Artist Combines Unrelated Items to Create One Harmonious Image

By
Ben
-

For years now, photographer and art director Stephen McMennamy has been combining photos of totally different objects to create perfectly matched images.

His series, Combophotos, is a collection of playful surreal scenes where anything is possible. From a pepper shoe to a banana pencil, McMennamy’s artistic mashups envision his childlike imagination. Despite the dissimilarities of his subjects, he managed to pair them up seamlessly.

The artist takes the photos himself and it can take weeks to find the perfect combination. ““I’m always looking for props,” he said in an interview with CNN. “It’s a bit of a scavenger hunt at times.” But there are times he will come across the ideal items unexpectedly. “There’re times that just happen in an instant. I could be at lunch and find two things that I could combine very easily.”

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balloon + lightbulb Here’s a little video demo of what it’s like when you realize, that good idea you had… wasn’t such a good idea after all. AKA a turd. AKA my process. My “process” results in a lot of sparks, misfires and epic failures, but despite all that, I find if you just keep trolling for the elusive “good idea”, eventually you may land on something halfway decent, maybe even something good. So don’t give up on ideas… let’s all keep trolling for the good ones (then eventually the trolls can crap all over your best “idea trolling” efforts. If I’m not mistaken, that’s how the internet works now anyway). All I’m trying to say is, I get incredibly frustrated in this process, and I fail miserably all the time, but what all those failures end up doing, is making the winners a thousand times sweeter. Wait for the sweetness. And as the fine folks over at @wiedenkennedy have suggested… “fail harder”. I think they say that? Maybe someone else said it? Don’t care. I do know it’s the first thing you see when you walk through their doors (in Portland). They make pretty decent stuff. #combophoto

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carrots + duck feet Do we all agree that there’s an uncanny resemblance between carrots and duck feet? And do we also agree that when you take something edible, such as carrots, and combine it with these weird orange/reptilian/alien looking duck feet… that you eradicate any potential carrot crave appeal that we once had? Maybe? Yes? Maybe definitely? I’m thinking we just need to forget what we think we know and imagine a world where these upwardly mobile carrot feet stick things are hopping around everywhere. And here’s the main question I’ve been leading up to… would we eat them or keep them as pets? While you guys sort out the specifics I’ll be in my genetic mutations lab working out the details with Dr. Moreau. Wish me luck. #combophoto #🥕 #🦆

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falcon wing doors + falcon First let me thank @teslavanlife for working with me on this image. Nico, you’re are the true EV nomad. 🙏 The dude lives in his Model X… literally. Now words: For as long as I can remember I’ve always bought into the mystery and mystique of the future. It consumes me. and yes, the past deserves all the reverence in world, but for me, I have my my binoculars pointed towards the future. It started with my dad’s Popular Mechanics magazines. They projected what the future might look like and I bought in to all of it. Then Dean Kamen (inventor of the Segway) showed up in my life and I was completely enamored with all his innovations designed to help disabled humans be more able… then Steve Jobs resurfaced and low and behold, he gave us these phones you’re holding in your hand (all phones). The introduction of the iPhone melted my brain. I genuinely couldn’t believe it was real… then Elon Musk happened… dude, that guy’s vision for the future is the most comprehensive vision I’ve ever come in contact with. It’s deep, it’s thoughtful and it’s about creating a better/smarter world and a far more sustainable world. Just watch the 2.5 hr Joe Rogan interview. It’s pretty twisty and turny, but it’s chock full ‘o nuggets… it’s very honest and real. Anyway, I bought his damn car (that I’ve spent the past two or three years working towards) yes, his car, because I didn’t buy a car from Tesla (the sustainable energy company), I bought a car from Elon Musk. An actual name and face behind a company. Which seems pretty rare these days… sadly. Oh my lord, this post long, I hope most of you have stopped reading, anyway, I may or may not have gotten emotional when I saw my car for the first time. Every childhood dream I had is wrapped up in that car, and I said “car” but I don’t really see it that way, it’s definitely more than that, it’s a boyhood dream about moving everything forward in a positive and powerful way. And for everyone reading this that outlives me… I’m so freakin’ jealous of what you all get to be a part of. Let’s stop looking at the future as a miserable existence. Sure, we can create that, or create something way better.⚡️♥️⚡

