Joshua Tree Pareidolia2 min read time

Joshua Tree National Park is one of my very favorite local places. It’s the place I run to for a quick get away, even if it’s just for the afternoon and some night shots. Everytime I go to Joshua tree I find new things. It’s a living place that is always changing for me, at the same time, it stays the same. Yea, I know… that doesn’t make much sense, but it’s totally true. For instance, during one visit I seemed to see things in the rocks. I call it Joshua Tree pareidolia. Pareidolia is that phenomenon where you see faces or other figures in patterns, clouds or in this case rocks.

I am reluctant to say too much about these photos. I don’t want to give anything away. I want to see what you see in the rocks, if anything at all. I took these photos specifically because I saw something there, doesn’t mean that others will see the same thing. However, I did process the photos in a way that I thought accentuated what I was seeing. You might find a hint in my captions though. ?

This spot along the Barker Dam Trail reminded me of Picasso a little bit with it’s asymmetry. I processed the image with a combination of Topaz Impressions and Topaz Simplify.

This one was taken on New Year’s Day 2014 when I went to Joshua Tree in the snow: another view on the Barker Dam Trail that I apparently missed the first time that I went and found faces.

This one is probably one of my favorites. Another found along the Barker Dam Trail and not a face at all, rather it’s something that might happen after a night spent partying. This one just makes me laugh out loud.

So what do you think? Do you see things in the rocks like I do? What do you see? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

~L