I photographed this Mountain Gorilla in Rwanda in the rain forest. The Silverback in this troop was just a youngster when Diane Fossey worked there. With that in mind I thought an aged film-strip look would be fitting. This particular youngster was enjoying chewing on a thick stem and making these expressive faces while we were less than 15 feet away. It was an amazing adventure!
Processed the gorilla in PS. Added the framing with a texture and removed parts of it with one of the eraser shapes using varying opacity.
10-04-2012, 05:20 PM
Dennis Bishop
Using a sequence like that in a triptych that looks like a film-strip was a great idea. The composition is terrific, and the gorilla stands out clearly even though its habitat is shown. Very nicely done.
10-04-2012, 06:34 PM
Cheryl Slechta
Nancy, I love the expressions - they are priceless. The film-strip is a great idea:S3:
10-04-2012, 06:37 PM
Andrew McLachlan
Hi Nancy, very nicely assembled. The expression in the third frame is priceless!
10-04-2012, 06:56 PM
Paul Lagasi
This is one cool triptych..just the right images for a 3 image sequence..gorillas one of my favourite animals...very well done
10-05-2012, 07:51 AM
denise ippolito
Very creative and fun image Nancy! I might warm up the background colors just slightly to let the gorilla stand out more. Love the framing!
We are leaving soon girl :S3:. Just got my muck boots!
10-05-2012, 07:56 AM
John Storjohann
Really like this series of facial expressions, Nancy...the large primates, particularly the mountain gorillas, have always been fascinating to me (my profile image on FB is of a silverback). I like Denise's suggestion about perhaps warming the background a bit...it would give additional depth and separation...but that's a minor point.
10-05-2012, 08:40 AM
Nancy Bell
Thank you everyone! I did play around with the bkgd colors using saturation, etc. and never got exactly what I wanted. Then the texture muted it even a bit more. I did not want the bkgd detail to compete with the gorilla. Will try a bit different approach. This gorilla cracked me up and I'm glad to have found a way to use the image. As the commercials say..."Mastercard got me to Rwanda, gorilla faces...priceless!"
Denise, I have started to get my gear together also. Looking forward to a gazillion penguins!
10-05-2012, 09:45 AM
Maureen Allen
This is wonderful, Nancy. Love the expressions :S3:
10-06-2012, 02:18 AM
Indranil Sircar
Wonderful composition and expression, Nancy. I am a big admirer of the Diane Fossey's work and it's fantastic that you could visit the rain forest!
10-06-2012, 04:01 PM
Nancy Bell
Thank you, Maureen & Indranil. Seeing the Gorillas was one of my biggest desires and it was awesome! Once the guide finds the gorillas we were only allowed to spend a hour with them. In Rwanda there are 7 groups of gorillas that are habituated to people and the business of being guided to a group is very well organized. We were told how to act around the gorillas and how to make a moaning/groaning sound that supposedly means "don't worry, be happy" in gorilla-speak. The gorilla center operates 7 days a week and you certainly need a reservation. We were told that our fees go to the surrounding villages and I like that.