Optical illusion photos combine a love of old cars and time travel

When the two friends started experimenting with forced perspective photographs two years ago, their first project was a scene with an ice wagon. Patchett, the set designer in their collaboration, found tiny blocks of ice and made a set of ice tongs out of paper clips for their first photograph together. “It’s the additional touches that makes [the photo] time-travel and fools your eye,” Patchett said.

Hendricks and Patchett have been friends for almost two decades, and this photography project combines their shared love of the art form with old cars and nostalgia for bygone eras. Their tiny models simulate large-scale scenes, making them look as real as possible. A wide-angle lens creates a depth of field that completes the illusion.

The Colorado light and sky and the detailed attention to the props are what also sets their work apart. They often take photos of backgrounds that showcase Colorado’s natural beauty, places like the famous Red Rocks Park, downtown Denver, and neighborhoods that still embrace the retro vibes of the decades the duo loves.
“We want people to travel back to that time with us. Remember what it used to be like. We’re using models from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s and setting up in front of buildings that were around at that time. We try to make everything as authentic as possible,” Hendricks said. “Some of these photos we take just bring back memories.”

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