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paradox v2.0 (1 of 2)

see how this picture came out here
paradox v2.0 (1 of 2) by pochacco20.
Please take a look at paradox (my first attempt at this trick).

So I finally got a around to trying it again and I'm fairly happy with the results. Hopefully there will be more to come as I have a bunch of other ideas I haven't tried yet.

(8-7-08)
This is funny. Apparently my photo was posted somewhere and then link to from reddit yesterday which is apparently why I'm getting more hits again. I'm curious how this happened. Anyway, my favorite comment so far is from rlee0001:

"That's actually the notorious, and highly feared, East Los Angeles photoshop gang. Made up of primarily Asian/Pacific immigrants, they are thought responsible for countless hate related murders and other violent crimes.
The ELAPG is also one of the nations most wealthy gangs. The gang has profited greatly from sales of Heroin and Crack Cocaine, and also from their fairly well known professional 'cleaning' services. Their wealth is one of the most significant factors preventing their capture.
Members of the ELAPG are often spotted on basketball courts with high-end photography equipment. Another dead give-away is the ELAPG dress code: black leather jackets (usually) over red sweaters, and stone washed blue jeans.
Be very careful when within camera shot of any ELAPG members. Any non-member captured by an gang camera will be added to the hit list. When new members are recruited, part of the initiation ritual is to shoot to death, at point-blank range, three randomly selected people from the hit list, and put the picture on their body.
From this picture you can see one non-member (wearing a green jacket in inner picture). You can almost see the fear in his eyes. Don't be surprised when he turns up dead, with that picture on his body."

That's hot! :)

And again:
"Do you know how many ELAPG members there are in that picture? More than thirty. Seven are on the camera crew, and the rest are all ninjas.
That's just how Asians roll."

He cracks my s*** up! 
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Comments

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Kurt Schlatzer  Pro User  says:

Totally awesome.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

Thanks Kurt... that's a real compliment coming from the Photoshop Master. I'm glad you like it.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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_mpd_  Pro User  says:

That blows the one from last year away. Total neural implosion.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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forsaken1 says:

Mark, this rocks dude! One thing I noticed was that the photo you are holding should probably be a little bit darker. Also, if you could add some specular highlights to the top left side of it, that would just ice the cake. Nicely done!
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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Season Moore says:

Niiice! You taking the picture of the picture in the back kicks ass.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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matthewtc says:

Mark, Can I Take Photoshop Lessons From You? This Is Really Great
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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bdmckeown  Pro User  says:

This is a great creation dude. I love it.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

Thanks guys!

Mike, I still really like the one from last year. I only used one camera for that shot so it was a real pain... so maybe that's why I appreciate it more.

forsaken, thanks for the tip. I'll need some help with the specular highlights, but you're right, that would be hot.

Season, your YMCA shoot is gonna kick ass... it's gonna be photolicious!

Matt, if you ever come to another meetup or if you're in Raleigh we should get together. You can mess around with PS and I'll play with your shiny new camera. ;)

Ben, thanks, and I hope to see you again soon at the next meetup. It's been way too long.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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michaeljameslewis  Pro User  says:

wow. really cool concept
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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tsmyther says:

This is phenomenal! It's like watching one of those time-travel movies where the main character becomes his own grandfather's best friend or something. Amazing!
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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Ocell  Pro User  says:

Dude, this is increadible! How did you get the shadow on your leg? Perfection.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

Thank you, thank you.

Smythe, not sure which movie you're talking about, but it sounds interesting.

Chris, unfortunately I was alone and didn't think ahead about having someone else cast shadows for me, so I was forced to draw that one in myself. All the others in this picture were really there.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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Vendobiont  Pro User  says:

Yow.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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SublimeImage  Pro User  says:

WOW! This is impressive on all levels. The concept, the execution and the post production is amazing. 5 star photo, you do great work!
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

Thanks so much! I like your work, too. Your comments are very much appreciated.

Now, do I still get 5 stars if I confess that I really do have 7 identical brothers?

j/k
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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Dave Horne  Pro User  says:

Very cool! Great job putting this together!
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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Ocell  Pro User  says:

"Chris, unfortunately I was alone and didn't think ahead about having someone else cast shadows for me, so I was forced to draw that one in myself. All the others in this picture were really there."

Well you did an excellent job drawing it in. I wasn't sure if it was real or not.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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c r i s  Pro User  says:

That's amazing! It actually makes my brain hurt a little. Very cool!
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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jbhalper  Pro User  says:

Great pair. Love this idea. Nice, nice work.
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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jonesor  Pro User  says:

Great idea - very impressive!!
Posted 49 months ago. ( permalink )

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SouthernBelladonna  Pro User  says:

very cool!
Posted 48 months ago. ( permalink )

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Lupe Jelena  Pro User  says:

I'm speachless, the best multiplicity I've ever seen.
Posted 48 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

Thanks again everybody. Sorry to all the brains that hurt... wasn't my intention.

