--- description: The iceberg, which actually only extends six feet above sea level, appears larger than life title: Iceberg Antarctica: More Than Meets the Eye in This Photo image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdad5a17f2afe7e88/69887f26e20a87b716a8fb75/icberg-tiny-ship-optical-illusion.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Science](/section/science/) ## Science Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [antarctica](/tag/antarctica/) ## antarctica Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This 'Giant' Iceberg is Actually Shorter Than This Ship  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Feb 25, 2016 4:52 PM CUT  An iceberg appears to dwarf a 3,000 tonne ship in the Antarctic Peninsula in Feb. 2016. An iceberg appears to dwarf a 3,000 tonne ship in the Antarctic Peninsula in Feb. 2016.Rick Du Boisson—Solent News/REX/Shutterstock  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Feb 25, 2016 4:52 PM CUT It’s a stunning photo. A 3,300-ton ship appears like a two-story house next to a giant skyscraper of ice. But there’s more to the photo than meets the eye. The iceberg, which actually only extends six feet above sea level, appears larger than life because the photographer captured the image while only a few feet from the ice. The ship, on the other hand, is 600 feet away from the camera. Photographer Rick Du Boisson, a chemist, captured the image in [Antarctica’s](http://time.com/3872724/antarctica-ice-shelf-melting-ocean-rise/ "undefined") Paradise Bay in February. “The icebergs in all their varied shapes are quite amazing,” he said. “The intensity of the blue color is quite incredible.” While this photo is a work of visual deception, some icebergs would dwarf even the largest sea vessels. The [world’s largest iceberg](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=552 "undefined"), known as B-15, is 170 miles long and 25 miles wide. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4237218/iceberg-ship-photo/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4237218/iceberg-ship-photo/"},"headline":"This 'Giant' Iceberg is Actually Shorter Than This Ship","datePublished":"2016-02-25T16:52:01.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:22:51.481Z","description":"That's a 3,300-ton ship","url":"https://time.com/4237218/iceberg-ship-photo/","keywords":["antarctica"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdad5a17f2afe7e88/69887f26e20a87b716a8fb75/icberg-tiny-ship-optical-illusion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdad5a17f2afe7e88/69887f26e20a87b716a8fb75/icberg-tiny-ship-optical-illusion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"An iceberg appears to dwarf a 3,000 tonne ship in the Antarctic Peninsula in Feb. 2016.","caption":"An iceberg appears to dwarf a 3,000 tonne ship in the Antarctic Peninsula in Feb. 2016.","creditText":"Rick Du Boisson—Solent News/REX/Shutterstock","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/antarctica/","name":"antarctica"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4237218/iceberg-ship-photo/","name":"This 'Giant' Iceberg is Actually Shorter Than This Ship"}}]}] ```