Here's a collection of art for the DIGIT-AL age as these fascinating illusions of landmarks, places and even a banana are made using just a pair of hands. The quirky collection of images were created using hand models and body paint to create visions of a castle, church, and two footballers flying into a tackle. London based photographer Ray Massey KNUCKLED down to capture the images with each of the designs each taking a day to paint and shoot with the help of hand artist Annie Ralli. Together they made a FIST of also bringing to life a pen and pencil pot, a ribbon, mosque and cute wildlife adaptations of a daisy and a ladybird. Each image sees the hands and fingers carefully crossed, bent, or partially hidden to the millimetre to cleverly angle the palms and digits into the lifelike images. The intricate detail was then painted on the shapes and blended in to create the illusions, including one creation that sees a hand arch down to appear to become a banana skin. In others a sporting trophy is created by two joined hands bending at the knuckles and two hands are cleverly pushed together to form what appears to be a cosy bed. Ray said professional hand models had to be used for the shoot because fingers are often so unattractive to look at. He said: "Hands are always particularly difficult to shoot, they are not pretty items, they're basically very ugly. "The benefit of a good hand model is not just having good hands, it is also important to be able to pose your hands. "So we had to employ professional hand models. Our biggest concern was to use proper body painting materials, in order not to damage their skin. "Most of the images took four to six hours to paint, the rest of the day is spent capturing images and the hand painting artist adjusting elements accordingly.
FLYING through the air, these delighted pooches pull their best poses mid-flight .
A northern potoo shows it is a master of disguise as it perches on a tree stump and blends into the bark .
SPARKLING bright inside their box, it’s hard to believe these diamonds are made from the cremated remains of the deceased .
Pic By Graham Gibson/ HotSpot Media - SHARK HYPNOTIST BALANCES SHARK IN PALM OF HIS HAND- In Pic - Diver Tom and Caribbean reef sharks in the Bahamas- A SHARK hypnotist balances these predators in the palm of his hand by sending them to sleep with a gentle nose rub .
These photographs of extreme weather capture storms furiously rolling across the sky above America .
This is the moment a nimble red fox and a lumbering Alaskan brown bear were locked in a tense stand-off .
A young otter wades through a lake with his eyes set on an older rival’s fish .
WITH a paw in the air and his tongue hanging from his mouth, it is clear to see that this little groundhog is struggling to wake up and leave behind the comfort of his burrow .
A lazy otter finds the ideal spot to soak up the sun and sleep off his lunch .
Leaping out of the ocean, a group of gentoo penguins fly through the air before landing safely on an iceberg .
Armed with a snorkel, flippers and her skimpy bikini, an intrepid female free diver swims alongside an array of reef sharks .
Full of tired and busy commuters, these underground stations are rarely admired for their architecture or beauty .