Cylinder Head Detail

Human are hardwired to perceive faces readily, even in patterns that bear only a scant resemblance to faces. Every viewer of this photograph who’s spoken to me about it notes the resemblance to faces. Usually they say the faces look like aliens. But my mom would have said owls. She preferred Great Horned Owls, but she would have liked this photo a lot nonetheless. It’s one of the few things I feel sure of. This ranks among my favorite photographs and I wish she had lived long enough to see it. Taken with a 4-megapixel Pentax Optio at Gator Automotive in Carbondale, 2006. It’s a tiny, sleek little camera with a display the size of a postage stamp, but with a viewfinder.