Lupe, I'm flattered. I like your collection, too. If you really like multiplicity shots check out Kelli Connell's work. She does it better than anyone else I've seen.
Posted 48 months ago. ( permalink )

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cozysf  Pro User  says:

Wow, amazing photoshop!
Posted 48 months ago. ( permalink )

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Vendobiont  Pro User  says:

Thanks for that link to Kelli Connell. She's strange, but you're right about her ability.
Posted 48 months ago. ( permalink )

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shaxxon  Pro User  says:

I love how you're playing basketball in the back and the guy off to the side (the ambigous hand) can be seen in the photo. Amazing.
Posted 42 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

Thanks Shannon, glad you liked it. I'm not as nimble as I used to be and I think I hurt myself trying to grab rim there. That ambiguous hand wasn't framed there on purpose, but I wanted to stay true to the way this was shot so I left it in. It's hard to blindly frame these shots. :)
Posted 42 months ago. ( permalink )

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sulfababy says:

Wow, these are so cool! :)
Posted 42 months ago. ( permalink )

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Stefano Brozzi  Pro User  says:

great!!!
Posted 38 months ago. ( permalink )

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Jeremiah Kellogg says:

Wonderful! great skills!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

Wow, thanks guys... I'm surprised these shots are still getting views and I'm glad you guys like them. Thanks for the encouragement.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

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Samantha Nandez Photography says:

superbly done! great attention to detail!
Posted 36 months ago. ( permalink )

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leeleblanc  Pro User  says:

will try. pretty freaking sweet idea.
Posted 31 months ago. ( permalink )

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.JonathanV. says:

really nice idea
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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Dahlhouse says:

Good job
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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seeebr says:

Nice! very, very nice!
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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Latent96 says:

Very cool man. This is about the most creative thing I've seen in a long while. A+
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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DrinkMocha says:

wow! i've always wanted to do this too.
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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reemer  Pro User  says:

i took a quick look at this pic after 7 hours of intense coding, and my head exploded.

nice pic!
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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Paolo_G says:

Unbelievable fantastic!
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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Jaqme says:

10 minutes having a look to this one and the other.
Good idea!
Paradox in photography is a new way to walk...
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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f a i t _ a i m é says:

gorgeous!!! :D
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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LightningSymphony says:

Nicely done.

You could enhance the paradox effect by having them side by side or above/below in the same image. That would let people see both at the same time.
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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Montaraces says:

increíble compañero... muy increíble
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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Nurait says:

Great idea!!!!!

Very cool!!
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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Synthetic_Reality  Pro User  says:

Good stuff. Rock on. :D
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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Thomas R. Stegelmann  Pro User  says:

NIce idea!
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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A. Saleh  Pro User  says:

I've seen many before, but this one is unique.
keep the good work.
Posted 29 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

Um... thanks all for the wonderful comments, but can someone tell me what just happened?

I check flickr maybe once a week and in the past week I just got a whole bunch of comments on this picture and I just noticed that it's gotten well over 50 thousand views now which is odd since my entire collection hasn't gotten much over a couple thousand views up until now. What in the world just happened? I haven't even uploaded a picture in forever.

Can someone please tell me where my picture is being posted that it's getting so many hits? Thanks.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

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TrespassersWill  Pro User  says:

Reddit probably played a large part in the traffic spike and spreading the link.
reddit.com/info/2x0gm/comments
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

^ Thanks. I just read those comments and I think it's kinda funny. I never thought people would take the meaning of the title paradox so literally let alone argue over the legitimacy of its use here. I'm no english major, that's for sure, but the point was that this image is impossible to recreate in real life even with a time machine.

In response to one of the comments at reddit, the images from both angles were taken at the exact same time, I used two cameras on tripods that were synched up. This way I didn't have to try to reposition myself multiple times in all those positions.

Also, in reponse to a lot of comments about my dead video links, I decided to just remove them. They didn't show much of anything anyway.

Thanks again for all the wonderful feedback.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

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Ocell  Pro User  says:

My favorite comments:


AM088 "If it were real, the photo wouldn't be perfectly square, and it the colors wouldn't be as vibrant."

Zweben: "Also, the universe would explode."
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

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J Kresve  Pro User  says:

Sublime!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

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Dr-Leech  Pro User  says:

Awesome work!
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

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Likwit Snake says:

Nice work man!, posted it on my blog:
dynamiclinq.blogspot.com/

cause it reminded me of something i made a while ago, please check it out here:

dynamiclinq.blogspot.com/2007/10/paradox-phot ography.html

grtz ;)
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

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Justercolor says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a new group called Contrasts and contradictions. We'd love to have your photo added to the group.
Posted 26 months ago. ( permalink )

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dark_dave25  Pro User  says:

My brain hurts!!
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

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Sam Cornwell says:

Very clever.

