The nuts and bolts of photography: things come apart

Paddi Macdonnell.
June 25, 2013
The nuts and bolts of photography: things come apart.

mclellan_thumbnailI dare say that many of us are interested in the nuts and bolts of how things work. I know I was fascinated by the exposed interior of my first iMac back in the 00s.

I’m not sure I’d go so far as to actually take my computer to pieces though, certainly not if I wanted it to keep working.

Taking things apart, and documenting them is exactly what Canadian photographer Todd McLellan does in his Things Come Apart” series. McLellan describes the project as an expansion of his original Disassembly Series and explores retro to modern daily items that have, or will be in our everyday lives”.

The series features a pair of photographs per object: a chaotic exploding’ image in which the elements of an item are arranged to hint at their original function; and an ordered’, almost scientific deconstruction of the the item in which the original form is as lost as the function.

The resulting images are both lovingly intricate, and forcefully rebellious. Just remember: don’t ever lend him anything.

mclellan_001

mclellan_002

mclellan_003

mclellan_004

mclellan_005

mclellan_006

mclellan_007

mclellan_008

mclellan_009

mclellan_010

mclellan_011

Have you ever dismantled something to see how it worked? What would you like to see disassembled? Let us know in the comments.

Paddi MacDonnell

Paddi MacDonnell is a designer and entrepreneur from Northern Ireland, follow her on Twitter.

Read Next

Apple Opts for AR over VR at WWDC

An Apple VR headset has been one of the most widely-rumored devices of the last few years, and it was finally settled a…

Exciting New Tools for Designers, June 2023

We’re halfway through 2023 already, and the number of incredible apps, tools, and resources for designers is mounting.

3 Essential Design Trends, June 2023

This month we are focusing on three trends within a bigger website design trend – different navigation menu styles and …

15 Best New Fonts, May 2023

The choices you make when selecting a typeface have more impact on your design than almost any other decision, so it’s …

10+ Best Tools & Resources for Web Designers and Agencies (2023 updated)

Having the ability to envision a tastefully designed website (i.e., the role creativity plays) is important. But being …

20 Best New Websites, May 2023

This month, there are tons of great new agency websites to get excited about. 3D animated prisms are a popular theme, a…

How to Find the Right White Label Website Builder for Your Agency

Web design agencies face a lot of obstacles in closing the deal with new clients. One of the most common ones is the ar…

Exciting New Tools For Designers, May 2023

There are hundreds of new tools for designers and developers released each month. We sift through them all to bring you…

3 Essential Design Trends, May 2023

All three of the website design trends here mimic something bigger going on in the tech space, from a desire to have mo…

10 Best AI Tools for Web Designers (2023)

It’s time to stop worrying if AI is going to take your job and instead start using AI to expand the services you can of…

10 Best Marketing Agency Websites (Examples, Inspo, and Templates!)

Marketers are skilled in developing strategies, producing visual assets, writing text with high impact, and optimizing …

15 Best New Fonts, April 2023

Fonts are a designer’s best friend. They add personality to our designs and enable fine typography to elevate the quali…