Tiny Pieces Of Paper & Quirky Imagination Was All It Took For Instagrammer To Make SG Fun Again

Albeit filling his Instagram feed with beautiful shots of landmarks unique to each country, Rich McCor is not your typical tourist.

The 29-year-old Londoner who works as in a creative agency goes the extra mile and incorporates intricately designed paper cutouts, which transform what we usually see on tourism sites and Facebook feeds into works of art.

Sometimes I’ll have an idea for a photo but when I go to shoot it, the idea doesn’t translate on camera. I thought this might be one of those occasions but back in Autumn, standing in the middle of the Champs-Élysées with my eye to the viewfinder, I realised it did work. So the moral of the story is “Always give it a go”, or maybe it’s “Don’t stand in the middle of Parisian traffic, unless you have a banging idea for an Instagram snap”. Reposting this for @instagram ‘s Weekend Hashtag Project #WHPeyetricks #arcdetriomphe #paris #parisjetaime #parisian #topparisphoto #visitparis #parismaville @paris_tourisme #igersparis #loves_paris #igersfrance #citytrip #wanderlust #travel #adventure #passionpassport #architecture #travelandlife #guardiancities #guardiantravelsnaps #bestintravel #lego #architecturelovers #architectureporn #paperart #loves_paris #champselysees

A photo posted by Rich McCor ?? (@paperboyo) on

His Instagram popularity soared after his feed was featured on .

In the 2015 interview, he mentioned, “I would love to somehow make this hobby into a career, and if it involves travelling to places to shoot these images then that would be a dream come true.”

As if a fairy godmother of Instagram took a liking to him after the article, his wish came true not long after, when Lonely Planet took an interest in his work and sponsored part of a round-Europe trip to feature landmarks in places such as Stockholm and Copenhagen.

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

Not only around Europe, he has also gotten the chance to travel around the world (Singapore, Hong Kong, China, the US) and worked with their country’s tourism agencies, so it looks like his brand of Instagram photography has definitely caught on.

Humble Beginnings

His start in his unique brand of Instagram postings began humbly enough – his feed was filled with personal shots of daily life and his paperart projects, and that background makes the situation all the more endearing because you see someone who just happened to get famous doing what he loves.

‘A castle in the trees’ Sunday afternoon paper project #paper #paperart #craft #bookart #book #silhouette #castle #castlesilhouette

A photo posted by Rich McCor ?? (@paperboyo) on

Isn’t that the dream?

He had also started experimenting in his brand of travel paperart on a weekend trip to Lisbon in Portugal and around London, and even from those early photos, his distinct style and unique way of looking at common sights can already be seen.

There’s plenty of amazing views in Lisbon thanks to the seven hills around the city (although technically there’s only actually six hills) #weekendinlisbon #lisboa #lisbon #lisboalive #travel #travelgram #viewfinder #photography #view #passionpassport #creative_camera #instalisbon #instatravel #instaportugal #fyp_5khand

A photo posted by Rich McCor ?? (@paperboyo) on

In an

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 #mysouthbankwinter

A photo posted by Rich McCor ?? (@paperboyo) on

This caught the attention of crowd-sourced recommendation ‘Little Black Book’ website Great Little Place – London, who challenged him to come up with 10 unique photos for them, and in all of them, McCor decided to include paper cutouts.

And as they say, the rest is history.

King’s Cross station + cutouts + 180 degree twist = “the one who knocks”. The Breaking Bad theme is because it’s eight years ago today that it aired for the first time #Heisenberg #Breakingbad #Walterwhite #Bryancranston #Breakingbadart #Beard #Beardgang #Beardporn #Beardedvillains #Instabeard @amcbreakingbad @breakingbadofficial @breakingbad_ @breakingbadfeed @breakingbadfever #kingscross #kingscrosslondon #creativephotography #igerslondon #shutup_london #london #londonpop #visitlondon #instalondon #instaart #ilovelondon #londonforyou #art #thisislondon #instagram #paperart #architecture #architecturelovers #architectureporn #topphotolondon @london @architecturelondon

A photo posted by Rich McCor ?? (@paperboyo) on

@paperboyo In Singapore

In collaboration with @visit_singapore, Singapore Tourism Board’s official Instagram account, our sunny island has also been paperboyo-fied!

