British photographer uses paper cutouts to cheekily transform European landmarks

LONDON -- Rich McCor is a Londoner with a very strong Instagram game.

Going by the name paperboyo, McCor has developed a unique style of photography that involves using intricate paper cutouts to transform European landmarks into spectacular and amusing vignettes.

McCor told Mashable he was trying to find different ways of photographing iconic London landmarks when he came up with the idea.

"By combining photography with my paper-cutting skills I came up with the idea of turning Big Ben into a wristwatch," he explained. "After that I started looking at the landmarks and architecture around me in a different way, and I kept on taking photos."

Got a new wristwatch when I was in town earlier #london #southbank #bigben #elizabethtower #paper #paperart #palaceofwestminster #silhouette #travel #adventure #instalondon #creative_camera #bbctravel #photography #instaphoto #watch #wristwatch #fantastic_earth #theglobewanderer #ourplanetdaily #passionpassport #lifeofadventure @earthfocus @discoverearth #from_your_perspective_17 #playwithlondon #londontown #timeoutlondon #london_only #gadv #londonforyou @london A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Jul 11, 2015 at 4:33am PDT

McCor told us he researches his ideas by looking at famous landmarks before visiting different locations.

"Sometimes ideas come to me instantly and other times I don’t think of them until they've been playing around in my subconscious," he said. "When I get to the location, it usually takes me about 15 minutes to get the shot exactly how I want it.

"I think I probably look a bit silly to passersby! But for every photo I've loaded on my IG, there's probably an equal number that I've tried but haven't quite worked. For example I did one of the Emirates line in London, where I tried to make it look like a washing line with clothes hanging off it. But when I got there, I just couldn't create an angle that made it look good -- so I scrapped it."

Many of McCor's photos were taken around London.

If you were following my @glplondon takeover then you may have already seen this- it's one of my favourite cutout shots so far #cycling #londoneye #thelondoneye #playwithlondon #cocacolalondoneye #adventure #instaphoto #theglobewanderer #lonelyplanet #wanderlust #passionpassport #lifeofadventure @earthfocus @discoverearth #london #instalondon #bbcbritain #lovegreatbritain #worlderlust #londonlive #timeoutlondon #visitlondon #travel #westminster #instaart #paperart #culturetrip_ldn #passport #instagoodmyphoto #londonforyou #mashpics #boredpanda @london A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Sep 8, 2015 at 11:36pm PDT

Charles Pétillon's 'Heartbeat' installation at Covent Garden. If you haven't been yet then get there soon because it's coming down after 27th September. I assume a man will go round with a needle and pop them #coventgardenballoons #balloons #coventgarden #heartbeat #pixar #up #sky #disney #igerslondon #shutup_london #prettycitylondon #london #lovelondon #londonlife #londonpop #visitlondon #travel #instalondon #instaart #boredpanda #wanderlust #lifeofadventure #worlderlust #timeoutlondon #culturetrip_ldn #ilovelondon #resourcemag #instagoodmyphoto #instaart #instaphoto #londonforyou A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Sep 23, 2015 at 10:01am PDT

It's Friday Perfect excuse to crack open a bottle and celebrate the weekend don't you think? I'm off to Amsterdam on Sunday with my camera for a few days- any recommendations? #towerbridge #cityhall #champagne #fountain #igerslondon #shutup_london #prettycitylondon #london #lovelondon #londonlife #londonpop #visitlondon #travel #instalondon #instaart #wanderlust #lifeofadventure #worlderlust #timeoutlondon #ilovelondon #instagoodmyphoto #instaart #instaphoto #londonforyou #lonelyplanet #morelondon #bestintravel #igworldclub #worldtravelpics #silhouette #thisislondon A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Sep 25, 2015 at 4:03am PDT

Not quite a first class sunset tonight in London but nothing stops the Queen- 23,226 days on the throne and still going strong #queen #igerslondon #shutup_london #prettycitylondon #london #lovelondon #royal #royalfamily #londontown #londonlife #londonpop #longestreign #visitlondon #travel #silhouette #paperart #paper #instaart #instaphoto #instalondon #stamp #crown #jewellery #sunset #clouds #firstclass #godsavethequeen #instagoodmyphoto #mashpics #boredpanda A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Sep 9, 2015 at 12:12pm PDT

When I was with my camera near the skyscrapers in central London, I got an idea. So I came back and took this photo- an ode to the Mad Men title sequence #madmen #amc #jonhamm #titlesequence #skyscraper #suit #cutout #silhouette #london #instalondon #creative_camera #photography #instaphoto #thisislondon #londonlife #cityoflondon #from_your_perspective_18 #playwithlondon #skyline #london4all #madisonavenue #advertising #sky #reflection #paperart #paper #craft #art #newyork #nyc A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Jul 28, 2015 at 8:29am PDT

This one has been the most tricky one to do so far in the series. Whilst I took this a lady asked to see the photo and just said "wow", which I thought was sweet #housesofparliament #westminsterpalace #bigben #travel #adventure #instaphoto #theglobewanderer #lonelyplanet #passionpassport #lifeofadventure @discoverearth #london #instalondon #bbcbritain #lovegreatbritain #visitengland #huffpostgram #londonlive #timeoutlondon #visitlondon #westminster #sketch #illustration #paper #paperart #drawing #fyp_august #culturetrip_ldn #londonlive #huffpostuk @thephotosociety #ilovelondon #JJ_Forum_1288 A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Aug 6, 2015 at 11:14pm PDT

"Here Kitty"-The lions at Trafalgar were designed by Edwin Landseer, who had never sculpted before. He spent four years studying the behaviour of lions at the Zoological gardens (which was probably part of the reason why the four lions were only publicly unveiled a whole decade after he won the commission) #trafalgarsquare #lion #london #london4all #cutout #silhouette #cat #kitten #knitting #wool #paperart #paper #londonlife #thisislondon #travel #geoengineering #adventure #instaphoto #theglobewanderer #lonelyplanet #passionpassport #lifeofadventure @earthfocus @discoverearth #londonlife #cityoflondon #instalondon #bbcbritain #lovegreatbritain #visitengland #huffpostgram #nelsonscolumn #londonforyou @london A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Aug 2, 2015 at 10:43am PDT

Since starting the project back in June, McCor has also taken photos in cities across Europe.

"I'd love to explore opportunities to travel more and take more photos, in more cities," he told Mashable. "It's still quite early days, I only started in June this year. I would love to get to New York though as I have some ideas for what I could do there; there's some fantastic architecture in NYC that's ripe for my sort of photos."

McCor has taken photos in Sweden, Holland, Denmark and Paris.

Just beyond the courtyard from Stockholm's city hall are two bronze sculptures "Sången" & "Dansen " ("The Song" & "The Dance"). I thought I'd add a bath brush & a headful of foam to make it 'The Shower Dansen' #wanderlust #travel #traveller #stockholm #visitstockholm #igersstockholm #this_is_stockholm #viewstockholm #stockholm_insta #stockholmfoto #stoccolma #cityscape #adventure #passionpassport #passport #sculpture #paperart #art #instaart #silhouette #cutout #streetart #shower #dancen #gamlastan #fun #funny #igswstockholm0915 #loves_sweden #stockholm_insta #mashpics A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Sep 4, 2015 at 11:00pm PDT

The metro stations in Stockholm are insane- many of them have their own theme which makes the whole thing like a 110km art exhibit. Rådhuset has a dark maroon, hellish look... #wanderlust #travel #traveller #stockholm #visitstockholm #igersstockholm #this_is_stockholm #viewstockholm #stockholm_insta #stockholmfoto #stoccolma #adventure #passionpassport #passport #map #iphone #radhuset #metro #underground #devil #lighting #subway #tunnelgatan #paperart #art #instaart #silhouette #igswstockholm0915 #loves_sweden #gadv #stockholm_insta A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Sep 4, 2015 at 2:19pm PDT

And here it is close up. The two balls are viewing pods which offer vast views over Stockholm from the top of the Globen #wanderlust #travel #traveller #stockholm #visitstockholm #igersstockholm #this_is_stockholm #viewstockholm #stockholm_insta #stockholmfoto #stoccolma #adventure #passionpassport #passport #streetart #silhouette #instaphoto #instaart #paperart #cutout #ericsson #globen #igswstockholm0915 #ericssongloben #smileyface #smile #clouds #loves_sweden #ericssonglobe #gadv #stockholm_insta A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Sep 5, 2015 at 1:42pm PDT

Copenhagen's Cirkelbroen being abducted by Aliens: Shot for #lpkids (@lonelyplanet's brand for little adventurers). In the distance behind the bridge is Tivoli, an amusement park commissioned by the King in 1843 so that the public could go amuse themselves and "think less about politics". Walt Disney visited Tivoli and felt inspired. Not long after he created Disneyland. #architecture #architecturelovers #copenhagen #cirkelbroen #københavn #københavnskommune #olufureliasson #cirkelbroencopenhagen #cirkelbro #scenography #copenhague #art #bridge #lpkids #lonelyplanet #copenhagen #denmark #kopenhagen #visitcopenhagen #VisitDenmark #somewhereincopenhagen #citytrip
#igerscopenhagen #wanderlust #travel #adventure #passionpassport #ufo #silhouette #paperart #craftsposure A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Oct 10, 2015 at 11:40pm PDT

