526 - Bean Hallow
Trypophobia refers to the disgust or fear involving a pattern of holes.
It’s a phobia that’s always caught my attention, not necessarily because I have it, but because it’s just downright strange. How could one be terrified of holes? Let alone groups of holes? I couldn’t wrap my head around it.
But deep down, I couldn’t help but deny a small feeling of uneasiness when I looked at them. Nothing bad- just a small tingle of distress. Kind of like when you misstep off a curb and catch your balance. But why did I feel this way? It made no logical sense.
So I decided to dig a little deeper. And by that I mean I pulled up a Wikipedia page:
Although little research has been done about trypophobia, the current theory is that it is an “unconscious reflex reaction,” hard wired into our brains through evolution. In other words, various dangerous animals, such as spiders, snakes, and insects, can exhibit traits similar to trypophobia images, which can create a negative association in our brains.
For example- tarantulas live in holes. Bees create hives with holes. Snakes shed skin with holes.
It’s not a bad phobia to have, if I’m being honest. I’d swap it for fear of heights any day of the week. When’s the last time you saw a hole pattern in everyday life?
Well, the answer to that question is today. Because at the end of this adventure, you’re going to see an image displaying trypophobia on levels you’ve likely never encountered before.
So let’s start from the beginning, shall we?
My destination for the photoshoot was Bean Hollow State Beach, which is a shoreline off the coast of California famous for its small “bean-like” rocks. Quite the opposite of trypophobia, if you ask me.
However, when I showed up to this awe-inspiring waterfront, I was greeted by a wind straight from Hell. The first omen of insanity had arrived. Even from a distance of 100+ feet from the water, sea mist was spraying me like a can of salty Febreze.
Wind is a curious thing to photographers. Sporting a cloak of invincibility, it’s the one element of nature that we can’t turn to our favor. Rain? Sure. Let’s get some mood in the shot. Smoke? Sure. Let’s diffuse that light. Snow? Sure. Let’s add some drama.
Wind must simply be embraced, because you can’t see it. But there is one exception. Tornados. If you can manage to capture this holy grain of a scene, you can effectively conquer wind. But since we were at the beach, I wasn’t betting on a twister coming through anytime soon. Today the wind must be dealt with in its raw form.
I looked up into the sky. Emptiness. The second omen of insanity. A coastline with no clouds is like a dog without hair. A fickle creature, one that must be handled with care.
The rocks crunched beneath my feet and I began to search for a composition. The good thing was that there were abstract shapes everywhere. Whatever happened to this beach on a geological level had to have been nuts. The realization that this was going to be a macro shoot began to force its way into my mind.
My first shot was of a patch of seaweed:
“Green Onion”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 640 ~ 63mm ~ f/9 ~ 1/125s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Now, I know what you’re saying. “Ohh… seaweed… big whoop.” And I can agree with that sentiment. But I was getting warmed up, OK? And if you look closely you’ll notice that the white almost looks like an onion. So shut up.
I looked around more. Since it was so bright out, harsh contrast was an abundance. I navigated towards the shadows. And that’s where I found this photo:
“Hummingbird Skeleton”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 1000 ~ 53mm ~ f/9 ~ 1/125s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
A formation that made my skin crawl. I thought it was a bird skeleton at first glance. But no, it was simply white algae on top of bony rocks. Talk about horror landscape photography. 😏
Next up I found a rock/twig that looked like a golden mushroom:
“Mushroom Wish”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 1600 ~ 24mm ~ f/13 ~ 1/125s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
And with that, I sank behind a massive rock. I breathed a sigh of relief. The wind was almost unbearable at this point. Sea mist was coating my lens like a thick spread of Vaseline™, proving to be the third and final oman of insanity.
I looked down at my watch. I didn’t have much time. The sun was about to fall.
I wiped down my Zeiss 24-70mm lens for the ten trillionth time and faced the wind. My final objective was to get a shot of those cute-ass jelly bean rocks. The whole reason I came here.
As I got deeper into the rocks, my feet sank almost entirely in. There were hundreds of thousands of millions of them in the sand. It was absolutely gorgeous.
I tested a wide range of compositions. Here’s my favorite one:
“Toothed Beast”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 1600 ~ 70mm ~ f/13 ~ 1/320s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
The rocks almost looked like a mouth the way the light hit it, and the big holes to the top left almost look like eyes. It was the beast of Bean Hollow- summoned by three omens. A beautiful horror-eque shot, representing everything this shoot was.
So I decided to call it a day.
But on my way out, I saw one last configuration that tripped up my mind. It hypnotized me. I immediately stopped in my tracks.
Looking at it felt like the last scene in a horror flick- that moment where all the dust has settled, and you think the hero has gotten out alive. Then something crawls in the corner and the scene fades to black.
I snagged a quick shot:
“Trypophobia Dream”
Taken with Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 1600 ~ 29mm ~ f/13 ~ 1/200s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
That, my friend, is the epitome of trypophobia.
I’m gonna go eat some Cheerios.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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