On The Straight And Arrow

Where Are We, Mate? In Los Angles?

Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON

No, I haven't rotated the image above, or tinkered with it in any way. I just thought I would walk under this huge neon sign and shoot it. Does this image force you to look twice? The angled neon sign, to a multi-level car park, is rectangular, about a couple of metres high and six or seven metres across. The blue arrows show the ``in'' lanes and the red circle shows the ``out'' lane. It's a viewpoint that challenges your perspective (and your powers of perception) because there is no ``normal'' point of reference for the eye.

Now look at the second frame, below. It's taken from further back and gives you a couple of points of reference - the street lamp and the floodlit building. All of a sudden, your brain can place the neon sign in perspective. I guess you could say it's a bit like a visual jigsaw puzzle.