The photographer said the right half of the image is actually the concrete wall of a floodgate protruding into the water. - PHOTO: SILVEIRA/TWITTER
AN intriguing photograph of an egret wading in a marsh in Japan has attracted worldwide attention online, with many wondering how the image was shot.
The photograph taken by Mr Kenichi Ohno, 79, appears to be a composite image at first glance.
A sharp line splits the frame in two, and the bird seems to be walking straight from the orange half on the right into the blue half on the left. The right half is further split into top and bottom halves, creating the illusion of a horizon.
Titled “Hedatari”, or “Separation” in English, the photograph was taken in Saitama prefecture just outside Tokyo. Various news outlets, including US art publication My Modern Met and British news site indy100, reported that the image is real.
A post of the image on social media platform X, formally Twitter, has gained almost six million views.
Speaking to Japanese news outlet The Asahi Shimbun, Mr Ohno said he took around 20 shots of the egret and was also confused by the photograph when he first saw it on his computer after returning home from the marsh.
He added that he “did not imagine the photo would draw such a huge response”.
Explaining the mind-bending image, Mr Ohno, a retiree who started photography 10 years ago, said the right half of the image is actually the concrete wall of a floodgate protruding into the water.
The bottom right half of the frame is actually the wall’s reflection on the water’s surface.
Despite this clarification, many netizens still found it difficult to understand the different elements of the image.
Professor Aydar Akhatov, who is based in Russia and an expert in environmental economics, uploaded an edited and annotated version of the photograph onto the X platform to aid netizens in breaking down the surreal image.
Many netizens thanked Prof Akhatov, with some saying they were going “crazy” trying to figure it out.
But others remain sceptical, with one netizen replying that her brain was still “resisting” the explanation.
Spain-based photographer Daniel Bauer, said in a comment: “It seems strange...that the edge of the wall is absolutely straight in the upper part of the reflected image, even though there is movement in the water.”
“But I’m not an image forensic scientist,” he added.
Mr Ohno received an honourable mention for the image in the 39th Nature in Japan photo contest organised by the All-Japan Association of Photographic Societies in July last year.
“I try to shoot a similar one but I cannot,” Mr Ohno said. “I feel from my heart that photography is a form of art characterised by a chance encounter.”
He added he will continue pursuing such unexpected, one-time encounters. - The Straits Times/ANN
