I have just returned from a lovely week of photographing in the winter wonderland of Yellowstone National Park. I was very taken with the bison. They are massive, stoic, and appear to have the ancient knowledge of the prairies underneath those distinctive curved horns and thick, woolly coat. They have seen centuries of winter blizzards, scorching suns, and lashing rains. They have been too numerous to count, pushed over cliffs by the Indians and slaughtered by the White Man. Those that remain stand what little ground they have left to them, swinging their massive heads to push away the snow and reveal bits of vegetation to eat, as they have from the beginning of their time. I pictured Carlos Casteneda inside the bison, looking out from behind those impervious eyes, on a shamanic trip!
Modifications with Smart Photo Editor and various PS adjustments.
I like what you did with both the colors and the crop. The colors seem consistent with an altered state of consciousness. I also like what you wrote, here, too. (Coincidentally, I saw part of Dances with Wolves while puttering in the kitchen this morning, and buffalo were an important part of the story.) Not being familiar with Carlos Casteneda, I had to look him up and found something he wrote that elevates him to a high level in my opinion: "The trick is in what emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same."
Wow! OOTB colors for sure. I like the image and what you did to it. Wonderful fun. The close crop of the head is just right. It conveys the feeling of the story you tell. I lightened up the face a bit. I also cloned upper and lower right corners. Not a big change.
I like your moving tribute to the buffalo in words and picture.
Glad you had a good trip Nancy. Yes, they are just amazing animals and worthy of our respect and stewardship. The near-extinction of the bison is one of the great tragedies of all time. I like what you did with the colors, definitely a vision quest kind of look. I think cloning the corners was a good idea.
"It is an illusion that photos are made with the camera... they are made with the eye, heart, and head." - Henri Cartier Bresson
The Shaman
