above, even if it's just 30 meters or so.

Also, if you look close you may notice a subtle reference to the upcoming Andor Season 2. 🤓
A black and white coloured "Partisan" Star Wars X-wing fighter photographed from directly above. It is parked on a small clear patch on a terrain that looks like sand with brownish and grey colours, it is a sunny day and everything has a strong clear shadow. Around the X-wing there are some mounds of sand and there are track marks of maybe trucks on the ground.
April 14, 2025 at 2:41 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
The Banncars, pop culture vehicles, a series long time in the making. And what a series it is! Looking forward to seeing this meet the Kickstarter goal.
The Art of THE BANNCARS
THE BANNCARS artbook: Iconic Pop Culture Vehicles & Other Automative Art by Bannister
www.kickstarter.com
April 5, 2025 at 9:33 AM
avanaut.bsky.social
It occurred to me it’s been 14 years since I put these two characters together in a photograph. How time flies!

The setup ("setup" ... a dead plant on a table) was there after I shot the golden spaceman a couple of days ago, so I figured why not give it a go.
A Star Wars Ewok and a Scout Trooper Lego minifigure standing in what appears to be lush vegetation. The depth of field is very shallow with focus on the trooper’s helmet eyepiece. The atmosphere is warm and sunny.
April 4, 2025 at 12:54 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
There is feedback and there is feedback. This one, received on Flickr, had me in stitches: "You are like the Morgan Freeman’s voice of Lego photography." Don't really know what it means exactly but I love it! :D
Screencap of the feedback comment "You are like the Morgan Freeman’s voice of Lego photography".
April 3, 2025 at 12:37 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
Photographing the golden Lego Spaceman yesterday was fun. It was a sunny day today as well so I stepped outside to explore this a little more.

Four more variations of the same.

#lego #toyphotography #spaceman
A golden Lego Classic Spaceman minifigure standing in a shrub of heathers on a sunny day. A macro photograph, shadows are greenish blue, smoky atmosphere, shallow depth of field. The Spaceman is looking left of the camera. A golden Lego Classic Spaceman minifigure standing in a shrub of heathers on a sunny day. A macro photograph with shallow depth of field, the overall colour is magenta-ish. The Spaceman looks almost directly to the camera. A golden Lego Classic Spaceman minifigure standing in a shrub of heathers on a sunny day. A macro photograph, smoky atmosphere, shallow depth of field. The Spaceman is looking left of the camera. A golden Lego Classic Spaceman minifigure standing in a shrub of heathers on a sunny day. A macro photograph, slighty smoky atmosphere, shallow depth of field. The Spaceman in dead center of the frame looking right to the camera.
April 2, 2025 at 4:36 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
Spring is here! I took a selfie sitting outdoors enjoying the warm sunrays. The selfie part was somewhat unintentional but I'll let it pass.

#lego #toyphotography #classicspaceman
A golden Lego Classic Spaceman minifigure standing in a shrub of heathers on a sunny day. A macro photograph with shallow depth of field, the overall colour is pink-ish.
April 1, 2025 at 2:11 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
The Eternaut is a comic by Héctor Germán Oesterheld with artwork by Francisco Solano López (published 1957-1959). I’ve read it three times, it’s magnificient! High hopes for this tv adaptation, the trailer is promising.
The Eternaut | Official Trailer | Netflix
YouTube video by Netflix
youtu.be
March 31, 2025 at 4:40 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
Leftovers from a winter photoshoot. Couldn’t do more of these now if needed, no snow, the reflections would give it away. A problem with a chromium ship.
A white Naboo/Mandalorian N-1 starfighter photographed outdoors on a sunny say against blue sky. Low angle, below eye level, rear quarter view. A white Naboo/Mandalorian N-1 starfighter photographed outdoors on a sunny say against some trees (background out of focus). Eye level front quarter view. A white Naboo/Mandalorian N-1 starfighter photographed outdoors on a sunny say against white snowy background. Front quarter view, higher than eye level. A white Naboo/Mandalorian N-1 starfighter photographed outdoors on a sunny say against blue sky. Low angle, below eye level, front quarter view.
March 31, 2025 at 4:27 PM
avanaut.bsky.social
This is why I do not use AI to add to or generate content in my work as an illlustrator or photographer. I do not want to support this kind of exploitation of the creatives.
March 28, 2025 at 8:18 AM