Photo of the Week - #34 - 5/9/22

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My very 1st reaction was "Nah, B/W abstracts aren't my thing". But as forms began to emerge the image became more and more intriguing! It's a fascinating image that works on its own. And it's also fascinating to wonder about What and How! Finally, I began to appreciate just how subtle the distribution of gray tones is.

This is probably the most unusual and fascinating image I've seen in the 'Photo of the week' threads. My compliments to the photographer!

 

For some reason, I would love to see this image as part of a series of similar ones.

I see.....faces!

Ooooo hot diggety.

I want to see this in large scale.

A gorgeous ghostly greeting!

I agree with Mile that it would be even better if presented as one in series of similar images.

My very 1st reaction was "Nah, B/W abstracts aren't my thing". But as forms began to emerge the image became more and more intriguing! It's a fascinating image that works on its own. And it's also fascinating to wonder about What and How! Finally, I began to appreciate just how subtle the distribution of gray tones is.

This is probably the most unusual and fascinating image I've seen in the 'Photo of the week' threads. My compliments to the photographer!

 

For some reason, I would love to see this image as part of a series of similar ones.

 

Ditto everything you said, Mike!

Having viewed the image at greater length, what I see is a ghostly face to which is a ghostly arm extending a ghostly finger. Perhaps the overall message the image has is not to get on the bad side of a ghost.

I’ll try this again: I see two different faces here. I’m reminded of Micheal Meyers. I like it though, definitely different.

 

Rick H.

If anyone was wondering about the base of the image it was smoke from a freshly ignited charcoal grill before the coals were hot. The billowing smoke created patterns which I found amusing. I took many photos and this was the one that caught my eye. The left face I saw but the alien face in the upper right was not noticed until processing.

Bravo …

:)

 

I actually saw them well past their prime in a club up in MA back in the 90’s. They still had a couple of original members.

Pareidolia, once thought to be a symptom of psychosis now thought to be normal and hard wired into humans. Seeing faces where there are none, in clouds, in the grain of wood or stone. Making sense of random data or patterns. This can even go beyond visual to aural also, hearing voices or words in random noise or a babbling brook.

 

[ Carl Sagan theorized that hyper facial perception stems from an evolutionary need to recognize -- often quickly -- faces. He wrote in his 1995 book, The Demon-Haunted World, "As soon as the infant can see, it recognizes faces, and we now know that this skill is hardwired in our brains. Those infants who a million years ago were unable to recognize a face smiled back less, were less likely to win the hearts of their parents, and less likely to prosper." ]

 

It's a theory. But humans do it for whatever reason. ;)

 

Article here. LINK

Edited May 13, 2022 by Mark Keefer

If anyone was wondering about the base of the image it was smoke from a freshly ignited charcoal grill before the coals were hot. The billowing smoke created patterns which I found amusing. I took many photos and this was the one that caught my eye. The left face I saw but the alien face in the upper right was not noticed until processing.

 

It's a fun & interesting photo! I really like it a lot, thanks for sharing it.

We are all hungry and thirsty for concrete images. Abstract art will have been good for one thing: to restore its exact virginity to figurative art.

—Salvador Dali

Interesting thought, especially in the context of pareidolia and what may be a human instinct toward the literal.

 

It may all be the brain’s smoke and mirrors trying, in this case, to obscure the smoke.