Magic Window Illusion

Look closely for a minute.Can you tell whether the window is facing to the left or to the right? i think it is confusing.

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Hurricane Katrina Optical Illusion

Hurricane Katrina was a nightmare for so many people along the Gulf coast including Marie of Mandeville, LA. Fortunately her house came through it just fine, but they did experience the brunt of a major storm.

Out of that storm this illusion was born. This is a picture of her husband standing against a large pine in their yard. She was kind enough to send this to me to share with y'all here.

So tell me why is this picture here on an illusion blog?


Marie Morgan-Growden
Copyright 2005
Used w/permission
Click image to reveal illusion

If your still not sure why this picture deserves a spot on this optical illusion blog click on the image and find out for yourself.

Thank you Marie for sharing this photo with us!

I also want to wish all of you still getting out from under Katrina the best of luck going forward.

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Sea Sickness Optical Illusion

I decided to try my hand at some illusions. The below image is the result. This is an anomalous motion illusion so please read the caution at the top of this page.

This is how I visualize the results of sea sickness in the optical illusion world. You can see the center spiraling down toward the deck and the outside splashing out after hitting. I know it doesn't sound nice, but that's life in the world of illusions.

What do you think? Do you see any motion in this image?


Sea Sickness
Walt Anthony (c)2012

You can click to continue reading full article, but the truth is, this is it, there ain't anymore.

Peace!

Update: Steve Higgins over at Omnibrain has dubbed this "The Purple Nurple Optical Illusion".

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Color Contrast Optical Illusion

Below is another excellent example of White's illusion.

This is an interesting effect, below there is only one shade of purple. Let me be clear both shades of purple have an RGB value of R 198 G 173 B 231.

Although the purple on top seems to be darker than the purple below, they are actually identical.

As you can see, the purple triangles on top are mostly surrounded by blue, while the purple triangles below are surrounded by white. The color triangle's surroundings are changing their perceived color.

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Shadow Illusions

Here is a series of shadow illusions by Tim Noble and Sue Webster. A 2003 press release describes them thusly,

Tim Noble and Sue Webster. Partners in both life and art, Tim Noble (1966) and Sue Webster (1967) explore the toxic influences of consumer culture through new modes of portraiture. Turning garbage into complex and visually arresting sculptural installations, Noble and Webster exploit, manipulate and transform base materials, often using self-portraiture to undermine the “celebrated” authorship of the artist.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster
Dirty White Trash [With Gulls] ©1998
Six months' worth of the artists' rubbish



Tim Noble and Sue Webster
Real Life is Rubbish, ©2002

Joe La Placa of Artnet had the following to say about the next two installations,

"Tim Noble and Sue Webster’s aptly titled exhibition, “Modern Art is Dead,” is an irreverent version of a shadowy Plato's Cave. Riding on the wake of their successful solo exhibition at P.S.1 in New York, the naughty couple continue to astound audiences with their transgressive alchemy of light, shadow -- and scraps of steel!

In the bawdily titled The Crack, we enter a dark room where an assemblage of welded steel scraps stands in the middle of the gallery like a lonely Giacometti figure.

A light source in front of the sculpture casts a halo of light -- and a crack-like shadow -- against the wall behind it.


Tim Noble and Sue Webster
The Crack ©2004
(installation view)
Modern Art, London

Initially confounding (most tend to see the shadow as a positive space) we realize that the shadow is the negative space between two standing nude figures facing each other -- self-portraits by Noble and Webster.

The main work in the show, HE/SHE, is far more explicit -- there's no hiding in the shadowy crevices.

Two modernist-looking steel sculptures produce distinct silhouettes of the artists -- taking a piss! Could this be the artist’s commentary on modernism, a metaphorical marking of art turf?


Tim Noble and Sue Webster
HE/SHE ©2003
(installation view)
Modern Art, London

I loved the skill needed to create these fascinating shadow self-portraits. They obviously are very passionate about their art. But they don't just do shadow illusions here is a word illusion very much like the one in this post.

Tim Noble and Sue Webster
" " ©2003

I'll let you fill in the title of this piece.

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Sun Pillar Optical Illusion

The below is the January 2nd, 2012 Astronomy Picture of the Day.

This is another amazing illusion of nature. There was no special filter used to create this effect. Have you ever seen this effect as the sun sets?


A Sun Pillar Over Maine
Credit & Copyright: Lucy Orloski

Explanation: Have you ever seen a sun pillar? When the air is cold and the Sun is rising or setting, falling ice crystals can reflect sunlight and create an unusual column of light. Ice sometimes forms flat, six-sided shaped crystals as it falls from high-level clouds. Air resistance causes these crystals to lie nearly flat much of the time as they flutter to the ground. Sunlight reflects off crystals that are properly aligned, creating the sun-pillar effect. In the above picture taken late last month, a sun-pillar reflects light from a Sun setting over Bangor, Maine, USA.

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Chess Board Optical Illusion

Here is an excellent optical illusion photograph taken by Alain db of the Konica Minolta Users group on PBase.

This is an actual photograph not a digital/photoshop manipulation. The best that I can tell is the only thing done to this image was to convert it to Black & White. This photograph was awarded 1st place in Minolta Challenge #16 on PBase.

How do you think it was done?

Could a magnet be holding the King to the side of that raised block?

IdeaOnBlack
Copyright 2004 Alain db
Used w/permission

Still not sure how this photo was taken?

Alain was kind enough to provide an inside look in color with a slightly different lighting so you can tell without a doubt how it was accomplished.

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