Supernormal Stimuli

In 1969 famed biologist Nikolaas Tinbergen won the noble prize for his work on understanding animal instincts and ultimately stimuli that caused these actions. His famous experiment involved realizing that gull chicks would respond to red dots on their mothers yellow beak as a signal to open their mouths and chirp for food. He was able to run a series of experiments where he discovered that using a yellow knitting needle with 3 red dots would super charge their response, even more than say their own mother’s beak. The chicks would chirp louder and longer when presented with the yellow needle and three dots. When the mother would come back they would chirp less loud and for a shorter duration. 

This work led to the discovery of what is called Supernormal stimuli. Basically biologists found out that animal instincts could be manipulated and super charged to illicit a greater response. What was so interesting is that upon studying humans we found we could do the same thing to humans  and supercharge our responses to stimuli too. 

One popular example is the creation of Brat dolls with super huge faces and eyes that supercharges our standard draw to human faces and made the toys incredibly successful as a toy line. We see this today with apps that use filters that distort the human face, plump the lips, and increase the size of eyes or other features of the human body on sites like instagram. 

Carried over to advertising we also see this in hyper feminized or hyper masculinized images of men and women on say, television. By showing off curvy parts of the body or the “V” cut chest of a male this supercharges our normal reaction to mating and mate selection biases. 

In clothing design we see the placement company logos and slogans with certain color combinations on the seat of the pants manipulates our hardwired evolutionary biases. Think about that the next time you see something written on someones caboose.

Food and the way it is marketed is also supercharged  by playing up the fat, salt, and sugar as ingredients.  Food scientists know this manipulates our hardwired proclivity toward these ingredients in our bias as a survival mechanism. 

If you decide to look supernormal stimuli manipulation is literally everywhere. So how can you use this idea in your creative or photography work?


  1. Realize that modern media and images are highly distorted to make sales and you are likely falling prey to these subconscious traps. They are everywhere.

  2. Realizing that certain poses of models either play up or play down this hyper masculinity or hyper femininity and this can have drastic implications for you work and how it is received.

  3. Understanding the power of the human face and how they can be manipulated is important for say portrait photographers.

  4. Always be looking for supernormal stimuli and understand its effect on marketing in social media and the web.


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Zeigarnik Effect

In 1927 a soviet psychologist and her professor noticed something interesting about waiters. Waiters often remembered the detail of a patrons orders if the bill was unpaid. If the patron had paid for the order then the waiter simply wiped it from their mind. 

What they hypothesized is that our subconscious mind likes closure, and will work at all cost to close out a undone task. This is like handing a half done puzzle to a person. This effect also drives the magic of to do lists. You just have to check the box!

We like closure so much that the absence of closure can be a strong motivator for humans to take an action. Take for example the TV shows that roll the last scene of a TV show with the words “To be continued…..” Or think about season finales on any of your favorite Netflix binges. I bet most of those shows employ some form of this trick.

Which brings to photography. How can you use this in your photographic and creative life?

Some ideas:

  1. Use a partial story to get people to go to other platforms or videos?

  2. In photo books use a series blank pages to stop the flow information and drive your reader forward.

  3. Leave out a few essential items in your compositions to create tension in the viewer.

  4. Unbalance the composition in a story set and the re-balance it later in the sequence to add resolution.

  5. Create gear checklists so you have motivation to get things packed before leaving.


Abandoned Hospital.

Abandoned Hospital.

The core

At it’s core the Tug Hill Plateau has a beating heart of heavily forested land. Estimates range from 235 to 800 square miles but there is no denying that this area is heavily wild and not very heavily populated. I can always tell when I get near the center with my truck, as the pavement ends and signs start pointing to seasonal roads.

The best way to see this striking heart is by hiking or by ATV, few roads exist in its interior.

And while it pales in comparison to the size of the Adirondack park hundreds and hundreds of miles is nothing to sneeze at. I guess what I am saying is it is ruggedly beautiful country and only a short drive from Syracuse.

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Cross 2020

When I was younger I often thought that communication meant what, “I said,” to someone. As I have gotten older I have realized it’s more about how the other person has heard or in most cases felt the message I tried to convey. In my mind when I share a story or thought with someone I imagine my story going in their ear and running over the complex machinery of their lives and coming out totally different than the way I intended it. Sometimes it lands more beautifully than I intend and sometime more ugly. The reception of that idea often comes down to how well I know that person, but not always.

It is for this reason that I love the study of symbology. Moreover, I think, I love the mechanics of how it works differently in all of us depending on the spectacularly varied intellectual luggage that we all carry. Like all forms of communication it is up to the interpreter and not the sender to understand the message. The crux of it is visual symbols can often seem obvious, but are anything but. Symbols still have to abide by the common law of interpretation and run over a lifetime of complex thoughts, feelings, and experiences. The machinery of our lives does the real heavy lifting here. I like that.

Cross 2020

Cross 2020

Transportation

I have this crazy theory that photography is changed by the speed at which you are transported through it. Put simply if driving in a car I can only see maybe 3% of the possible pictures I would take. If I ride my bike and therefore move more slowly through the particles I can maybe bump that up to 30-40%. But it really isn’t until I walk that I see 100% of the shots I might take on any given day. My hypothesis is that photography on foot is more granular, more detailed, and more thoughtful than anything you can achieve in a car. You move slower and at a pace that can allow creativity. Driving is simply too fast to get good ideas.

This Sunday I decided to park my truck on this project and walk the little town of Ellisburg and see what I could get on foot. I started at this interesting little mechanic shop and I just loved the signage here.

Mamiya 7ii with Panoramic Adapter and Kodak Gold 200 speed film (expired)

Deaf Dog. November 2020

Deaf Dog. November 2020

Abandoned Gift Shop

Jordan had been trying to talk me into this one for quite awhile. We had scouted it, but for some reason I just wasn't really into it. Well I have to say he was 100% right. What an amazing spot! We went through an overgrown lot to a small local gift shop that closed about 10 years ago. Jordan wanted to get into this spot for years as it has been rumored to be torn down soon for new development. We just could not let this place get demolished without documenting a spot as special as this. This location specialized in Christmas decor and also farm fresh fruits and vegetables. Sadly spray paint and damage from young people had taken it's toll on this place.