Perspective on the comparison of these photos shown side by side here:
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Excerpts from http://www.earthboundlight.com/phototips/composition-perspective.html:Composition: Putting Things in PerspectiveSize and Distance - One Object...the linear size of an object in an image is inversely proportional to our distance from it. In other words, if we keep our focal length the same but step back from our subject to double our distance from it, the size of our subject will shrink by fifty percent. Cut our distance to the subject by half and it will double in size (height and width, not area)...
Perspective - Two or More Objects...Now let's add a second identical object. If we place it twice as far from the camera as our first object, we know that it will appear half the size. If instead we place it halfway between the camera and our first subject, it will look to be twice as big as the first...
...If we start with one object 10 feet away and a second identical one 20 feet away (twice as far) it will appear half the size of the first. If we now move twice as close to the first object so it is now only five feet away, it will now appear twice as big as it started out. But what happens to our second object? The distance to it will now have changed from 20 feet to only 15 feet. This new distance is only three-fourths of the original distance so the second object will appear 4/3 (the inverse of three-fourths) of its original size. Relative to the second object then, we made the first object appear bigger than it did, and we did so simply by moving closer, without changing lenses at all...
It is obvious, in the picture on the left, that the top of tower is closer relative to the building in the foreground because it is leaning towards it as it is collapsing. This change in distance will make the top of the building appear slightly larger compared to the foreground building.
One big problem with comparing these two pictures side by side is that they don't appear to be taken from the same location. Unless we know the location each photo was taken from, it will be difficult to tell how the different perspectives and angles will change the apparent sizes of the buildings in the photos.
But surely those differences can't account for a 30% change in the apparent size - can it? No, it can't. But there isn't a 30% change in size in the left photo compared to the right. If you don't believe me, get a ruler, measure it, and do the math. Tell me what you find.
-Make7