Spread the love

Despite the fact that they are literally just a lack of light, shadows have ingrained themselves in our popular culture, mythology and just everyday life. On a sunny day, you might look for the shade cast by a tree or you might grin when a comic book hero, brought to screen, whispers “I am the shadows.”

We’ve gathered some of the best examples of cool shadows stealing the show, creating cool illusions or just setting up an interesting scene. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments section below.

#1 The Shadow From This Plant Makes It Look Like There’s A Decal On My Friend’s Car

Image credits: fidlarla

#2 Taken At Royal University Of Phnom Penh

Image credits: b2utynthebeast

#3 Shadow Play

Image credits: dittidot

Shadows have been both a literal and metaphoric burden throughout human history, shaping how cultures perceive reality and the unknown. From cave paintings, whose earliest examples include hand silhouettes on rock walls implying presence and mystery, to modern psychological concepts of the unconscious, shadows negotiate between light and dark, known and unknown. They invite consideration of what lies outside of immediate perception, suggesting that each culture’s understanding of being includes an awareness of obscured realms.

In the ancient mythologies, shadows routinely symbolized the boundary between life and death. A majority of cultures believed that the soul or spirit of a person persisted in shadow form after death, wandering as a shade. In Egyptian philosophy, for example, the concepts of the “ka” and “ba” included a conception of an incorporeal double, and in Greek mythology, the underworld was inhabited with shades of the deceased. Shadows in this case represented both continuity and loss: a recollection of life even as one traveled outside of the sphere of light.

#4 Soap Making Shadows In The Bath

Image credits: mybustersword

#5 Eclipse Shadows

Image credits: S14xDrifter

#6 The Cameramen’s Shadow Looks Like A Labrador

Image credits: MuchoGrande

Shadows have been employed by artistic convention to depict mood, depth, and uncertainty for centuries. During the Renaissance, chiaroscuro techniques highlighted drama by contrasting light and dark, evoking spiritual or emotional undercurrents. Caravaggio’s use of dramatic light and shadow heightened tension in biblical scenarios, suggesting underlying truths beyond surface appearances. Shadows in artwork invite the viewer to look beyond the obvious, to sense that meaning often lies in what is concealed as much as in what is revealed.

#7 Shadow Cast By Surface Tension On The Wasp’s Legs

Image credits: liamkr

#8 The Way The Railing’s Shadow Divided Up The Colours Of The Rainbow Reflection On My Stairs

Image credits: kandtwedding

#9 This Shadow In The Mountains Looks Like A Girl Reading

Image credits: crowhurst

In literature, shadows serve as metaphors for inner conflict or looming danger. The Romantic poets called up shadowed landscapes to mirror the human soul’s darker impulses or existential terrors. Gothic fiction used dark corridors and flickering lamp-light to call up fear and the unknowable. In these novels, shadows symbolize repressed desires, moral ambiguity, or the specters of past deeds. Shadows in these novels remind the reader that there are aspects of human nature best left in the darkness but demanding acknowledgment.

#10 I Woke Up To See This The Other Morning… The Shadow Of My Daughter In The Morning Light

Image credits: DankGabrillo

#11 My Mom Took This Pic Of A Tree’s Shadow Blending Perfectly With Another One

Image credits: RandomSpanishUser

#12 This Shadows From My Axis And Allies Game

Image credits: Bancaghedon

Religious and ritual practice has treated shadows with reverence or fear. Some spiritual practices performed rituals at dawn or dusk, when shadows are long, to separate thresholds between worlds or to receive knowledge. Southeast Asian and other shadow puppetry transformed two-dimensional silhouettes into animated dramas, taking advantage of the play of light and dark to explore moral lessons or mythological dramas. The shadow theatre is paradox personified: a stark outline is animated and enriched by being illuminated, implying the alchemy of perception in giving life to the unseen.

