Simon Menner, a photographer, has taken it upon himself to track down and photograph military snipers in action. He plans his shots for the snipers to perform as stealthily as possible, fitting into their surroundings.
Nonetheless, remaining unnoticed for extended periods takes high competence and patience for people involved in this occupation.
The challenge, however, is not limited to snipers but extends to viewers. Viewers are charged with discovering the sniper hiding within one of Simon’s images, which looks like nothing but an ordinary landscape.
They may inspect every detail of the image, but in real life, where a split-second decision could mean the difference between life and death, they would never have that luxury.
Simon set an ambitious goal to document the German Wehrmacht’s shooters between 2010 and 2013. After a decade of planning, he came to Lithuania and Latvia in 2022 to take images that would become popular online.
The soldiers had undergone considerable training for this photo shoot, making it nearly hard for even the most seasoned viewers to recognize them. Every detail was noticed, from fitting in with their surroundings to dodging Simon’s camera lens.
It was a source of pride because they worked hard to maintain anonymity throughout a staged shot. As a result, the images represented incredible talent and accuracy and the marksmen’s ingenuity and resourcefulness.
Simon is looking for images of snipers who have expertly blended in with their surroundings using camouflage. Because they are hidden from everyone, his goal is made more difficult, making it a unique and challenging experiment. He has received worldwide notice after stating his wish for the US military to contact him.
Viewers are perplexed as they look for the sniper in one photograph. At first glance, it appears that an individual is hiding within the entryway of the second level of the structure depicted in the image.
Because of their camouflage and strategic location, the skilled sniper has gone undiscovered; even if they were discovered, they would not have enough time to respond before it was too late.
