I can't explain it.
In fact, no one can, that's kind of the point.
I had never heard of The Oregon Vortex, but it sounded intriguing. I expected a couple of hours of illusionary entertainment, and there was a bit of that, but there was also some seemingly inexplicable phenomena that caused a person's height to seemingly change right before your eyes... and your camera.
In fact, no one can, that's kind of the point.
I had never heard of The Oregon Vortex, but it sounded intriguing. I expected a couple of hours of illusionary entertainment, and there was a bit of that, but there was also some seemingly inexplicable phenomena that caused a person's height to seemingly change right before your eyes... and your camera.
First, I'm going to show you this.
They call it the House of Mystery.
See? Intriguing!
It was built in 1904 by a mining company to be used as their office and tool shed. In 1911, the company abandoned the building, and a few years after that, it slid from its place on the side of the hill and has been sitting as it landed ever since. The building itself is in remarkable shape. The floor inside is at such a slant that it causes vertigo issues with some of the folks who enter. There is a small level platform just inside that window on the left where you can get your bearings and settle your stomach if need be. There is also a 'ramp' where a bottle left on its side to its own volition will seemingly roll uphill. Specializing in still photography made it a little hard for me to capture the effect, but trust me when I say it was there.
See? Intriguing!
It was built in 1904 by a mining company to be used as their office and tool shed. In 1911, the company abandoned the building, and a few years after that, it slid from its place on the side of the hill and has been sitting as it landed ever since. The building itself is in remarkable shape. The floor inside is at such a slant that it causes vertigo issues with some of the folks who enter. There is a small level platform just inside that window on the left where you can get your bearings and settle your stomach if need be. There is also a 'ramp' where a bottle left on its side to its own volition will seemingly roll uphill. Specializing in still photography made it a little hard for me to capture the effect, but trust me when I say it was there.
Aside from the house and it's illusions, however, is a little something strange going on outside.
After confirming the measurement markings on the furthest pole with a standard measuring tape, demonstrating that the cement block on the ground was indeed level, and that the tops of the seven-foot poles where both, indeed, seven feet above the ground, our tour guide had people volunteer to stand with their backs to the pole. As you can see from the markings, the top of James's head sits pretty much evenly with the six foot, five inches mark.
She then had our tour group (approximately 15 people, all spread in a semi-circle from approximately my point of view around to my left) judge where the volunteer's line of sight would hit on the pole in the foreground, which was also marked out in measured inches. As you can see from when we estimated in the opposite direction (below), our perception of James's line of sight is very different from one side to the other.
I'm pretty sure I don't know anyone whose line of sight is 6-8 inches below the top of their head.
"But, Terri," you say. "That's perception, not science!"
Touché, my friends.
Our guide then invited up several pairs of people to test some theories. Lining folks up, straight as sticks, back to measured poles, and then having them slowly walk toward each other until they met in the middle and then continue on to the opposite respective pole. What you could actually see happening was fascinating. Suddenly, one person who was previously taller by 4 or 5 inches, was now perceivably only standing an inch or two over the other.
My angle is bad at this area, obviously, but there was another flat, level "testing strip" a little further along the path...
My angle is bad at this area, obviously, but there was another flat, level "testing strip" a little further along the path...
That guy on the left in the top picture? That's Zak. And sure, he's slouching a bit more in the top than in the bottom shot. However, that amount of slouch does not account for what happens to the difference in height between him and the young lady on the far left with the Summer Prep 2015 t-shirt, when they switch spots.
The black lines you see across their heads were drawn in via Photoshop. They're level, obviously, and they're lined up with the top of Zak's and Summer Prep lady's heads. And there is a substantial difference in the amount of space between them from the top line-up to the bottom line-up that is not accounted for in total by Zak's change in posture.
The black lines you see across their heads were drawn in via Photoshop. They're level, obviously, and they're lined up with the top of Zak's and Summer Prep lady's heads. And there is a substantial difference in the amount of space between them from the top line-up to the bottom line-up that is not accounted for in total by Zak's change in posture.
It's not a camera trick: neither I nor my camera moved between the two shots. It's not the weird angle of the house in the background. There have been shots taken with the background completely whited out (way too much work for me!) The platform is absolutely level, the ground I was standing on was level for all intents and purposes. The same effect happens no matter from which direction the sun is lighting it, morning or evening.
So what is happening exactly?
That, my friends, is the mystery.
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