Interview with Creative Photographer Rich McCor aka @paperboyo

Rich McCor also known as @paperboyo has a special skill, he creates art using his surroundings, a camera and paper cutout silhouettes. Some of the things he comes up with blows my mind such as the first image seen above. Keep reading to learn more about this fantastic artist.

Please tell us a little bit about yourself?

“I live in London and spend most of my days cutting out paper silhouettes and taking photos of them against various backdrops around the world. I like to describe myself as a photographer, but the reality is I started doing my style of art because I wasn’t a good photographer so maybe I lean more towards being an artist.”

What made you start using Instagram?

“When I joined Instagram I noticed a lot of artists, photographers and creatives were using it as their gallery so that inspired me to approach the platform with an ambition to post creative content. Eventually, my style evolved and I developed the transformation photos through trial and error and seeing the feedback that my followers gave.”

Your creations are incredible. How do you come up with such artistic visions of your surroundings?

“I’m genuinely not sure. I constantly have the fear of running out of ideas, but that fear was there after my first idea so I’ve learnt to live with it. I’ve somehow learnt to look for shapes, patterns and opportunities everywhere I go. It’s a struggle to constantly develop ideas but – without meaning to sound too lofty – it’s genuinely like looking at the world in a totally new way and that’s very exciting.”

Does it take you a long time to make your paper art?

“It really depends. Sometimes the best ideas are the simplest, and that usually equates to a simple design. However, that’s not always the case; I did a transformation photo of Tower Bridge turning into a rollercoaster and it was a really intricate design. I messed up the first couple of cutouts and I think I spent an entire evening on it in the end. I love the process though- I put on my headphones, pick up my scalpel knife and cutting board and crack on with it. It’s a really therapeutic process, even when I make mistakes.”

What’s your favourite picture you’ve made?

“I made some content for the NFL when they came to London this year and I made one image with City Hall as an American Football. I went to the location three times until I finally figured out the best vantage point for the illusion. When I looked at the image on my camera screen I had such a big grin on my face.”

Which places have you enjoyed visiting the most so far?

“I seem to have an affinity with Asia- I went to Singapore and Hong Kong this year and I found them both to be unpredictable, exciting, varied, delicious and colourful cities. I’m keen to return and explore them further.”

Which places are you just dying to visit in the future?

“There’s quite a few but if I had to pick one- Tokyo’s architecture is really fascinating, and I think that the city in general would be the perfect playground for what I do.”

Anything exciting planned for 2017 that we should look forward to?

“I’ve got a few trips lined up (French Alps, Brazil and San Francisco) but towards the end of the year I’m releasing a book with my images and some of the stories from my travels so I’m really looking forward to working on that.”

You can now find the book (Around the World in Cut-Outs) on Amazon.

Can you share a few of your photographs below?

Arc de Triomphe, Paris.

Pacific Design Center, LA

Kópavogskirkja, Reyjavik

Neon Museum of Las Vegas, Las Vegas

Do you sell prints of your work and if so where can we find them?

Yes, it’s only a limited selection at the moment but they’re available here: paperboyo.kite.ly

Comment from: Travel and Destinations/ Mike

Thank you for providing an insight into your creations. We are looking forward to seeing more of your work and your upcoming book. If you would like to see more of Rich’s amazing work, head to the links above in his bio.

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