Traveller transforms landmarks in tearable way

Once you’ve seen one photo of Big Ben, you’ve seen them all. At least, that’s what London photographer Rich McCor thought after he began getting to know his city through the lens of his camera.

“I began using my camera as an excuse to explore London more, and through doing so I fell in love with photography,” McCor told Travel at 60.

“However I quickly realised that my images were the same images that everyone else was taking, so I added a twist by including my own paper creations to transform buildings and scenery.”

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And what a twist they are! McCor has used pieces of paper to completely transform some of the most iconic landmarks around the world, including the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Michelangelo’s David and the Arch de Triumph.

What began as a bit of hobby, sharing his photos to his 100 or so followers on Instagram, McCor has become an online sensation.

“As I started to create more and more of the transformation images, my following slowly grew and then Lonely Planet commissioned me to take some photos for them and those images went viral and suddenly my following went up and up.”

“I’m now approaching a quarter of a million followers.”

It takes more than a few snips with the scissors and a couple well-executed scenes to get the right shot, says McCor, who admits that some of the photos are difficult to execute.

“The octopus in the colosseum at Rome was tricky because I had to take a number of separate photos and stitch them together afterwards on a computer,” he said.

“It took a bit of guess work but I’m happy with the result.”

Not only are the likes Lonely Planet taking notice, but admirers are putting in requests, too, with one gentleman tying the knot thanks to some of McCor’s cutout creations.

“I was asked by a guy if I could create a cutout of his girlfriend’s name and then take photos of the cutout around the world on my travels,” McCor recalls.

“After about eight months of travelling I had over 20 images to send him, and he then printed these and used them as part of an elaborate proposal to his girlfriend.

“I’m pleased to say she said yes to him.”

What do you think about Rich McCor’s creative cutouts? Let us know in the comments section below. You can see more of Rich’s work on Instagram.