barbers upstairs
My wife and I took our grandson the other month to the Wētā Workshop Experience in Auckland. Wētā is the New Zealand-based visual effects company of maddeningly talented concept artists, art directors, production managers and manufacturing titans who create the visual effects and production sets for many of the movies we so love (think The Hobbit movies).
Among other things, the Auckland exhibition studio is an immersive experience in the magic of forced perspective.
The subtle forced perspective in today’s image makes it appear that the barber is either very small compared to the pedestrian on the side walk or far more recessed from the street than he actually is.
I believe there are at least two photographic properties that contribute to the forced perspective. First, the proximity of the pedestrian in the foreground exaggerates his height compared to the background content. Secondly, my camera sports a wide-angle (28mm) lens, which also slightly distorts by extending the foreground-to-background distances in a photograph. In combination, the image exhibits a wee bit of forced perspective.
I also love the look of the segmented shop spaces within the building. The full-glass building facade pulls the viewer into the image, creating a feeling of strong visual intimacy - a harmless voyeurism. We don’t expect to be privy to the activities on the upper floor.