Monochromatic Anthropomorphism At Vedauwoo’s Rocks

Anthropomorphism: To ascribe human traits, ambitions, emotions, or entire behavior to animals, non-human beings, natural phenomena, or objects. Even rocks.

Do you often see human faces or body parts in inanimate objects when you are out photographing? Then the Faces in Places Flickr Group might be for you. There, you can join others in posting your latest anthropomorphic discoveries. Some are quite unusual, even bizarre.

Here are four I found in the Vedauwoo National Recreation Area, a popular rock climbing, camping, and hiking area between Cheyenne and Laramie, Wyoming.

In the first, once you see the face, you can’t stop seeing it. Examine the left side of this image. The lips are formed by that slightly arching horizontal crack near the bottom. A small nose with a slight shadow below it is just above, and a sort of eye socket can be seen in the upper left corner area:

Face, #1. Vedauwoo, Wyoming, 2016

This one might be a bit of a stretch, unless you are a dentist. Do they look at all like giant teeth (maybe with bits if food on them)? Sorta…sorta…

Giant Molars. Vedauwoo, Wyoming, 2016

That’s a nipple on the left. The black water streak in the middle divides his chest. On the right, you can make out the line of his shoulder and arm, but the nipple is missing. I suppose that horizontal line in the upper left would be a scar from a late night knife fight in a bar during Cheyenne Frontier Days:

The One-Nippled Man. Vedauwoo, Wyoming, 2016

Finally, I was able to find a monument to The Man himself, Homer Simpson, among the giant rock outcrops. I’ll let you discover him on your own, but the nose is a nice hint–that rounded triangular rock on the right–and he has no eyeball. The more cultured among you might see, instead, the outline of a rather pensive philosopher:

Homer Simpson. Vedauwoo, Wyoming, 2016