Cougar at the Frog Pond!

   It is often quite amusing to check the photographs that I take during the course of a day.  Most of the time, there are a few that I deem "keep-worthy" and many that are discards.  When taking the picture, you are never quite sure if the lighting is correct, if you may be wobbling a bit or if what you think is a great photo-op is really just a dismal failure.  Then there are the times when something unintended jumps out at you.  More oft than not, I see faces in my photos.  These can be human-type faces or critter-type faces or even make believe-type faces but they are faces, all the same.  Believe it or not, there is a name for this phenomenon.  It is called pareidolia.  I sort of think of it as an "art" in itself.  In fact, Granddad taught me to look for faces in most everything.  We actually would go "face-hunting" when I was a wee tot.  To give Mom a break from having to deal with yet another lively youngster (I have 4 older siblings), my grandparents were often given "kid duty".  Granddad had to think of fun things to do, so face-hunting was introduced.  We hunted faces...in flowers, wood-grain, clouds, mudflats...anything and everything.

  Back to the photography of nowadays.  My attempts at recording oddities of the Bayou often do not turn out as expected.  What I may think is a fantastic subject may be a big no-go. Then, again, no-gos take on a new light when looked at with a skewed sense of reality.  What should be deemed as a flop, sometimes reveals a FACE!  Recently, I threw a photograph of a rock that was near the little Frog Pond on social media and the consensus was that a face was, indeed, to be seen.  This time the face was a critter...a cougar to be exact. (Use that thing called an imagination.  You do have one, you know.)  How exciting for me to have others see the same thing that I found when I first examined the photograph.  As for a picture of a rock, the photo was not extraordinary but as a bit of pareidolia it was wonderful!

  Folks, pareidolia can help you look at things a whole lot differently and can, most assuredly, improve your photography skills.  When you go about "face-hunting", you actually slow down enough to thoroughly examine items.  You will pay closer attention to what you are seeing and therefore may just find more subjects to photograph.  It all goes back to what I have been saying for years.  Folks, slow down your pace and really "see" things for what they are.  Life is better that way.  Happy face-hunting!