A photo taken at Yosemite National Park in the USA is currently going viral on the interwebz as it flips the script – literally – on what it is you think you’re looking at…
Kevin Wolf, a filmmaker based in San Francisco, is currently the man of the hour after posting a photo he took of California’s Yosemite National Park online.
At first glance, the image looks like a beautiful landscape shot with a starry sky overhead – actually a pretty common shot photographers like to take of Yosemite.
But in actual fact, the image was taken during the day and has been flipped upside down. The starry sky is actually nothing more than twinkling sand and pebbles on the bottom of the lake – the water is so crystal clear and placid that it actually resembles the sky!
Here’s the original:
Since posting the photo on Reddit, the image and story has been picked up by media outlets all around the world, including news.com.au and MailOnline, where it has since been shared 585 times and received over 300 comments.
On Kevin’s own Instagram page, the photo has racked up 370 likes and 38 comments, with adjectives ranging from “awesome” to “freaking amazing” to “kick-ass” being used to describe the spectacular shot #EarthPorn
One user has even taken it upon themselves to create a mirrored version of the upside-down photo:
A photo posted by K E V I N W O L F (@kev.wolf) on
Around 4 million people visit Yosemite National Park every year, which was designated a World Heritage Site in 1984. Around 95 percent of its grounds is designated wilderness, which includes mountains, glaciers, waterfalls (Yosemite Falls is the tallest in North America), lakes and giant sequoia groves.
Hundreds of photographers visit the park annually with the hope of capturing the beauty of the starry sky at Yosemite, which is so far away from the effects of light pollution that spectacular shots are almost guaranteed.
But taking a shot of the “starry sky” during the day is something new, and for that Kevin should be congratulated!