Nikon D300 Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D @ f/2 ISO 200 1/320th
This is a little experiment. You may be wondering why in the world is there a photograph of the back of a restaurant featuring a blue box and a mop handle on this site? Well, as I was walking with a DSLR photography student this scene immediately caught my eye. Before reading below, can you see what I found interesting about this subject matter and why I photographed it? Let me know in the comments if you saw it at first too.
What I saw was a smiling face. It reminded me of perhaps the only commercial I ever liked in my life, an American Express ad that featured all kinds of inanimate objects that looked like frowning and smiling faces. To me it was a kind of simple genius. I also think it would make for a great photography project, if not finding smiles, then something similar to what they did in the ad.
I find it amazing how simply appearing to have a face can anthropomorphize an object. When I look at that blue box it makes me feel a bit warm inside to see its curvy smile. Is the mop handle a long nose?
Post links to your photographs of random inanimate object smiles (or frowns) below in the comments. Here is the commercial: