If you think augmented reality is a recent fascination woven from the fabric of the camera phone age, think again — artists, photographers and casual creative pranksters have long been using camera tricks to hack urban landscape by layering additional fascination over the naked eye’s view of the city.
Souvenirs...
Visit Michael Hughes‘ wonderful Souvenirs collection. The British photographer travels the world and “replaces” some of its most iconic landmarks with their cheap touristy souvenir replicas — miniatures, snow globes, plates, postcards — by holding them in front of the camera at just the right angle.
The result is a playful take on tourism which, depending on how philosophically inclined you are, even exudes subtle commentary on the artificiality of souvenir collecting in the context of the actual experience and our often excessive propensity for sentimentality.
Looking into the past...
Have a look at Jason Powell’s Looking Into The Past project, inspired by Hughes’ Souvenirs. Powell prints out historical photographs from The Library of Congress digital archive and holds them up against the physical locations depicted in them, offering an absolutely fascinating glimpse of how urban landscape, dress and transportation have evolved over the past couple of centuries.
Source: Maria Popova at brainpickings.org
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