Among the many feeds in my RSS reader, tucked away in a folder marked “Friends” — next to many of you, in fact — sits the only Flickr feed I follow. The subject of that feed is a man named Michael Titus — frogmuseum2 — someone I don’t know, have never met, and who has no clue that I’m among the lurkers who follow his photos with keen interest.

Michael describes himself as a Writer & Curator — he’s also an extremely talented photographer, the creator of a series of custom books for children, and a craftsman of unique handmade toys. If you spend more than a millisecond looking at his Flickr pages, it is obvious that toys are his joy in life. His photostream is filled with the most interesting and thought provoking photos I’ve ever encountered, and in each one of them, one of his many toys appears. If you follow the stream over time — I have been for well over a year — you quickly learn that each one has its own very distinct personality, and you can’t help but smile when a new one turns up. Indeed, a new photo from Michael is all but guaranteed to make my day.

It’s quite obvious — to me at least — just from looking at his many creations that Michael is an exceedingly brilliant man. As best I gather from the things I’ve read, he isn’t a professional photographer, and doesn’t want to be — his photos are for his enjoyment, though they’re enjoyed by many, many more, myself obviously included.

Aside from taking pictures of toys, he also makes toys — strange, bizarre creatures as wonderfully unique as he is. He has a shop on Etsy where some of his entirely hand-made (and I mean hand made, there’s not a machine in sight, unless you count the camera) creations are available for sale. I can admit to having urges to buy out the shop on a regular basis.

He’s also the author of a series of personalized storybooks for children called flattenme. I’ve seen the “personalized” storybooks from when I was little; a stapled-together “book,” with the kid’s name added in, sometimes in a straight line, with a typewriter. Not these. These have the kid’s picture inserted in, and if the samples on their website are any indication, it’s done quite well. Really, it must be, as the list of satisfied owners reads: Reese Witherspoon, Madonna, Ben Stiller, Marcia Gay Harden, Ludacris, Joey Fatone, Melissa Joan Hart, and Denise Richards. Now, Michael is just the author — he’s not in a back room splicing pictures in or anything, at least I don’t think he is — but still, to be involved in an award-winning project with high-profile reviews out the ying-yang says something about the talent involved.

I’m sharing this with you guys for two reasons. First, because Michael is a brilliant photographer that I enjoy immensely, and I want you guys to share in the enjoyment too. That’s the selfless reason; now the selfish one.

The second is that Michael isn’t well — apparently, he’s not been well for some time. (I don’t recall him giving specifics, but that could be because a) I’m a lurker, and b) I tend to forget things.) A new photo popped up in my feed yesterday, and the description accompanying it absolutely sent me into shock. Because of the medical bills involved in not being well — and do I ever know about those — Michael is having to sell his toys.

“So. I’ve been rounding up the toys that must depart. A lot of favorites. A lot of memories — but so it goes.”

I’ve been lurking for a year and a half, looking, enjoying, taking, without ever even letting it be known I was there. Consider it silly if you like, but it’s become very important to me, much like certain TV shows and book series — and even a couple of comic books — are to you guys. I’ve taken, and I’ve not given anything back. That is not how it goes. It’s my turn to give back.

I’m not a celebrity. I don’t have hordes of eager fans that will rush in and make everything better. I don’t have thousands and thousands of followers that I can tweet to and in seconds have a hundred people revving their engines and asking where to go. What I do have, though — what’s better than hordes of fans and thousands of Twitterites — is you guys. Why? Because I know you, and I know you care.

So go. Look. Read. See what there is to see. If his work touches you, order a creature from his shop. Email him and ask if you can buy a print of one of the photos that really speaks to you. Look at the storybooks, particularly you parents out there — Christmas is eighty-five days away. (I know authors don’t get a lot in royalties, but he has to get something.)

Pass it on. I know some of you mommies out there have bigger networks than NBC — pass on the books and the toys. There’s more geeks running around here than there are at Radio Shack, and what does a geek like better than toys? I’m not — and I wouldn’t, and I doubt it would be accepted if I did — suggesting anybody to give anything more than a moment to see if what you see doesn’t make you want to give one of these brilliant creations a home with you or someone you care about.

Michael — if you’re out there — if there is anything I can do, tell me.

Photos brazenly borrowed to illustrate the creative genius of the artist, Michael “frogmuseum2″ Titus. Copyright Michael Titus, used with the purest of intent and most likely under fair use.