When I was growing up in England, one of my favorite day trips was to a "Model Village". A staple attraction at seaside resorts around the UK, these were small (1:12 scale) villages depicting English country life, complete with train stations, cricket on the village green, newleyweds posing for photographs outside churches. I believe these villages first sprang up in the 30s, and by the late 60s when I was 6, they were already past their prime, showing an England that has already long since disappeared. I doubt that even many of the model villages still remain.

This is probably why Tilt-Shift Photography (see Flickr examples here) provides a very bittersweet, nostalgic melancholy for me. By using split focus lenses, any landscape can be turned into a faux-minature. There's also a few tutorials on how to fake the effect in Photoshop.

I happened across the above clip tonight on Vimeo while using their cool new visualization toy, Vimeoland - the first time I've seen a Tilt-Shift video that works so well. I think the "undercranking" probably adds to the effect.