I tend to like quirky photographs that make me think for a moment or send mixed signals to my brain. Or both. For me, this image is one of those. I suggest that viewers look at the photo to see if you get those same mixed signals before scrolling further.
- Optical illusion: “something that deceives the eye by appearing to be other than it is”.
1/4000, f/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM +1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
At first glance it appears that this Black-necked Stilt (image taken three days ago at Glover Pond) is about to topple over onto its face but nothing could be further from the truth. The image is not tipped away from true-level as I carefully rotated the photo using the reflection as a guide. What we see is exactly what existed in nature and the image is level.
Our brain gets conflicting visual cues here – on the one hand the angle of the legs and body tells us the center of gravity of the bird must be so skewed to the left that the bird is about to fall over but then we also see from the ripples on the water that the water’s surface must be level so it’s not a problem of rotation. So what’s going on here?
The explanation comes from what we cannot see – the very long lower legs and feet beneath the surface of the water (if you’re unfamiliar with the extreme length of those legs, see here). The leg joint just below the surface is really the “ankle” and not the “knee” so it bends in the opposite direction of our knees. As a result those long lower legs that we can’t see have placed the feet in the mud directly below the arch of the neck (approximately) and that foot position balances the body of the bird. Some viewers will likely “see” what’s really going on more quickly than others, which is typical of optical illusions.
Even though this image appeals to me for a variety of reasons (the interesting pentagon shape formed by the legs, bill and their reflections among them) it’s not a photo that I’d likely print.
But that doesn’t keep me from enjoying it anyway.
Ron
Beautiful image!
I love these birds, and if I’d been fortunate enough to capture an image like this, it would absolutely be in my print queue. Definitely wall-worthy, IMO. And I’m happy to know these birds go so far north, I thought they were primarily Gulf Coast residents. We usually see much pinker “stilts” on these beauties.
If you rotate the bird so that it doesn’t look as if it is about to fall over, it really looks quirky. Neat shot. Beautiful plumage.
I know, I did that, Dave and almost included it in the post but I lost so much of the image in rotation I didn’t include it. But it really did look weird…
I’m glad Susan Stone said it left her feeling a little crazy because it effected me the same way…like “Op Art” does.
I’m really glad you explained what was going on here. I kind of figured that the rest of the legs were in a position to balance the bird. Maybe because I was out in the sun all morning and am really tired, the picture continues to leave me feeling crazy. But a fun kind of crazy, if there is such a thing.
Love this!
It does look as if he was very fortunate that the ‘other’ bird was keeping him in balance. Take away the reflection, and the original will fall.
And quirky is always good.
Big smiles – and thank you.
What a fun image to start my Sunday. It’s lovely! Thanks so much.
Glad you enjoyed it, Sharon. Thank you.
Great shot! Love the illusion!
Charlotte
Thanks, Charlotte.
I like it. It amuses me but I’m not sure why. Maybe the tilted stilted effect. 🙂
I should have used “tilted stilt” in my title, Stephanie. Didn’t think of it…
Not a little…I’m about 99.9% quirk….
That picture is hilarious! Although I knew even without your explanation that he wasn’t about to do a face plant, it looks like the only thing holding him up is the beak to beak contact with the “other bird”…and if either one of them should shift even slightly, he’d be in trouble! Although I think I can see the barest glimpse of his ankle at the water line, this.plays with my mind in such a way that I actually feel a physical visual reaction…a really funny image!
Thanks, Patty. I’m glad you enjoyed the image like I did. Perhaps there’s a little “quirk” in you too…