In the 14th Century, Sang Nila Utama came to these shores and spotted an animal with fur like flames and a dark, black head. His men advised him he probably saw a Lion and so he named the island Singapore (‘Singa’ being Lion in Malay, and ‘Pura’ meaning city in Sanskirt). However, it’s likely that what Sang Nila saw that day was a Tiger as there’s no evidence Lions ever roamed here. Today they do though, there’s some at the Zoo and there’s this epic Merlion on the waterfront @visit_singapore #yoursingapore #singapore #wow_singapore #singaporetoday #exploresingapore #singapore_city #ig_singapore #travel #architecture #architecturelovers #architectureporn #passionpassport #cinemagraph #gif #paperart #cutout #lion #merlion #instasingapore #adventure #silhouette #wanderlust #paper #art #water #city #lions

A video posted by Rich McCor ?? (@paperboyo) on

What’s special about each of his 14 posts is that each contain a tidbit of information about the landmark which will astound even us locals!

Having a Cracking time at the S.E.A Aquarium (yeah, I know the puns are getting worse). At the moment Singapore relies heavily on it’s neighbouring countries for it’s fresh water supply, so the government has invested in an incredibly clever technological process (which features words like micro-filtration and reverse osmosis) to purify it’s wastewater. You can buy a bottle of it in the shops here, it’s called NEWater and it’s arguably some of the purest water you can buy anywhere in the world. It’s part of a plan to achieve sustainable fresh water before the water supply from Malaysia contractually expires in 2061 @visit_singapore #yoursingapore #seaaquarium #seaaquariumsingapore #sentosa #singapore #wow_singapore #singaporetoday #exploresingapore #singapore_city #ig_singapore #travel #instagram #passionpassport #instasingapore #adventure #wanderlust #silhouette #paperart #crack #cracked #aquarium #fish #sea #silhouettes #wreck #fishes #water #NEWater

A photo posted by Rich McCor ?? (@paperboyo) on

When you fly into Singapore you may notice a number of bizarre structures that sort of look like oversize golf tees reaching 25-50m in the air. They’re Supertrees. Like real trees they can photosynthesise and absorb rainwater. But unlike real trees, when the sun sets the supertrees put on an epic light and sound show. I’ll post a photo of what looks like soon 🙂 @visit_singapore #yoursingapore #golf #teeingoff #golfball #marinabay #gardensbythebay #singapore #wow_singapore #singaporetoday #exploresingapore #singapore_city #ig_singapore #travel #architecture #architecturelovers #architectureporn #passionpassport #paperart #cutout #instasingapore #adventure #silhouette #wanderlust #paper #art #city #gardens #tree #technology

A photo posted by Rich McCor ?? (@paperboyo) on

The F1 is a big deal in Singapore and features one of the most picturesque circuits on the tour, weaving through the Marina Bay area. Because it’s a public road, there are some special safety regulations in place, for example every manhole cover is replaced and then welded shut. It’s because the speed the race cars can reach, has the ability to fling manhole covers into the air! (By the way, this photo took well over 100 attempts to get just right) @visit_singapore #yoursingapore #f1nightrace #f1 @f1 #formulaone #f1isback #f1testing #ferrari #mercedes #mclaren #renault #redbullracing @redbullracing @lewishamilton #marinabay #tyre #tyremarks #singapore #wow_singapore #singaporetoday #exploresingapore #singapore_city #ig_singapore #travel @instagram #instagram #passionpassport #instasingapore #adventure #wanderlust #silhouette #paperart @f1nightrace @singaporegp @mercedesamgf1

A photo posted by Rich McCor ?? (@paperboyo) on

His work didn’t seem to impress one of the residents at our Jurong Bird Park though…

Well this one didn’t go to plan. Turned into a bit of a mutiny #jurongbirdpark #pirate #parrot @visit_singapore #yoursingapore #singapore #wow_singapore #singaporetoday #exploresingapore #singapore_city #ig_singapore #travel @instagram #instagram #passionpassport #instasingapore #adventure #wanderlust #silhouette #paperart #mutiny #funny #bird #birds #piratesofthecaribbean

A video posted by Rich McCor ?? (@paperboyo) on

Regardless, his beautiful shots of Singapore were not only gorgeous, but also inspires us to look at these ‘common’ sights in new and creative ways.

Personally, I’m definitely looking forward to seeing more of his quirky cutouts changing perceptions of how we look at the world.

Interested? Follow him on Instagram for updates!

Also, read A Peek At NDP 2016 – What You Can Expect And Look Forward To!