Novelists James Joyce and Ernest Hemingway were drinking buddies in Paris- often picking fights on their drunken nights out. Famously, Hemingway took a urinal from his favourite bar in Paris and had it installed into his American abode, arguing that he had "pissed away" so much money into the urinal that he owned it #montmartre #basiliquedusacrecoeur #hemingway #karate #silhouette #instaart #paris #parisjetaime #parisian #topparisphoto #visitparis #parismaville @paris_tourisme #igersparis #loves_paris #igersfrance #instagram #forcedperspective #citytrip #wanderlust #travel #adventure #passionpassport #architecture #travelandlife #intrepidtravel #adventureinstagoodmyphoto #guardiancities #guardiantravelsnaps #bestintravel A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Oct 17, 2015 at 11:09am PDT

Towards the end of WWI, France built a ‘Second Paris’ near the capital city to confuse German pilots. It was located near the town of Maisons-Laffitte, on a stretch of the River Seine. As well as replicas of iconic landmarks, including the Arc de Triomphe, it even had sham streets lined with electric lights so that from the sky it would look like a real city. Shot for #lpkids (@lonelyplanet's brand for little adventurers) #arcdetriomphe #lonelyplanet #instaart #paris #parisjetaime #parisian #topparisphoto #visitparis #parismaville #igersparis #loves_paris #igersfrance #citytrip #wanderlust #travel #adventure #passionpassport #instagram #travelandlife #intrepidtravel #adventureinstagoodmyphoto #guardiancities #guardiantravelsnaps #bestintravel #lego #paperart #loves_paris #champselysees #silhouette A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Oct 18, 2015 at 9:08am PDT

Hi to the newbies- thanks for checking out my insta. Here's a new one from my trip to Paris at le weekend When the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, the museum shut down for nine days, the French bor­der was closed and all depart­ing ships and trains were searched. The mystery wasn't solved until two years later though, when the thief turned out to be Vin­cenzo Perug­gia, a car­pen­ter who had been working at the museum and knew all the exits and escape routes. Perug­gia had even helped build the glass case that the Mona Lisa was displayed in, so he knew how to get the paint­ing out. At closing time, he hid in a broom closet and then walked out an exit after dark hold­ing the Mona Lisa under his coat. Shot for #lpkids (@lonelyplanet's brand for little adventurers) #louvre #lonelyplanet #instaart #paris #parisjetaime #parisian #topparisphoto #visitparis #parismaville #igersparis #loves_paris #igersfrance #citytrip #wanderlust #travel #adventure #passionpassport #instagram #intrepidtravel #adventure #instagoodmyphoto #guardiancities #bestintravel #monalisa #paperart #loves_paris #art #silhouette #museum #davinci A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Oct 20, 2015 at 12:22am PDT

Many of McCor's photos now pull in well over 1000 likes on Instagram, and at the time of writing he has over 16,000 followers.

"It’s been great to have people from all over the world say that they like what I do," said McCor. "However, the best reaction is when someone comes up to me (whilst I'm taking a photo) and asks what I’m doing, because when I show them they usually smile (either because they think it's clever or they think I’m silly).

"I remember when I shot the St Paul’s ice cream photo, I was on the terrace at One New Change first thing on a Sunday and there was a Chinese family there too. The Father approached me showing an interest, so I showed him what I was doing and he got very excited, called over his family and they all gave me the thumbs up (except the Grandma, who I don’t think took any interest in the idea).

"Another time in the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam, there’s a beautiful glass ceiling that almost looks like a spider’s web so I cut out a spider and took a photo. A young girl of about ten appeared beside me asking to see the photo. She very sweetly just said ‘wow’."

Shot for #lpkids (@lonelyplanet's brand for little adventurers) This is the impressive glass ceiling of the Maritime Museum. On the aquatic theme- Amsterdam was originally a fishing village, it took its name from the river Amstel and the dam that was built in 1220 to avoid floods from the Zuidersee entering the islands #lonelyplanet @lonelyplanet #lpkids #amsterdam #amsterdamcity #traveladdict #amstergram #citytrip #thankyouamsterdam #igersamsterdam #loves_amsterdam #awesomeamsterdam #iamsterdam #wanderlust #travelgram #instaphoto #travel #adventure #web #spider #maritimemusuem #silhouette #bluesky #instaart #holiday #holland #netherlands #hetscheepvaartmusuem #architecture #geefmijmaaramsterdam #amsterdamworld A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Oct 1, 2015 at 10:08am PDT

Sundae service at St Paul's #stpauls #stpaulscathedral #icecream #travel #london #instalondon #creative_camera #bbctravel #photography #instaphoto #fantastic_earth #letsgosomewhere #passionpassport #lifeofadventure @earthfocus @discoverearth #thisislondon #londonlife #cityoflondon #instalondon #streetart #london4all #londontown #creative #silhouette #art #instaart #paperart #architecture #ilovelondon #gadv #londonforyou #mashpics @london @daveburt A photo posted by Rich McCor (@paperboyo) on Aug 31, 2015 at 12:15am PDT

You can see more of McCor's work on his Instagram account.