If you've seen Blade Runner, then you've seen the neat visual trick they pulled with the shining eyes. Every replicant, even the owl, has a strange glow in the eyes that was done without Spawn-like computer graphics. The principle is simple, and you'll see it in cats very often. If you want a better look at my examples, the small pictures are linked to larger scans that I made for this page.


The retnia of the eye reflects some light. If you shine a bright light into someone's eyes and stand in the right place, the light will pass through the jelly that fills your eyeball [aquaeous humour?], reflect, pass through again and get to your eye. The effect is an inner glow that is tinted red by the blood vessels in the retnia.


This effect is seen very commonly in photo snapshots taken with a flash, where the subject is looking directly into the camera. It's usually called a temporary demonic possession, and everyone has a nice chuckle over it. It has a habit of appearing in ironic photos, such as church choir, christmas celebrations, carving the Thanksgiving turkey, or a happy family goat vivsection.


So, what's my point? The effect only happens if you're looking directly into the camera (see a04.jpg). The lady and gentleman pictured on this page were not looking into my camera, nor the flash, _and_ in every photograph I have of them there is the glowing effect. If you were to meet either of these people in person, you would admit that they have wonderful eyes. I didn't see them glowing until the photographs... was I sucseptible to a mind-clouding influence so I wouldn't notice that these two aren't just beautiful, but constructed to be so good looking?


Well... no. I enjoy conspiracy theory as much as the next neurotic bald drug abusing Oliver-Stone watching manic bi-polar tax accountant. Still, at 2am on a friday night it seemed like a good idea at the time. If you want to claim that there were replicants at C3 I can offer you some of the evidence, and I'll buy a ticket to see Blade Runner with you at the local rep theatre.



Michael, and lady fashion-model, I hope you don't mind this fun I've had with the strange quality your eyes share. For the record, I'm not a tax accountant.

Return to Mozai's C3 pix
More Blade Runner than you can stand.