Incredible optical illusion appears to show a human face in profile in a sand dune in the Namib desert – but can you spot it?
Shading in the sand creates what looks like an eye, the outline of a big nose and a slightly open mouth
THIS incredible optical illusion appears to show a human face in profile in the sand dunes of a desert.
Shading in the sand mounds creates what looks like an eye, the outline of a large nose and a slightly open mouth - but can you spot it?
The striking image was captured by photographer Valerio Leone from a helicopter while he was on holiday with his family in the Namib Desert, Namibia.
While from this angle it's possible to pick out a man's head as if viewed from the side, when snapped from a different place the face totally disappears.
Valerio, a 56-year-old from Monaco, Montecarlo, said: "My 23-year-old daughter noticed the face first - and to be honest we only saw it when we were looking at the pictures on my laptop.
"I was surprised to see how the wind can paint the desert dunes with an image like this that reminds you of a face.
"I was flying over the desert on a helicopter without doors and it was rather cold and extremely windy.
"We were flying at about 200 metres when I took the picture of the face.
"It was quite easy to take the photos, expect my hands were absolutely freezing and the wind was strong."
Valerio, a retired CEO of a bicycle company who now works in real estate, added: "It was a great feeling to take these photographs, we were really enjoying the landscape.
"This is probably the oldest desert on earth - experts say it is dated 80 million years.
"It felt like I was in a different world."
Earlier this month we reported on an optical illusion which tests how filthy your mind is.
A simple picture showing a few curved lines and two dots sent internet users' minds into the gutter – but what do you see?