Where the buffalo roam

[Cheryl Slechta]

Actually, they roam in Florida:) I took this a couple of weeks ago at Paynes Prairie Preserve near my house. Buffalo were native to Florida and have been reintroduced to the Prairie and thrive there. This bull and his traveling companion were a little too close for comfort.

I used 3 textures from Shadowhouse Creations, Grunge 1, Skeletones and Aged Photo Effect Mask 2. Also a daguerretype frame and a dup layer with an old paper blending effect.

Thanks for looking. Appreciate your comments and suggestions.

[Kerry Perkins]

Cheryl, nice portrait of the American Bison, which once roamed almost the entire space of what is now the USA. I like your antiquing work and the fact that there is no hand of man in the image. The frame adds to the aged look. Good job!

BTW, I have added a "useful links" section to the workflow sticky and put a link to Shadowhouse Creations in the list. I have used these textures in the past also and think they are wonderful. Thanks for sharing.

[Anita Bower]

I had no idea Bison used to live in Florida. Thanks for sharing this.

I like the tones and textures used. The grass draws my eye more than the Bison, I suppose because it is lighter. I have taken the liberty of trying something--I used >filter >render >lighting effects >style: default, lighting type: omni @ +39 intensity. I then duplicated that layer and blended at soft light, and lowered opacity.

[denise ippolito]

Cheryl, Really nice old look to this and the daguerreotype frame adds to it. I think Anita has a good idea but the grass in hers seems a bit too bright, maybe doe it on a layer and add a mask then you can adjust the lighting a little more. Nice work.

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

Cheryl,

Greetings. I'm happy you did a buffalo... I was going to dig up an old Yellowstone photo for this theme, but didn't have the time this week. That does look close! Nice, er, worrisome eye contact ;)

Kerry, I don't think the buffalo, er, bison roamed much on the West Coast. Lewis & Clark almost starved because of the lack of mega-fauna (bison, elk) west of the Rockies... Still, it is funny to think of bison in Florida or New England.

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Cheryl Slechta]

Thanks, all. Anita, I like the repost and think maybe something in between the 2 would be best. Michael,
I was pretty sure I took this with a 70-200 and I checked the focal length and it was 180mm He and his friend started to have some kind of disagreement over space and started roaring (for lack of a better word) and since I was out there by myself decided to make a hasty exit. It's unusual to see them that close because they have 30,000 acres to roam around on and I regretted the exit but didn't feel like getting flattened.:)

[Kerry Perkins]

Michael, you are correct and that is why I said "almost". The original range of the bison (technically we don't have buffalo but that song wouldn't sound right with "bison" :cool:) covered an area from north Alaska to Central America and all of what is now the USA except for the western coastal states and the Arizona/Nevada area. Their presence was vast!

[Michael Gerald-Yamasaki]

I was pretty sure I took this with a 70-200 and I checked the focal length and it was 180mm He and his friend started to have some kind of disagreement over space and started roaring (for lack of a better word) and since I was out there by myself decided to make a hasty exit.

Good idea on the retreat. They are deceptively fast & agile. I saw a large bull literally hop a 4 foot fence without breaking stride in his slow amble. The ranger (who was nearby corralling the tourists) said he'd seen one jump a 6 foot fence but on a run... It's an old joke, where do the buffalo roam? where ever they want to ;) ...

Cheers,

-Michael-

[Christopher Miller]

Nice old photo, Cheryl, and perfect subject for it. I like the vintage frame and the yellow toning. Ordinarily the centered subject wouldn't be the best, but for an old photo a little imperfection like that is just fine. :) I agree that something in between the OP and Anita's repost would be best. Well done.