#13 The Shadow Of The Plane I Was On Was Surrounded By A Rainbow

Image credits: jenkneefur28

#14 Leaf Floating On Water, Casting A Unique Shadow

Image credits: Goal1

#15 Casting Shadows To Make A Vampire

Image credits: Torjan_

Philosophy has also grappled with shadows as a metaphor for knowledge and ignorance. Plato’s allegory of the cave envisions prisoners who mistake shadows on a wall for reality, suggesting that human knowledge is generally limited to the narrow range of perception. The journey to enlightenment involves progressing beyond those shadows to fuller awareness. The image has resonated for centuries as a meditation on education, religion, and the challenge of discerning truth from deceptive appearances.

#16 Go Home Shadow, You’re Drunk

Image credits: mikec215

#17 I Genuinely Thought My Car Was Hovering Over The Parking

Image credits: theam107

#18 Shadows Of Birds Perched Atop A Tent

Image credits: goodcheapandfast

In folklore and superstition, shadows could predict evil omens or signal spiritual vulnerability. To tread on another’s shadow would rob them of their energy, warned certain cultures, while others believed that to ensnare a person’s shadow was to ensnare their soul. These beliefs pinpointed an instinct that shadows were more than light play, they were tied to essence, health, and fate. Although contemporary sensibilities might ridicule such superstitions, they attest to an age-old intuition that shadows are related to forces outside the material.

#19 The Shadow Left The Snow On The Roof Untouched

Image credits: somewhat-damaged

#20 This Shadow Looks Like A Person

Image credits: BananaEpicGAMER

#21 The Statue Of Liberty’s Shadow

Image credits: BunyipPouch

20th-century psychology re-established the concept of the shadow in a new guise. Jungian theory rendered the shadow as the concealed or repressed dimensions of the psyche, parts of personality disowned due to their incompatibility with one’s conscious identity. Becoming whole required the incorporation of the shadow, that is, acknowledgment of undesirable characteristics or impulses. This modern echo of an old symbol illustrates that the idea of shadow persists as a way of understanding complexity within individuals and societies.

#22 These Letters And Numbers Are Invisible On My Lenses, But Cast Shadows

Image credits: GrandPriapus

#23 Can Anyone Explain This? It’s So Creepy

Image credits: Skilax06md

#24 The Lighting In Our Room Caused Some Cool Shadow Patterns

Image credits: tar0s

In architecture and city planning, shadows create experiences of space and time. Alleyways and skyscrapers throw moving shadows that mark the passage of day, influencing mood and activity. In some cultures, screens and courtyards were built to control light and shade, providing comfort in hot climates and reflective moods. Sun and shadow in the built environment remind dwellers of their place in cycles of nature and human design.

#25 The Shadow Of This Bath Faucet Looks Like A Sitting Frog

Image credits: gotsweptunder

#26 Shadow Cube

Image credits: PHIL-yes-PLZ

#27 Covid Is Lurking Around My Neighborhood, You Can Only See Its Shadow

Image credits: –_—_—–

Photography and film have also altered how we engage with shadows. Early photographers played with light and shadow to reveal new things about reality, and film noir used high-contrast shadows to introduce moral ambiguity and tension. Shadows in film can hide faces or settings, create suspense, or suggest hidden agendas. Modern digital art continues to play with shadow and light to direct narrative, showing that our ancestral fascination with shadows persists in new mediums.

#28 Notice The Frisbee And Its Shadow. Great Example Of A Rolling Shutter

Image credits: Modano1509

#29 I Found The Shadow From My Sculpture More Interesting Than The Sculpture

Image credits: HazerLive

#30 Shadow Revealing Imperfections Of A Clear Glass Cup

Image credits: Opropinquus

Human interest in shadows illustrates an ongoing dialogue with the unknown aspects of existence. Shadows instill fascination and apprehension, representing both concealment and the possibility of unveiling. They are a reminder that for every truth revealed, there exists a companion in the darkness. By acknowledging the “power” of shadows, in art, myth, psychology, and everyday life, we do justice to the entirety of human experience, accepting that what we don’t see at first glance may be just as powerful as what is directly in our line of sight.