Dream Horse

[Nancy Bell]

First I used Topaz B&W Effects on the entire image using milk memories, where I experimented with all the sliders. Then I added 2 textures at various opacities and a couple of tweaks with curves. I erased the textures from the horse and kept his original blue eyes. Finally I used the blur tool on most of the horse, but not his face. I'll post the original in the next pane.

I was originally in the horse pasture sitting on the ground photographing a young colt with his mom. The mare called and this gelding came running out of nowhere. I spun around and just starting shooting away. I was surprised to see he was running straight towards me instead of the mare. When he got close enough I stood up and he veered away to the mare. They seemed to be a happy pair with the colt and eventually the gelding let me pet him. I think the gelding was ready to fight if I turned out to be a predator. It was very interesting to see the communication between these horses.

[Nancy Bell]

This is the original image.

[Bob Miller]

HI Nancy....I like what you did here. It is really interesting and informative to see the before and after. I love the blue sky effect and the mist that he seems to be running out of....very cool!

[Mark Fuge]

Very nice image and application, Nancy.

I like the after... Nice effect.

If it were mine, I would add a little canvas to the top. It is a little tight, in my view. I would also add a little contrast to the BG to have the horse stand out a little more. While it is a dream horse, I think the contrast would increase the effect of the softness of the horse a little. Both are minor, but I would experiment to see what worked in those two areas. Of course, as has been said before ... Y.I.Y.V!!!!

[Cheryl Slechta]

Nancy, a beautiful transformation. This guy looks like he's been in quite a few fights! In the "After" view it looks like he's galloping out of the mists on a sand dune instead of the woods. Nicely done.

[Hazel Grant]

Dreamy. Agree with Mark about maybe adding a small bit of canvas. Not sure, though, about the contrast increase. If you were working with a "photo" I'd say yes. But you are creating a dream, and I like that effect here.

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you all for your thoughts and comments. That one texture did create a sand dune-type of look. And a bit more room over the ears is a good idea. I think I'll leave the contrast as is, since I did want this dreamy and soft.

[Paul Lagasi]

What a difference, very nice work, tones and texture well done. The only thing I might remove is the dark curve on the left side of image, near horse's right foot. Well done.

[Indranil Sircar]

Beautiful composition, Nancy. Love how the horse is staring at the you... thanks for sharing how you got the image. Excellent processing in transforming the image... certainly looks like a dream horse!

[Mitch Carucci]

How Beautiful. You really transformed this image!

[Brendan Dozier]

Real nice dream-like quality you created, Nancy. Wonderful transformaition, and nice work with color and textures. Like the original capture as well.

[Jay Sheinfield]

Nice ghostly feel to it.............wonderful work with textures! As mentioned, well conceived and executed transformation.

[Nancy Bell]

Thank you all!

[denise ippolito]

Nancy, This is really special! I love what you did with this one. The blue is a perfect color for this. Maybe a tiny bit more room on top. Great job!

[John Storjohann]

Nancy, I don't know how I missed this earlier....and I'm sorry I'm late to the party...but this is a beautiful interpretation of the original image; great color scheme, dream-like atmosphere created through your processing...Denise makes a good point about adding some canvas at the top. Well done!