I'm stealing dat
Posted 19 months ago. ( permalink )

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tom.bielecki says:

Every time I see this on the internet, I notice something more about it, and my brain hurts more. This is truly incredible. Major props, clone army
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

tom, you've probably seen this more than I have at this point. It was just brought to my attention today that it was somehow posted on reddit (read the update)
Thanks for the props.

-clone army
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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nagarjunary says:

very impressive, on all counts. reminds me of two major works: Douglas Hofstader's "Godel Escher Bach", and Being John Malkovich (both of which have elements of your paradoxical whimsy). I like that you didn't skimp on the details.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

Well thank you very much! Loved the movie. Guess I should check out that book. I looked it up and it sounds interesting. Though I probably won't understand most of it I hope it's got some cool pictures. :)
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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macforme says:

Mark,
I LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

It is soooo clever and well thought out. I don't know how you did it.
Congrats on twisting my brain into a pretzel.

I found your picture on : pixdaus.com/single.php?id=5592
and someone there kindly referenced the source to this page.

This is soooo cool. let's have some more.

Private/ off the record:
you may want to fix the spelling in the tag: >blcak<leatherjacketsoverredsweaters ;-)
Lindy
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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kahnegabs says:

Hi Mark,
I really had fun studying your pictures and reading these comments. Keep up the good work.
Posted 18 months ago. ( permalink )

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macforme says:

Another location found for this picture.
9/8/08 I happened upon your masterpiece at :
www.stupidvideos.com/pictures/Im_Ready_To_Exp lode/#187563
they naturally don't give credit to you but they make sure to have THEIR mark on it.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

macforme, thanks for all the wonderful comments, pointing out the other sites, and for catching the typo. I really appreciate it and I wish I had the time and energy to make more pictures like this.
Posted 17 months ago. ( permalink )

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Samyra Serin  Pro User  says:

Great work !

Seen on Pixfan.com.
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

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Fœtal  Pro User  says:

Un beau travail de " Mise en abyme "!
great job !
Posted 15 months ago. ( permalink )

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S.D.  Pro User  says:

Someone posted on Imgur...
http://imgur.com/Kv0yM

and discussed here in Reddit.com
http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/aevmo/t his_picture_melt_your_mind/

--
Seen on your photo stream. (?)
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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Fujin  Pro User  says:

Well done!
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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countries in colors  Pro User  says:

made it to digg's front page today. digg.com/d31Ctm1
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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~ Rory  Pro User  says:

But... but it's the same dude.
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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CyranDorman  Pro User  says:

Woah, that's so very cool!
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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captin_nod  Pro User  says:

Excellent work, sir!
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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Fowley  Pro User  says:

This is just so great..
I first looked at it and thought..". yeah, it's cool"

Then.. I looked at it again, and the realisation of the complexity of it melted my brain.

Well done.
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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thatinstant says:

This work is pure genius!
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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Scott Coulter  Pro User  says:

Instant fave, and the undisputed king of the "self cloning" genre. Excellent work.
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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dgmiami  Pro User  says:

Sure you are sick of all the comments on this work, but I must state that I absolutely love it... Saw it on Twitter today and retweeted it too!
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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DutchAstrid  Pro User  says:

LOL Pine trees... in East Los Angeles
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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ispaydiman エマン says:

my jaw just dropped. freaking amazing.
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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SVR Photography  Pro User  says:

this is excellent work...even recreating your photoshop process in the mind to get this result is an exercise in perplexing oneself. :-)

btw, from now on, if you see this photo start getting a lot of hits, as long as you catch it within a day or so you can just click the "Photo stats" link in the bottom right. That page will give you the short list of referrers, and you delve into that in detail to see exactly where on the web people are finding your image...
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

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ImagezByOscar says:

Amazing...
Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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lomokev  Pro User  says:

this was linked on stumbleupon here but it links to some oneelse's upload!

nice idea well executed
Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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pochacco20  Pro User  says:

Thanks for the heads up, lomokev. I think it's funny how this is still floating around the internet as much as it is. I'm actually flattered that someone wanted to posted this under their flickr account.

Again, I want to thank everyone for all the encouraging comments. One day I will try to continue this project, hopefully with someone more photogenic.
Posted 4 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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jim.huinink says:

This is one of my favourite things I've ever seen on the Internet. Seriously, and I've been around a while.

I found this from a flippa.com sale of a photo site that pulled images from Flickr where the account was not even yours. So I guess the Internet sort of has its own Droste effect.... no true origin ... except I seem to have found it.

But really, this is just superbly cool. Thanks for the mental exercise I am going to have figuring out where this really starts. - J
Posted 2 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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