If you remember growing up reading those “Where’s Waldo” books, you might enjoy this one. A photographer has made a name for himself for capturing pictures of military snipers (or attempting to). He goes out, and tells the snipers to put on their best show, and keep themselves hidden as best they can. The aim of the game is to sot the sniper.
Simon Menner
In the military, snipers are one of the sneakiest jobs you can have. You need to have a serious knack for hide and seek, not to mention a ton of patience to remain unseen for long periods of time. A photographer called Simon Menner has made a game out of snapping pictures of marksmen in action. ultimately, this just ends up looking like a landscape picture. And a seemingly boring one at that.
Although, the aim of the game is to look at the picture and point out the sniper. People have been blown away at the ability of the soldiers to hide so well. In so many of the pictures, people would scrutinize the image, breaking down everything they see with their eyes. Although, in real life, one wouldn’t have the time to do this. It would be too late for you as you would be so oblivious to the danger lurking in the shadows.
Where’s Waldo
It all started in 2010 and 2013. Simon requested to photograph the German military. In particular, the marksmen. Then, in 2022, he went to photograph the marksmen in Lithuania and Latvia while they were hiding out of eyesight. they did it so well, that the pictures gained a lot of attention online. People were dumbfounded that they could not spot the man with a gun. However, this does mean they are doing their jobs right.
The snipers in question were not in battle mode at the time of the photoshoot. Simon staged the shoot, but this did not mean it lacked effort or authenticity. In fact, the soldiers put on their best efforts to hide from Simon’s camera lens. “Even though they were staged the snipers wanted to be really properly hidden. For them it was part of their pride,” said Simon.
Simon now wishes to photograph more and more snipers while they are dressed up in their camouflage and hiding from everyone. He finds the whole experiment extremely fascinating. So, he put a call out to the world for the US military to get back to him. He wishes to photograph them next. “If anyone from the US military reads this, please get in touch with me,” he said. “They look for the sniper and think they found them, but then begin to question themselves. I find that fascinating.”
Examples
The world is buzzing with these brain burning images. We have found a few examples that we found the most baffling. Can you see the sniper in the picture below? We will give you a few minutes to find them yourself.
Found him yet? If not, that’s okay, the sniper is very good at what he does. If you look at the building in the picture, the sniper is situated in the doorway of the second floor. He has hidden himself by making use of camouflage. Anyone who was walking along would not have the time to see the sniper before it was too late.
Sources
- “You have eyes of a marksman if you can spot deadly sniper in picture.” Lad Bible. Dominic Smithers. January 2, 2023.
- “You have the eyes of a marksman if you can spot the sniper hiding in this snowy landscape – but how quickly can YOU spot them?” Dailymail. Lydia Hawken. January 3, 2023.