PERSPECTIVE PHOTOS: MIND-BOGGLING

A collection of photographs that use optical trickery to mess with your mind.

No Photoshop tricks, just a matter of choosing the right perspective (and an ultra-wide angle works well in this case, too).  Photo courtesy of Eric Burgers

LIFE’s George Silk photographs swimmer Kathy Flicker in a pool in 1962, and the refraction makes it seem as if her head is separate from her body.  Photo: George Silk/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images.  For the full photo collection, go to LIFE.com

The obligatory “holding up the Leaning Tower of Pisa” photo.  Photo courtesy of Tony Ruscoe.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? This bald eagle may look like it is jet propelled – but it’s actually been photographed as an airplane flies in the distance. In a once-in-a-lifetime shot, the engines’ exhaust trails appear as if they are billowing out of the bird’s talons as it soars in the air. The extraordinary moment was captured on camera by Pam Mullins close to her home in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada.

A woman in London snaps a photo in Trafalgar Square — but her position next to a fountain makes it seem as if water is shooting out of the lens.  Photo: Ian Waldie/Getty Images.   For the full photo collection, visit LIFE.com.

Photo courtesy of Nino Modugno

Photo courtesy of NC Mountain Man

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