Faroe Islands — Sørvágsvatn Optical Illusion Lake
298.93 $
Lake Sørvágsvatn on Vágar Island, Faroe Islands, photographed from the specific clifftop position that creates the optical illusion of the lake floating above the ocean — fresh water appearing to be suspended 100 metres above the Atlantic.
Description
The Sørvágsvatn illusion photograph has a precise camera position — a clifftop on the south shore of the lake at a specific GPS coordinate — from which the perspective geometry makes the lake appear elevated above the ocean below, as if fresh water has been suspended in space above the Atlantic. The physical reality is that the lake sits at 32 metres above sea level and the ocean cliff is directly below the camera position, creating the forced perspective. This image was made at that position during a calm Atlantic morning when both the lake surface and the ocean below were relatively still, the two water surfaces simultaneously visible at different apparent heights. The Faroese grass-topped basalt cliffs, the green-brown moorland edge of the lake, and the grey Atlantic beyond complete the surreal geography. Shot at f/11 on a 35mm prime, the depth of field maintains sharpness from the lake edge to the ocean horizon.
