Untitled

[Randall Farhy]

I believe this was one of my first images processed with PS elements. Taken in 2010, it is also one of my first Egret in flight shots, which as usually happens turned out to be soft. So I opened the image and starting playing with just about every filter Elements offered, until a direction started to appear-resulting in this. The egret was flying in front of a spillway. Sorry, I don't have any clue what was used other than Solarize, emboss and something that spun the image from the center outward, I believe. Prior to posting, I ran it through LR5 for tweaks in sharpness, contrast, NR and a mild vignette to make the embossed area pop a little more.

[Dennis Bishop]

I've not seen much done with the Solarize filter that I liked a lot, but this is an exception. It looks like ice against the dark background. The contrast is very effective, and I like the oval. Part of the magic is probably that there was no solarization in front of the egret.

[Diane Miller]

Definitely ice!! Very cool! (No pun...)

Lots of very effective complexity here that complements the subject rather than overrides -- as in Dennis' signature quote.

[Nancy Bell]

This turned out brilliant! Love the complex radiating "ice" lines that include the heron, and yet all of the heron is still distinguishable. The solarize effect must have put those lovely subtle glows of color in the heron. Having the heron head leading into the dark, ice-less pie-shaped piece is very a effective & creative composition, plus having the overall oval shape as a subtle frame! The molten-looking lines in the upper left corner fill that space nicely and add balance. Very OOTB!

[Anita Bower]

I like it! It looks like an ice sculpture. Graceful and beautiful. The white designs on the background look like magical spread out wings of the bird. The only thing I'd change is the green in the upper left corner. I find my eye going to it, distracting me from the bird. Great work!

[Randall Farhy]

Thanks everyone for your insights, they're all appreciated. It's great to have a forum to post images like this as I truly enjoy experimentation. Anita-I'll revisit that corner to play with toning it down a bit-I liked how the green ties into the upper bill, perhaps it's a bit too strong.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Randall, this is wonderful! It reminds me of a cross section of an agate or other similar rock. Great OOTB thinking and execution

[Jackie Schuknecht]

All the lines remind me of a bird in flight or give me the impression of it anyway. Very creative. I agree with Anita about the URC. Easy fix!