Trompe l'oeil

Not what it seemed

I was pulling apart Wednesday's issue of the Sacramento Bee when a photograph caught my eye. I didn't immediately recognize that it was a photograph. When I first glimpsed it, I thought it was a realistic painting in the style of Norman Rockwell (as in his self-portrait). Only when I looked right at it did I realize it was a news photo.

I have no idea whether Bee photographer Manny Crisostomo was going for this effect when he snapped the shot. Or perhaps it was something in the way the photo was processed for publication in the newspaper. Does it strike you the way it struck me?