November 16, 2006: Man puts souvenirs in perspective

AxlRosen suggests this item which was also Boing'd and Fark'd. It's going around!

Photographer Michael Hughes travels all over the world to tourist haunts, buys kitchy souvenirs of local landmarks, and then goes to the actual landmark and photographs it in perspective with the real thing. He's posting an ongoing photoset on Flickr.



A cool idea, an interesting take on perspective and souvenirs and landmarks. It's also reminiscent of the Kids in the Hall's I'm crushing your head bit, for those who remember it.

So basically, he travels all around the world to look at PICTURES of famous landmarks?
Kind of like going to the grocery store and buying pictures of the food, huh?

In one of the comments on flickr, he says he has a lot of family and friends all over the place so he has the opportunity to do it.

I think it's kinda cool and a good excuse to travel to neat places.

I DO remember the "I'm squishing your head!" bit and lament the demise of the Kids in the Hall, especially Scott Thompson's Buddy Cole.

I think it's a great idea! After all, he's there and he sees the places anyway - it's up to him how he wants to remember them.

Even I remember The Kids in the Hall - but the only sketch I could name would be the squishing your head one, as my friend & I used to do it to other players when waiting for our turn at squash. And laugh til it hurt. Well -we were 15!

Kids in the Hall's I'm crushing your head bit, for those who remember it

C'mon - let the rest of us in on the secret!

Would someone with an old postcard that shows the World Trade Center please do this for lower Manhattan? Or one that shows the colossal Buddha statues that used to be in Bamyan valley in Afghanistan, to undo the damage done by the Taliban? Thanks.

sandypossum wrote:

C'mon - let the rest of us in on the secret!

Its a perspective gag which still plays in grifftopia. If you're standing across the room from someone, put your thumb and forefinger a couple inches apart. Put your hand at arms-length placing the targets chin on your thumb pad. Mash down on the target melon with your forefinger and cry, "I'm crushing your head." repeat as necessary

milkfish wrote:

Would someone with an old postcard that shows the World Trade Center please do this for lower Manhattan?

He's already got it in his flickr photostream:

Thanks randomidea, welcome to the Cellar. :D

There is a site where people take their rubber duckies on vacation with them and take pics of them at/on famous monuments.
Don't ask me how I know this.

What I especially like about the Eiffel Tower one, is that, unlike all the others, you cannot easily perceive it's a postcard. At first I thought he was just holding up his hand to make it look like he'd grabbed the tower and that the colors were from some holiday display. Wasn't till I read the text that I looked again and saw what was really going on. Well photoshopped, I'd say... :cool:

I guess I'm stupid. Is the Eiffel tower yellow blue and red? Looks like Legos to me.

It's a plastic souvenier toy that he's holding in front of the real thing.

And they light up the real thing with colored lights, so I'm sure at some point it's been yellow, blue, and red.

randomidea wrote:

He's already got it in his flickr photostream:

Ah, I hadn't seen that one.

Admirable restraint not to be tempted to draw in a jet plane on the postcard.