These two photographers have never met, but they took the same photo

The two photos are almost indistinguishable and cannot even be seen together. Ron Ri***an and Eric Gendron, republished with permission)

The photos taken by two photographers were so similar that a stranger thought one of them had been stolen.

Ron Ri***an, writing for the photojournalism site Petapexel, went to Big Island Common in Newcastle, New Hampshire, to capture the waves crashing into the Whaleback Lighthouse (pictured above). Using a tripod and a 150-600mm lens, Riesman shot next to the trees, never noticing that there were other photographers nearby. And Eric Gendreau, a photographer less than a hundred feet tall, was also photographing the lighthouse and apparently never noticed Reisman.

, but even if they spotted each other, they probably wouldn't have expected to take the same photos. [Best Science Photos of 2017]

I have done some photography work. At sporting or journalistic events, I sometimes find myself right next to rows of photojournalists shooting at exactly the same moment: a receiver leaping to catch a ball from the air, a politician gesticulating during a speech, a couple Couple wearing wedding rings on each other's fingers. But I've never seen two photos look exactly the same.

Shoot a moving scene in burst mode and you'll see that photos taken seconds apart look very different from each other.

There are so many choices involved in photography that a photo cannot be repeated. At the lighthouse, the photographer can move the lens to the left or right of the photo. One might include more ocean, another more sky. Or they might not amplify to exactly the same amount.

Even if they make all the same choices, equipment differences can radically change the look of the final image. As Riesman wrote for petapxel, he and Gendron shot with different cameras. Riesman used a Canon 5D Mark IV, which has a larger "full frame" sensor that produces images that capture more of the scene. Gendron used a Canon 60D, which has a smaller sensor that allows images shot with a similar lens to look more magnified. Ri***an suggested that Gendron must be farther away, considering both photographers were using 600mm lenses. (Ron Ri *** an)

Still picking and sharing favorite images from their nearly identical photoshoots, with waves crashing against the lighthouse matching each other almost perfectly - as good as any dynamic, moving Objects are amazing coincidences, let alone something as varied as moving water.

Ri***an wrote that when a local TV station shared his photo on Facebook, someone in the comments accused him of stealing Gendron's image. When he saw Gendron's photo, he suspected that his photo might have been stolen by a photographer he had never met. (Eric Gendron)

"We got an image that looked exactly the same, taken from what looked to be the exact same position and angle within a precise millisecond," he wrote:

, but closer inspection reveals that there are subtle differences in the waves in the photo, most noticeable in the upper left corner of the lighthouse. There is also a slight rotational asymmetry, as well as a difference in perspective on the waves when you overlay the image. The differences become apparent (it's also clear that their images are slightly different, as Gendron's photo becomes brighter and brighter.)

Still, the two photographers produced something so similar. The odds of choosing the same photo to share over the course of a long shooting day are immeasurable.

Originally published in the journal Life Sciences.