Just a Face and a Caption: Hidden In Plain Sight

I had to look at the pothole for the source to get this picture. The guy just doesn't look un-cop-like enough. Plus (I don't know Hitman), it seems like more an example of Right Under Their Noses, which the trope description says it shouldn't be confused with. Am I way off base here?

This might be a tough one. Could the Battlestar Galactica example yield a good pic?

I think it could theoretically work for either, but I don't see a reason to move it to Right Under Their Noses. Voting Keep Until Better Image Suggested on the pic itself.

Because Right Under Their Noses is specifically about people, whereas Hidden in Plain Sight is not, and is arguably specifically about things?

(I'm temporarily ignoring the fact that the pic is absolutely dependent on the caption.)

edited 15th May '13 8:03:58 PM by Leaper

I can understand the image with the context of the trope name. However, I do think it's better on Right Under Their Noses. Weak, but works.

Would not a Waldo image work better?

It's embarrassing to say, but I kept looking in the background for the guy with the doughnuts in the current pick.

Does it work to brighten it up? I'm not really happy with it, but I think it's an improvement.

Much better. If we can't find a better image, this is at least easier to see. But I think we should find another one.

edited 15th May '13 9:04:16 PM by Rethkir

Keep until better suggested. Given the trope title alone, the Cop walking in the opposite direction of the other cops seems pretty clear to me.

That said, what seems like a good thing would be a Wheres Waldo image, one of the ones that's just a page of Waldo impersonators. Like this◊ but... better.

No. That's Needle in a Stack of Needles. Which still is an example, due to being a subtrope, but I don't think it's helpful for an image. Especially as that page has the same example.

Edit: Went ahead and changed the image, as it's a quality upgrade.

Old:

edited 15th May '13 9:29:58 PM by AnotherDuck

Good call, didn't look at the subtropes.

Then again, isn't the current image technically a Needle in a Stack of Needles too?

But he's not walking anywhere. He's just standing there. I still think that if I'm alone in thinking that this doesn't illustrate the principle at all on its lonesome, it should at least be moved onto the trope that actually deals with people.

No, it's a few needles scattered around. Not a stack. Needle in a Stack of Needles is about hiding among the sheer amount of similars, rather than a disguise as one of them. Probably more importantly, Needle in a Stack of Needles is mainly about looking for something you know what it looks like, which isn't the case in the current image.

For funsies (but not relevant), see also Heap Paradox.

edited 15th May '13 9:43:19 PM by AnotherDuck

What about the ending scene from Sherlock Holmes: A Game In Shadows where Holmes managed to hide himself by sitting on the armchair by wearing the exact same pattern as his surroundings? If that counts as this trope, I'll see if I can make screenshots of it.

edited 15th May '13 10:35:32 PM by peasant

There's this image of Clark Kent being recognized by a kid as Superman "Hidden in Plain Sight" by Ben Matsuya◊

edited 16th May '13 9:08:08 AM by DunDun

That's good. The current just looks like another police officer but that looks like Superman posing as a regular guy.

How do I see the person in @14 is Superman?

Blatant Clark Kenting, the fact he has red "socks" under his pants.

It's pretty myopic, but since there are plenty of images of Superman all around the image, it works.

It also took me a while to realize it was supposed to be Superman. But the image supplies enough clues to show that, yes, someone here is hiding in plain sight.

Here's some of the clues I noticed:

• The iconic S is right over his chest.
  • It's The Daily Planet's paper.
• Red "socks" that really don't even look like socks (there's only one line, as though it were a crease).
• The kid with the Superman shirt is freaking out like the "Mom look! Something weird that you're not going to see!" cliche.
• The guy to his left is also wearing a Superman shirt.
• Superman ads at the top of the train.
  • "Welcome to Metropolis" is on these ads.
• Another ad behind the man with the cellphone has Superman's image on it.
• "SUPERMAN SAVES SCHOOL BUS" on television.

I like 14. It needs to be cropped from the sides, but it's good. Again, pretty obvious Clark Kenting and Superman logo on newspaper and train.

edited 16th May '13 10:06:11 AM by Rethkir

Regarding the "Red Socks": Actually, they aren't even socks at all. If you look again, he actually has a pair of light brown socks OVER the "Red Socks". You can see them peek out over the top of his left shoe.

Another thing to consider is that the guy is HUGE in comparison to everyone else.

It certainly has the advantage of plainly NOT being Right Under Their Noses.

Quick crop and resizing of the Superman pic:

P.S.: A thought just occurred to me. Does it really matter that we realise the guy is Superman? The boy next to him clearly recognises him to be someone while the mother's chastising the boy to be behave and the crowd's obliviousness lends to the fact that the guy clearly is someone whose true identity is hidden in plain sight.

edited 16th May '13 11:31:49 AM by peasant

I like that a lot.

The bad part is that all the interesting details are hard or impossible to see at that size.

I'm not really a fan, but it's an improvement over the current pic.