A couple of things. First, I have just opened a new aBookstore here. It has lots of my favourite books listed, but want more, so please leave a comment suggesting other titles!
Second, @VladGrigorescusent me this amazing picture of an apparent levitation….
Any ideas how it was achieved?
Oh, and @A_Filter sent me this lovely illusion (all of the women are fully clothed!)…..
What do you make of it?
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November 24, 2010 at 5:36 am |
I guess the guy jumped and was caught in the air. And the “body” of the naked girl is actually the arm of the girl in front.
November 24, 2010 at 6:01 am |
Well.. The “naked” girls “body” is the arm of the girl in front.
The levitation Im not sure of.
November 24, 2010 at 6:19 am |
Hmm I didn’t wanna say photoshop for the levitation but if u zoom in and check out the reflection on the car u can see the red/blue sign the lampost behind him and even a small piece of the pole that’s near to him but no reflection of him at all so hmmm?
November 24, 2010 at 10:41 am
We should not be able to see his reflection in the car from this angle. I suspect it is a more complicated trick.
November 24, 2010 at 7:00 am |
Pic 1: My possibly incorrect guess runs along the line of his doing a jump-in-place, and while in air he has his feet parallel with the sidewalk at the moment the picture is snapped. Probably taken with a fast frame-rate and the pic near the center of the arc of his upward/paused/downward motion is the frame which has the magical appearance.
Pic 2: Someone has arms big enough to look like someone else’s boob and belly.
November 24, 2010 at 7:26 am |
Vlad Grigorescu is a mentalist, so I expect he used a quite sophisticated trick. The pose he has is difficult to maintain while jumping. Will he reveal his trick to us?
November 24, 2010 at 7:52 am |
Something about his posture seems odd to me. He appears to be leaning. I wanted to say he was actually on the ground and the shadow was “painted on” on the ground beside him to make it appear separate from him and therefore as if there is space between him and the ground. But if this were true, it makes him an enormous guy in comparison to the car beside him! Unusually tall. So, I guess that’s not it. But his feet certainly seem to be on something to me, judging from his posture.
November 24, 2010 at 8:21 am |
I think he’s just flying. What’s the problem in that? You people can’t fly?
November 24, 2010 at 8:22 am |
I think it is possible that a clue could be the shadow behind his right foot. It isn’t clear where that shadow comes from; perhaps it is something on which he is resting.
The jump idea doesn’t fit; his demeanour is too relaxed for that.
November 24, 2010 at 8:53 am |
re 2nd picture:
Its the lady’s left arm that looks like her friend’s body.
November 24, 2010 at 8:54 am |
The pavement behind him is bright with little detail so I’d suggest that one hard to detect solution would be to have something attached to the lamp post behind him holding him up and then just clone out the shadow in photoshop.
November 24, 2010 at 9:09 am |
The second one is easy though certainly makes you ‘double take’ when you first see the photo … The supposed naked girl is actually the arm of the girl in front.
The first one I think is 2 photos super imposed/shopped. One with him stood where the shadow exists and one where he’s stood now next to the post.
November 24, 2010 at 9:28 am |
Regarding the bookstore suggestions: my favourite book recently is “How to be an Existentialist: or How to Get Real, Get a Grip and Stop Making Excuses” by Gary Cox. Sounds heavy but I found it fascinating; I read it twice in a month. Very much in keeping with current “self development” thinking.
November 24, 2010 at 9:35 am |
Re: book suggestions, how about Carl Sagan’s “Demon Haunted World”, Richard Dawkins’ “Unweaving the Rainbow” and Martin Gardner’s “Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science”?
November 24, 2010 at 9:41 am |
Another book suggestion:
Robert Anton Wilson’s “Quantum Psychology” (a lot of dubious-quality stuff in it, but it seems to me to contain some illuminating information regarding how our preconceptions influence our interpretation of sensory input)(especially the stuff on E-prime)
November 24, 2010 at 10:04 am |
The levitation….. He is really stood on the pavement with a drawn shadow to make him look like he is floating???
November 24, 2010 at 10:54 am |
I like the bookstore; lots of my favourites and plenty of new discoveries for the ever-growing ‘to read’ list. I’d second LZ’s suggestions of “Demon Haunted World” and “Unweaving the Rainbow”.
As for the levitation trick, my slightly implausible guess is that he was photographed in two halves, his legs taken while he dangled from an unseen pole by his arms, his top half while he just stands normally. The two could be photoshopped quite easily if his middle is kept roughly the same.
No? Me neither =)
I vote magic.
November 24, 2010 at 2:50 pm
I second Demon Haunted World. Also for persuasion books I would add Rushkoff’s Coercion. Great supplement to Cialdini’s Influence. Maybe add the Magician and the Card Sharp as well. Good read about magic and great biography of Dai Vernon.