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pepper + shoe 🌶 👠 I’ve been called out a few times for showing an unfair bias towards bananas. And though I haven’t actually run the numbers on these allegations, I’d just like to point out that I definitely went through a jalapeño pepper phase too. Maybe I’m still in this alleged phase? Maybe I‘m in hot pursuit of the next object that blends seamlessly with a pepper? I’m fixated on the red ones. I think they come in green too. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong on that. As it turns out, I don’t eat peppers, I just photograph them. And I know what you’re thinking… “Ah-ha! busted! See, we knew you loved bananas more.” And I totally get how you’d think something like that, but the fact that I don’t eat peppers doesn’t prevent me from loving peppers. I love my dog, yet I’ve never once tried to eat him. I don’t know about you guys, but this is all sounding like a really buttoned up defense for my obvious commitment to the jalapeño. That poor shoe though… zero love on this write up. Sorry shoes. FYI, I hate shoes… but I’m not here to lecture people about those horrific little foot prisons everyone insists on incarcerating their feet with. I love a liberated foot, but remember, that doesn’t mean they’re going in my mouth. Okay, too many words… y’all have a super solid weekend. Maybe we do this again next week? ⚡️♥️⚡️#combophoto

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jet engine + coffee mug this one has been rattling around in my brain for quite a while, but it really made my head hurt trying to figure out how to make it work as a plain ol’ “straight line” #combophoto. fortunately a while back I started toying with the idea of a circular #combophoto (or video) and well… here we are. As it turns out, I was more than willing to let this one rattle around in my noggin for as long as necessary, but then @Instagram busted out their weekend hashtag project (which I strongly recommend taking a stab at), with the theme being motion, and seeing as I haven’t done a #whp in a while, I though… might as well jump on it. Anyway, motion is the theme… jets + coffee = rocket fuel. I’m not sure how you guys move throughout your day, but I don’t move much until I have my coffee. ☕️🚀 #WHPmotion

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paintbrush + bananas I feel like when I dig up a #combophoto from the past, I always say, “it’s one of my favorites”, and as much as I feel the need to mix it up and say, I hate this one… I can’t bring myself to do it. I just like it. And I can even say that without twitching. I guess it’s special at this very moment, right now, as I’m writing this. And it’s not because of what you‘re seeing, it everything that led up to me posting it. This simple little image floods my head with pages of memories, as most photos are prone to do, but it goes beyond just the memories of making it, it reminds me of where I was in my life, what was up, what was down, how many things were sideways. So when I say “I like this photo”, I think what I mean is, I love how powerful as single image can be, I love what it reminds me of, good or bad… it’s my journal. This picture is the cover of my journal entry, but I’m the only one that gets to turn the page and see what’s inside. We are living in the most magical time in all of human existence, you have a camera in your pocket, go take a meaningful picture and let’s regroup in a couple of years to discuss… or keep it to ourselves. Whatever. Dealers choice. ⚡️♥️⚡️

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roadways + waterways I did this one while juggling greased bowling balls and walking a tightrope. maybe I’m being a little hyperbolic? maybe a lot hyperbolic… whatever. My gross exaggeration comes from the fact that I did all the driving, flying and filming. And though that wasn’t exactly a walk in the park, my drone has technology from the future that allows it to track and follow its subject. That helped. I’ll even go so far as to say, that helped a lot. So in some ways I just had to drive a car/jet ski and let the drone follow. Now I’m totally unselling my whole juggling, tightrope nonsense. Let’s just say it wasn’t without its challenges and I’m bad at juggling. And special thanks to @jhgarrison for giving me access to all his fuel burning toys. #combophoto #combovideo

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