If you’ve ever wondered what Darth Vader is doing when he’s not running the Empire, then Pawel Kadsyz has the answer for you. The photographer has tasked himself with taking a picture of Darth Vader every day until the premiere of The Force Awakens through his website, tookapic. As the founder of the website, Kadsyz attempts to portray Star Wars’ most notorious villain, Darth Vader, as just a regular guy who has the same problems as us.
Kadsyz’s website emphasizes on encouraging photographers of all experience levels to take a picture every day for a year to “create unique, beautiful, and unforgettable memories”. It’s a project that encourages creativity and experimentation with each photo and promotes photographers at the same time.
By taking a photo each day, photographers on the site can learn how to take better photos and develop a regular photo taking habit. For those who are less disciplined in their photography, it’s an encouraging way to promote better habits and practice on photography skills. The best part is that it’s free for anyone to sign up and the website keeps track of how many photos you have taken, how many of those photos have been taken in a row, how many days you missed, and how much you have completed for the 365 photos goal. It’s a great way to stay motivated while encouraging the photographer in you. Not only that, but photographers on the website can make money off their photos with the option to sell their photos or have them used as stock photography.
After finishing up his own tookapic project, Kadsyz wanted to explore the daily life of Darth Vader and taking photos of the character until the premiere of the newest Star Wars film, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens. Kadsyz says in his own blog post on Bored Panda that while he plans to end the project on the premiere date, but he’s open to continuing the project “for a whole year”. While many assume these projects are geared towards the professional photographer, Kadsyz humbly describes his own personal experience:
“I’m not a professional photographer. Just an amateur with a will to learn and improve.”
By using his Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark along with M.Zuiko lenses and a cheap, amateur strobe, Kadsyz takes selfies of himself in the Vader mask to create his photos. Despite his amateur status, Kadsyz has been able to make waves in the online photography community with his Vader photography. To view all 38 photos that Kadsyz has created, you can view on Darth Vader’s tookapic profile. With over 190,000 views, the Vader profile has gained a lot of notoriety online, especially with the release of The Force Awakens only a few short weeks away.
Kadsyz employs a lot of humor in his Vader photographs, by carefully staging each photo with various props and Star Wars references.
Even referencing thoseStar Warsprequels.
When not employing pop culture references, Kadsyz has Vader in situations that anyone can relate to, even for a Sith Lord with Force powers.
While he may be a Sith Lord, even Darth Vader needs to work out a little bit.
Cleaning around the house is made easier with the powers of The Force.
For those interested learning more about tookapic, head on over to their website and check out their featured page, which have the best photos from the website. It’s a great place to start if you’re interested in starting an account or even if you need some creative inspiration for your next photography project.
