January 12, 2004

Image of the Day: Upside-down Duck

I find it fascinating how the brain responds to visual oddities. Take, for example, this image of a duck on Mirror Pond in Bend.

Turned right-side up, it was a perfectly boring shot of a duck. Rotated 180 degrees however, the duck suddendly became less prominent. Instead, out of the image emerged the shapes and colors of some beautiful maple leaves that were piled on the bottom of the pond - as well as the rather intriguing reflection of the duck.

At least I remember now why, as a kid, I used to love to hang from a tree branch or the seat of a swing, upside-down and just holding on with my legs (while horrifying my onlooking parents).

The world is just so much more interesting if every so often, you dare to look at from a fresh angle ...