November 24, 2010 at 10:59 am |
I think he is attached to something attached to the lampost behind him. Any tell tale shadows have been shopped out I guess
November 24, 2010 at 11:02 am |
Hmmm, I think he’s jumping. Look at the creases in the trousers, they look like he’s just bent his knees. Difficult, sure. But not impossible (with practice, fast shutter speed and hundreds of takes).
Option 2, some shadows are fake (drawn onto the street), this is hiding the kit holding him up. I’d have to start estimating heights, light sources, and writing stuff down but I don’t think the car shadows match the light source apparent for him and the poles. If we go this route then we assume he’s braced up the back and supported via something hidden in the shadow of the frontmost pole thing. Or he’s supported via harness on the big pole behind him.
But, honestly, he’s probably jumping. Easier, simpler, etc, etc.
November 24, 2010 at 11:07 am |
I would suggest that the “levitating” man is neither jumping nor supported by a harness. Nothing nearly so complicated.
He’s standing on the pavement.
The shadow is painted in the place where we’d expect it to be if he *were* in mid-air and fools the brain into thinking he is indeed there.
Bravo @VladGrigorescu (and Prof Wiseman for posting). This is a great illusion!
November 24, 2010 at 6:15 pm
Then where is his actual shadow ?
November 24, 2010 at 11:10 am |
He is just standing on the pavement. It is the shadow which gives the illusion that he is levitating.
Without the shadow this becomes obvious.
November 24, 2010 at 11:14 am |
I should also have added that the subject of the photograph must have been carefully picked for his extreme height to strengthen the perspective illusion further.
November 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm |
If he’s just standing where’s his real shadow? Or are all the shadows drawn in?
November 24, 2010 at 12:00 pm |
dunno if you can access this but this beats the levitation pic hands down
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=416344393038&set=a.415988943038.202332.621893038
November 24, 2010 at 12:08 pm |
Hmm.. not such a challenge.
The “levitating guy” is just jumping. If you flatten your feet it looks odd, that’s all.
The other photo.. woman in front has chubby arms.
November 24, 2010 at 12:12 pm |
It’s amazing to me how visually illiterate some people are.. to think that’s not his real shadow??
I mean, seriously? Look at the light in the rest of the image.. the shadow of the car and other objects.. the shadow of his arm on his body, the shadow of the awning on the sign, the shadow side of the building on the other side of the street.
Look at the position of his legs and feet! Of course he’s jumping… wow..
November 24, 2010 at 12:24 pm |
I reckon the Pick Man may have a point The shadow of the foot looks odd. The angle of the sun is a low right in our view.. just to the left (his angle) directly ahead of him……extending the angle of the shadows. So I dont think the shadowof the right foot is correct??????? Plus from the way he is standing, he is tipping his toes upwards therefore putting all his weight on his heels….as you would do if you were standing on something. Plus the way he is floding him arms suggests he is trying to balance, with his arms down he would look unbalanced……..
November 24, 2010 at 12:37 pm |
I once saw a dance performance where there was no lighting but a single fire strobe. The dancer simply kept jumping and posing, and the stage manager would fire the light off in while he was in the air. This happened about once a second, and gave the illusion the dancer was never on the floor. It was amazing – and I’m sure that’s how this was done. He jumped, the fired the shutter, he landed, end of discussion.
November 24, 2010 at 12:47 pm
found a video of it on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfVXRn6dNJ0 about 3 minutes in, he appears to levitate across the stage.
November 24, 2010 at 12:53 pm |
[Pic 1] I definitely think it’s ‘shopped. You can still see a bit of the real shadow next to his left foot – the rest’s been rubbed out. [Pic 2] pity she looks so deformed!
November 24, 2010 at 1:41 pm |
To me it looks like his left foot is firmly on the ground but his right leg is extended slightly forward and a bit above the ground. The angle of the photograph makes it seem that the heels are together. However if this was the case the shadow would still extend from the left foot too so I’m wondering about a little photoshopping there.
November 24, 2010 at 2:05 pm |
Something is wrong with shadows: length of black car’s shadow (first one) is aprox. one third/half of car’s height, and length of the first pole’s shadow is aprox. same as pole’s height.
November 24, 2010 at 3:09 pm |
Photoshop! The sun’s rays are parallel and so should shadows be at the same moment in time. Even if shapes span different surfaces and look distorted from the observer’s observation point, lines drawn from objects to corresponding points on shadows should be parallel. If you look at the tip of his left shoe to it’s corresponding shadow on the ground, the angle is like clock hands drawn at 8 and 2. If you look at the shadow from the edges of the cars to the ground, that angle is more like 7 and 1. Even if he had jumped up, all shadow lines should be parallel. Even the angle of the shadow on the wall showing the tip of his head is not the the same angle for the tip of his shoe. And if you look at his shadow on the ground, you’ll see his legs and hips but if you look at the shadow on the wall, it’s just his head. Where’s his torso and the elbow sticking out in front of him.
