Switzerland-based photographers Jojakim Cortis and Adrian Sonderegger decided to have a little fun, and recreate the world’s most expensive photograph Rhein II as a miniature in their studio during some off time. Little did they know this small joke of a project would spark a fascination with recreating some of history’s most iconic photographs.

They began by trying to find prolific images that were bound to be known by people of all ages; The Hindenburg Disaster by Sam Shere (1937), The Wright Brothers, by John Thomas Daniels (1903), even the infamous photograph Nessie taken by Marmaduke Wetherell (1934).

“It started out as a joke,” Cortis told Wired. “In our free time, when there’s no money coming in, we decided to try and recreate the most expensive pictures in the world.”

The re-creations are entirely made of miniatures and models set up in their studio. Each of the final images is withdrawn from the dioramas enough that you can see their workspace, as well as the tools they used to create the stunning images.

Although the project is an ongoing piece, they are trying to steer clear of images that necessitate too much detail, or images of people. Their most recent re-creation is to be the stirring freeze frame from Kennedy’s assassination Frame 371 from Abraham Zapruder’s famous footage.

You can find all of the images on the pair’s website www.ohnetitel.ch under the menu option for “Ikonen”.

In a similar vein, Duggal is currently running a photo contest Recollection: Recreating the Past.