photobyjohnbo

Cellpic Sunday – The Museum of Illusions

It’s like magic. Don’t look at it too closely, you’ll spoil the illusion.

Scottsdale, Arizona.

Our winter travels have found us again in Arizona. This time, it’s Scottsdale. If I were to write a defining statement about Scottsdale, I might note, “While other desert cities might focus more on ruggedness or affordability, Scottsdale has cultivated an image of refined living in a beautiful natural setting.” OK, I did write that.

Among the golf courses and pickleball courts, there are many other interesting attractions in the city. One such place we stopped recently is the Museum of Illusions. It is but one attraction in a center that features several museums and science attractions. The complex is called the Arizona Boardwalk.

Almost every exhibit in the museum has indicators on the floor for people to stand and someone else to hold the camera. If you’re not quite sure of the point of the illusion, helpful docents are available to assist in getting the best images or in describing the science behind the illusion.

About the photo: My wonderful wife, Lynn, and I were the subjects, the illusion captured by my niece, Liz, on her cell phone. As the photo was texted to me and transferred to my computer, the metadata is not complete. Once the docent directed us to take our positions, he directed his attention to Liz and helped her frame the shot. Once I downloaded it into Luminar Neo, I cropped it to correct for a minor tilt and then used but one control, Enhance AI, to adjust the exposure, contrast, and vibrance.

I will feature more from this museum in a future Travel Tuesday post, but for today, I am featuring one of the 60 or so exhibits at the museum. You don’t have to come to Arizona to check out this museum. Many cities feature their own museum attraction. A quick Google search found that there are over 40 locations in 25 countries. The franchise opened its first museum in Zagreb, Croatia in 2015 and has grown steadily around the world. Here in Scottsdale, tickets can be purchased online for about $25 or less as of this writing. Once you are in the museum, you can take as long as you like to check out the exhibits. Our group spent just over two hours exploring the exhibits.

I encourage fellow bloggers to create their own Cellpic Sunday posts. I never have a specific topic for this feature, and the only rules are that the photo must be captured with a cell phone, iPad, or another mobile device… If you have an image from a drone or even a dashcam, that’s also acceptable. The second rule is to link your challenge response to this post or leave a comment here with a link to your post in the comment. Oh, you don’t have to post it on a Sunday.

John Steiner

53 comments

    • This museum includes several balance illusions as well as a vortex tunnel that can actually create a really strong vertigo sensation. It’s really worth the stop.

      Reply

  32. I love this shot of you both. That is another museum to put on our list of “Must Visit.” We go back on Sunday. Hope you are enjoying being back home. We miss you both! 🙂 It was fun spending time with you both in the Desert Garden. 🙂

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.