O is for OPTICAL ILLUSIONS

They say timing is everything, but some photographs become brilliant or hilarious because both the timing and the angle work out just right. Sometimes this means catching people or objects lined up perfectly at the ideal moment. Other times these are staged for maximum effect.  Check out this photo to the right that I found online - looks like a two-headed zebra, but in actual fact it's two zebras one behind the other. Gives you a start at first, doesn't it? This is an optical illusion.

Eyes function as cameras that send a picture to your brain through the optical nerve. Your brain "prints" the picture and allows you to envision the object your eyes observed. Optical illusions are achieved by messing up the signal between the eyes and the brain. An optical illusion is the difference between what you expect to see and what is actually there.

You can mimic optical illusions with your camera by taking photographs where the timing and angle works out just right OR you can create optical illusions by working with your photographs and layering them together to distort reality. With the help of natural elements, unique composition, color, light and even photo editing software, you can create works of art that confuse the mind and trick the eye.

I'm still working on how to do this with Photoshop Elements, but here are some photos I found online that illustrate optical illusions. (from here)

Did you notice with the last photo that you can "see" the man's face both full face forward or in profile?  If not, go back and look...it's kind of odd.

Hope you enjoyed this little introduction to optical illusions.  And I promise that as soon as I learn how to do it, I'll post some of my own.

Before I go, I must remember to give Oppulent thanks again to Mrs. Nesbitt for creating and persevering with the Official ABC Wednesday site.  She and her team of assistants are Open-minded (although some of us (me) may be a bit Odd) and will Organize their lives to Oversee your posts and Offer Original and Objective Observations.  To join in, click here.