Upon first glance, the images in art director Stephen McMennamy’s #combophoto project may look like surreal photo-manipulations created using Photoshop. They’re actually the result of a much simpler process.

For each one, McMennamy carefully shoots two photographs and creatively arranges them side-by-side to create imaginative new scenes.





“It’s really just from looking around and seeing what things are out in the world might make for an interesting fit or what would make for a nice contrast once combined,” McMennamy tells PetaPixel. “As far as process, it’s just a matter of me hunting things down and aiming for the cleanest shot possible.”

McMennamy says he looks for simple backgrounds that allow the viewers’ eyes to focus on the combinations. Some of the photos were shot in his garage, while others were on the side of the road after spotting something. “Wherever I need to get my shot I go get it,” he says.

Many of the early images in the #combophoto project were shot using an iPhone, but McMennamy recently purchased a new camera to improve the quality of the images. He also occasionally uses a drone to capture aerial photos.

You can follow along with this project on McMennamy’s Tumblr and Instagram pages. You can also participate by using the tag #combophoto.

(via Colossal)

Image credits: Photographs by Stephen McMennamy and used with permission