Featured Photography: Boba Fett Prototype and Kylo Ren
“If you wanna be taken seriously you’re gonna need this.” That was the caption for the featured photo by Josiah Greer, and also the moment we knew we were fans of not only his photos but also of his sense of humor and storytelling abilities. Thinking outside the box seems to come naturally for Josiah, as even just a quick glance at his Instagram feed will show.
Specializing in working with 3.75″ action figures, one of Josiah’s obvious strengths is his ability to squeeze out natural and life-like poses from these smaller toys in today’s world of hyper-articulate 6″ character replicas. Take for example this photo of Grand Admiral Thrawn: The pose is so realistic that in Prisma mode it’s nearly impossible to tell it apart from a drawing. We also couldn’t help but chuckle at the way he posed this shy trooper, which also highlights Josiah’s caption-writing skills. Hilarious.
The evolution of Josiah’s photos is also interesting to observe. From the early days of Boba Fett hanging out at Death Star-sized Texan gas stations and making amusing appearances in comic strips, to intriguing narrative imagery and brilliant recreations of iconic movie scenes. To paraphrase a character in the last photo, if he continues on this trajectory of progress we will be watching his toy photography career with great interest.
Hi Josiah! Please tell us three interesting facts about yourself.
Three interesting facts about myself are 1) In high school I won first place in the state of Texas in the category of “unaltered photography”, mostly because editing intimidated me, 2) I was in the process of attempting to walk on to the basketball team at the University of Houston when I was in a huge car wreck which ended my “career”, and 3) last year, I went straight from a 12 hour shift to my local theater and saw all six previously released Star Wars movies, followed by the release of The Force Awakens. I drank three 5-hour Energy shots and was at the theater for about 20 hours total!
What was your earliest Star Wars memory?
My earliest Star Wars memory is actually a tie for two memories; I can’t remember which came first. When I was younger, my dad used to travel on business for weeks at a time, and on one trip he bought both of my brothers and me Star Wars t-shirts. Mine happened to have Boba Fett on it, hence my love for Fett. The second memory is that of seeing Jabba the Hutt on screen with Han Solo in front of the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope during the re-release of the Original Trilogy before Episode 1 came out back in 1999.
Your Instagram feed is called @fett_ventures. What inspired the idea?
The original idea behind @fett_ventures is that I was always posting Star Wars stuff on my personal account, so I wanted to create a separate account ONLY for Star Wars stuff. Boba Fett is my favorite character, so I thought it would be really cool to take pictures of him as he travels around the galaxy and Fett + adventures = “Fettventures” (I’m still mad about the underscore). The thought then dawned on me that I don’t travel all that much, and the page has obviously evolved a lot over the months into what it is today.
How would you describe your style as a photographer?
As far as my style goes, it’s really been all over the place if I’m honest. When the page started it was very simple, usually just my iPhone and Boba Fett outside. Over time I’ve tried to become more creative and clear with my shots, both in concept and quality. I want the viewer to see the picture and know “Oh that’s from…” If I had to put my style into a word, it would have to be either “engaging” or “deliberate”. I have an idea and I do what I can to make it happen, it’s as simple as that.
As we have previously pointed out, you have a knack for coming up with ideas that no one else has thought of before. Where do you get your inspiration?
The inspiration for most of my pictures come from either something I’ve seen or something that makes me laugh to myself. I have a core group of friends in the Star Wars community and we’re always saying, “You know what would be cool?” or “This would be hilarious!” If an idea comes to mind and I’m in bed or unable to shoot at the moment, I simply write it down and come back to it. Many of my posts may also be me sharing something new I’ve gotten and I’m excited to shoot. Star Wars books, movies, comics, and TV shows. You name it, I want to recreate it.
One photo we like and find particularly intriguing is the one where a pilot gets tossed out of his Special Forces TIE Fighter by Ralph McQuarrie’s concept Boba Fett. What is the scenario, and where is Boba Fett off to?
In the Boba Fett versus TIE Fighter Pilot scene, my thought process was “Nobody kills Solo but me.” So, in order to take on Kylo Ren and kill the man who killed his enemy before he could, Boba Fett is going to infiltrate the First Order – wherever they may be in Episode 8 – from the inside out.
One thing I believe about Boba Fett is that he has nothing in the whole galaxy but himself and his trade. Jango Fett is dead, the Expanded Universe is canned, so he’s not even Mandalore anymore. To have an enemy in Han Solo – the James Moriarty to his Sherlock Holmes in the most backwards way – meant more to him than he realized. And to lose that equal would drive him to possible near-insanity.
Lastly, what are your future goals in toy photography?
At some point, it would be a huge dream come true to 1) publish some type of photography and 2) I would probably jump up and down in my home if any company (Hasbro in particular) were to ask me to photograph their toys in return for a sponsorship. I wasn’t shooting yet when the #HasbroToyPic contest was running but that type of thing: to have thousands see your work at a SDCC-type venue, would be amazingly rewarding. Thanks so much for your time and may the Force be with you!
About Josiah Greer
Josiah Greer lives in Houston, Texas. He married the girl of his dreams in 2016 and has been a life-long Star Wars fan and collected figures for as long as he can remember. In his free time, he enjoys playing and watching sports as well as other movies and reading. His other fandoms are Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Josiah can be found on Instagram as @fett_ventures.