When you see the sniper, it’s already too late.
Somewhere in this image is a perfectly camouflaged marksman taking aim at you and ready to pull the trigger.
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Can you find the hidden shooter in this scene? Credit: Simon Menner
Artist Simon Menner took the photo above after receiving permission to watch snipers train with the German, Latvian and Lithuanian armies.
It shows grass and scrub in a bleak landscape with what appears to be the ruins of an old concrete building.
There is also a soldier with a high-powered rifle in the image, but he is practically invisible.
Blending in with your surroundings is as much a part of sniper training as learning to hit a target a mile away.
They must be able to survive alone or in pairs on unyielding terrain, digging holes for shelter.
And when the time comes to strike, they must be ready, without you realizing it.
Simon spent six years tracking snipers-in-training to capture their uncanny ability to blend in with their surroundings.
He watched them help each other make their own “ghillie suits” using natural elements like leaves and dead grass to match each landscape.
His series of paintings, called Disappearing Act, appear at first glance to be tranquil and sometimes eerie landscapes, from sunny meadows to mist-shrouded forests and mountains.
In each image, a shooter lurks with a gun pointed directly at the camera.
In some images, including the one on this page, the sniper is only 30 feet away, but still very hard to spot.
In real life, the sniper would be at least a quarter mile from the target, who would have no chance of seeing it.
Do you need a clue? Look at the small dark bushes near the center.
Keep scrolling to see the answer with the sniper circled.
Simon told Wired: “I like this project because you don’t see a key aspect of the photographs.
“In a way, what’s interesting is when the story happens in their heads.
“They’re looking for snipers and they think they’ve found them, but then they start questioning themselves. I find it fascinating.”
Last week we challenged readers with another image from the series featuring a sniper hiding among large rocks.
Another shows a snow-covered scene with scattered trees that seem to give the sniper nowhere to hide.
Meanwhile, the self-proclaimed “champion of hide-and-seek” filmed himself camouflaged in the woods.
He then stands up and reveals himself in a sniper-style YouTube video.
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A camouflaged sniper is close but very difficult to spot Credit: Simon Menner
Categories: Optical Illusion
Source: HIS Education