BLOG #111

11/17/2015

There are times when I try to make photographs that are a challenge to “deconstruct,” like a magician’s illusions.

In this image, above, there are six members of the US Olympic synchronized swim team: Tamara Crow, Erin Dobratz, Becky Jasontek, Anna Kozlova, Lauren McFall, and Kendra Zanotto. Their heads are out of the water and they are making a formation for me to photograph underwater.

Before you look at the underwater picture, below, can you imagine what it will look like just from seeing the group above water?  The basic concept is one I’ve discussed in a previous BLOG #107, “How To Make and O in EAU,” and that is when water meets air a reflection occurs. When I’m under the surface, I can use the mirror-like quality of the air/water interface to double everything, and to make a complex picture that tweaks the viewer’s mind. The result, as in the photo below, can seem like a strange sea creature dreamed up by Poseidon after a particularly ribald night.

Before you look at the image below, can you imagine what it will look like?

Aha!

And some others. In each of the following pairs of images, the top photo is taken from above of the water, and the bottom photo underwater.