November 24, 2010 at 6:58 pm
All other shadows recede back and to the left. the corresponding parts of each shadow are more toward the horizon than the objects themselves. Yet, the shadow of his feet appears in the foreground in the picture and to the left. More towards the bottom of the photograph. His shadow shouldn’t appear closer to the bottom on the photograph if none of the shadows of other objects appear closer to the bottom of the photograph than the objects themselves. And the higher off the ground he is the more up the sidewalk toward the back the shadow should recede and the more his feet should be closer to the bottom of the picture than the shadow of his feet.
November 24, 2010 at 3:47 pm |
90% sure it’s a jump. Can’t find any evidence of tampering or inconsistency among the shadows. The pose reminds me of those photos of people playing chess or reading while riding roller coasters.
November 24, 2010 at 4:04 pm |
It’s a jump! Did you never do this as a kid? No photoshop required, just good timing with the shutter button. Very old-school trick. The cover art for George Hrab’s new album was done the same way. More photos of George levatating the same way appear in the album art.
http://www.cdbaby.com/hrab6
November 24, 2010 at 4:07 pm |
If you cover up the shadow and look at the picture, it’s pretty clear that he’s just standing on the sidewalk (about a foot back from where you’d think based on the position of the so-called shadow).
November 24, 2010 at 5:14 pm |
Painted on shadows.
Evidence: Comparing the shadows of the cars to the shadows of the small white posts, it becomes quite clear that the shadows of the small white posts are painted on. Also the more distant small white posts don’t have this long angled shadow. The real shadow of the man is mostly concealed behind him, but you can see part of it near his feet. He probably got someone to draw round his shadow, and the post shadows, earlier in the day when the sun was lower, and he stood in a slightly different place.
November 24, 2010 at 9:32 pm |
Smoke… and mirrors.
November 25, 2010 at 4:23 am |
in the 2nd pic i never saw the arm as the other lady’s body at all…saw it as an arm in the first view itself
November 25, 2010 at 4:45 am |
I agree with Markw. He’s just standing on the sidewalk but the shadow is drawn as to create the illusion of levitation.
November 25, 2010 at 11:52 am
So where’s his real shadow?
November 25, 2010 at 6:17 pm |
In the first image it looks like he is standing on his left foot, and has his right foot slightly elevated and in front of him, only enough so that the shadow still works to suggest a strange illusion.
The second image: at first glance, the arms of the woman in the front of the group look like the body of the woman next to her.
Books that might be of interest: (?)
Prisons We Choose to Live Inside, by Doris Lessing
The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell
Making Up the Mind, by Christopher Frith
November 26, 2010 at 8:11 am |
oh, I think the women si naked…
November 27, 2010 at 2:34 pm |
1) guy photographed during a small jump
2) it’s the curly haired woman’s arm
November 28, 2010 at 3:08 am |
nice and good one
November 28, 2010 at 5:52 pm |
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November 29, 2010 at 1:14 pm |
I vote for two photos put together in Photoshop or Gimp. You’ve got the man standing on the ground from one shot, and the shadow from another. Beautifully done.
November 29, 2010 at 8:43 pm |
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December 1, 2010 at 10:38 pm
Yes, but where’s his actual shadow then?
December 1, 2010 at 8:22 am |
I got the second one in an instant, because I actually was in a picture like that once! At my school ball, two of my friends were standing one behind the other, and the way the first girl’s arm was placed, plus the expression on the second girl’s face, made for a very convincing illusion.
December 1, 2010 at 11:00 pm |
My money’s on Photoshop, but jumping also makes sense. I’m surprised that no one has suggested that he was dropped. What’s above him?
December 2, 2010 at 9:16 pm |
Second picture – oh for the bingo bat wings!
December 11, 2010 at 6:45 am |
Without even reading any of the comments above, my following rationale about how the party photo was pulled off is thus:
The lady in the front with the black dress is overweight. Her arms are large, so they are able to cover up a good deal of her girlfriends’ features. (Hence why her right arm is being hidden behind her, in order to support the illusion that her weight has no bearing on the snapshot.)
The ripples of matter deposit of her arm happen to form the perfect shape to give an illusion of a naked body sneaking up behind her.
She is quite fortunate to have had this photo taken. It definitely provides a sexy image in the mind of many!
Cheers (and pardon in advance for any unrecognized crassness),
–Janicka.
December 13, 2010 at 2:57 am |
The guy is just jumping. It’s very obvious. Nothing fancy. His posture is weird, because HE’S JUMPING.
And the naked arm… Nice.
December 18, 2010 at 11:28 am |
I think The man is just standing he has his own shadow back his right foot. and the shadow near him was just painted in the place where we’d expect it to be if he *were* in mid-air and fools the brain into thinking he is indeed there.
December 22, 2010 at 12:27 pm |
THe ‘levitation’ is simply him standing still and the shadow has been moved by photoshop. You can check this by covering the shadow.
January 26, 2011 at 2:05 pm |
His posture makes it look remarkably like he’s sitting on some kind of seat attached to the pole behind him – and with the camera angle, such an attachment would be hidden behind him. It’s shadow would have to be shopped out, I guess.