There are many categories of photographs, and many ways to classify them. With some pics, you’ll look, think “that’s nice”, and move on. With others, you’ll look, think “whoa…” and keep on looking.
This is what the end looks like.
This scene, which I can only imagine looks exactly like the last thing the dinosaurs saw 65 million years ago, is actually a weird cloud positioned just right at sunset.
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Do you ever feel watched?
I’m sure there’s a good reason these rooftop windows in Sibiu, Romania look like five soulless eyes silently watching the streets, but I definitely can’t think of one.
I want to believe.
When clouds look like something they’re not, it’s usually because there are many ways to interpret their fluffy shapes. Lenticular clouds aren’t really fluffy at all, though — and some of them look suspiciously UFO-like.
A different kind of canvas.
What looks like a picture-perfect painting of a desert at sunset is actually…an actual desert at sunset. This isn’t a canvas, it’s a mirror — and it’s incredible how framing the landscape alters our perception of it.
I think there’s something wrong with your arm.
Like, I know tattoos are painful when you first get them, but are they really supposed to glow like that? It must take an incredible amount of skill to achieve some an uncanny effect.
The final frontier.
Someone with more photographic know-how than me took this incredible picture. It isn’t an image of planetary destruction. It actually shows two marbles, zoomed way in. It’s an impressive and creative way to photograph things.
Speaking of space…
These craters in the Icelandic highlands are evidence of the way that space is constantly interacting — sometimes directly — with Earth. Viewed through a different lens, though, it looks like a scene on a faraway planet.
Cool sink.
Apparently these intricate patterns are the result of corrosion. But I totally thought this was some kind of high-end faucet with old-timey maps printed on it. I mean, I’m still not totally convinced it isn’t.
Sweet, sweet sea glass.
This is obviously a pic of sea glass — shards of glass that become matte and smoothed by ocean currents. But still, every time I see sea glass, I think it looks like exotic candy.
Then I took an arrow to the knee.
What looks like a promotional image from yet another remake of Skyrim is an undoctored real-world photo. If you want to experience this taste of Skyrim for yourself, head for the Emperor’s Corridor in the Czech Republic.
Welcome to Hoth.
This image of the base of the American side of Niagara Falls in winter might be familiar to those who know the area, but to everyone else it looks like a lonely outpost on an icy planet.
Giver of life.
This pic of an oasis in the Libyan desert is a powerful reminder of the necessity of water to all living things. It would definitely be a sight for sore eyes to any desert traveler.
Mount Fuji at sunrise.
This photo from the top of Mount Fuji in Japan, a little over 12,000 feet up, shows the sun’s rays in a unique way. A lot of traditional Japanese art also depicts the sun in this fashion.
Where’s the entrance?
I love the design of this hotel in the Netherlands. Trying to imagine what it must look like inside, or what the floorplan could be, gets confusing fast.
Banana camo.
I don’t know what, if any, evolutionary advantages there are if you’re a moth that looks exactly like a slightly overripe banana. The important thing is that, for some reason, there is indeed a moth that looks like this.
Chiseling is hard.
This shows a scale model of the original plan for Mount Rushmore. As it turns out, carving giant bodies into the side of a mountain is hard work, and plans were scaled down to only include the heads.
Perfect timing.
This shows an eclipse during sunrise. It’s interesting how the warm, muted tones of the rising sun are still there, only significantly muted. This is the kind of pic that would take a lot of pre-planning.
What is it?
No, seriously, I literally don’t know if this image shows the sun or the moon. The only thing I can be sure of is that it shows some kind of heavenly body.
Something isn’t right here.
It isn’t a ship that was caught high and dry by receding waters, or one that’s somehow conquered the desert. It’s simply a unique angle of a ship as it traverses the Suez Canal.
Broken Glass
Without a sense of scale or angle, it’s easy to lose track of just what it is you’re looking at. This image shows water-filled rice fields from above, but it also looks a lot like stained glass.
