Snow Ghost

[Arthur Morris]

Here is a rather whimsical repost/creation of an image posted tonight in Avian here.

Don't be shy; all comments welcome.

[Rachel Hollander]

Hi Artie - It is whimsical and makes one stop and think which is good. Reminds me a little of a template for a connect the dots drawing that we used to do as kids. Personally though, I prefer the original.

TFS,
Rachel

[Nancy Bell]

I really like the minimal, graphic look of this Snow Goose, with that beautiful sweep of the wing tips. Great title as this must be all you see of a Snow Goose in a snowstorm ! Another look could add a bit more of an outline to the body. I was just reading the blog you posted...looks like a wonderful time at Bosque this year.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Artie, makes me relive the snow! Very cool minimalist image - leaves your mind to fill in the blanks.

[Dennis Bishop]

Definitely an inspired idea. I have to wonder what it would be like with no color and maybe a heavy dose of snow flakes.

[gary ellwein]

I'm fixated on the eye and the bill. A creative idea.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks all. The idea was inspired by a now famous and highly skilled student, Todd Gustafson. I am co-lead another summer safari to Tanzania with him this coming August. Todd created a mega-over-exposed tight face portrait of a Cheetah in bright sun . All that you could see were the red gums, the teeth, and the eyes....

Dennis--I will do a version where I do saturate the bill. Unless you can teach me how to do it in post, I cannot think of a way to show snow with light BKGRs--it shows up best against middle-toned or dark ones.

[Diane Miller]

A fascinating idea, but I long to see just a little more hint of the body.

[Kerry Perkins]

One word come to my mind - Zen. The concept of seeing that which cannot be seen (seeing the mind, seeing the breath) is a central concept of the practice. At first glance I thought it would good to see more of an outline, but I then realized how well this works as presented. Love it!

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks Diane and Kerry. The point is to not see the body at all :). Kerry, I hope that your Zen is in good working order :).

[Dennis Bishop]

. . . Dennis--I will do a version where I do saturate the bill. Unless you can teach me how to do it in post, I cannot think of a way to show snow with light BKGRs--it shows up best against middle-toned or dark ones.

This example is just a rough attempt, but I'm guessing more convincing snow could be done. This one was accomplished by applying a Bevel & Emboss layer style to a white layer and using Divide blend mode. There are controls for adjusting the texture, and a couple textures with different sizes might do the trick.

[Arthur Morris]

Thanks for the info Dennis. I surely looks more embossed than snow storm but I appreciate your effort.