Shaman of the Forest

© Norman P. Banks

Shaman of the Forest

Uploaded: December 07, 2006

Description

Digital composite

Exif: FNumber: , ExposureBiasValue: , ExposureTime: , Flash: , ISO: , WhiteBalance:

Comments

Steve M. Harrington December 07, 2006

Hey Norman,
First, the saturation looks fine on my Mac. I'd probably push it even further, but we both know I have a problem. :)

A thought: I've been studying this image for some time. I want to explore the woods visually, but I am constantly drawn back to the Indian. I want to get to him, but not immediately. I wonder how the image would work if he were moved "back" and to the right, nearer the spotlight.

Steve #568783

Karen Engelbreth December 07, 2006

Fantastic abstract - great PS work, Norman! #3678807

Norman P. Banks December 07, 2006

Hi Steve & Karen, thanks for stopping by an commenting so nicely!

Steve I must admit that I placed the Shaman in the first spot that seemed to beckon and that turned out to be dead center. I had moved him around a bit but always returned to center.

Your idea is a good one. Positioning the Shaman as you suggested and reducing his size to keep the perspective would allow the viewer to explore the forest and discover him watching them from the shadows.

I will have to play around with the idea as it certainly is good artistic style.

Believe it or not, this image as a PSD file was 286mb so as soon as I could, I saved it as a genuine fractals STN file which reduced it significantly but I had to flatten it so I'll build another in future and apply your suggestion.

Norm #3679216

Candice C. Calhoun level-deluxe December 08, 2006

Extremely mature artistic work of photographic art! Wow!

ccc #3680552

Norman P. Banks December 08, 2006

Thank you, Candice!

This image is important to me, because I built it in stages which means that I took my time and really became involved in the Process.

This had a nice calming Zen like Spiritual effect, which I must admit, is what I go after in most things that I do. (Picean... what can I tell ya!)

Image making for me is about the process, the journey where things are revealed and learned, both about oneself and the thing one is doing.

Steve Harrington had a very interesting suggestion regarding the Shaman figure that embodies good artistic style which I want to explore.

This illustrates, the real beauty of interesting commentary between us BP'rs, in that it makes one look deeper into ones work and all sorts of good things happen.(smile)

Norm #3680870

Bill Wyatt December 08, 2006

Very creative and beautiful I like the mood of this image. Terrific work, Norman! #3681169

Norman P. Banks December 08, 2006

Thanks Bill, I appreciate you stopping by the gallery!

Norm #3681281

Steve M. Harrington December 08, 2006

Hi Norm,

After reading your comments I studied the image further. New conclusion (I'm so fickle!)

If the title were THE Forest Shaman, then I wouldn't change a thing. The figure should stay where he is. I now believe my earlier suggestion would require a different image, with different lighting.

I hope this doesn't sound silly. Words are important to me, and a title becomes a direction to me about how I should approach an image.

I promise not to change my mind again for at least two hours. Exit stage left. :)

Steve #3681362

Norman P. Banks December 08, 2006

Yo Steve, it's interesting that you mention the title as I was giving some thought to changing it.

As I mentioned to Candice above, commentary such as this is very positive as it causes one to step back a bit and reconsider.

The Shaman figure was placed in the background after it was built. Since I naturally kept centering the Shaman I began to question what I was trying to say with the image. I finally came to the conclusion that the center was what it was all about! He represented a connecting and centering element in the forest environment that held the whole thing (image) together.

Norm

#3681551

Wendy Stevenson December 08, 2006

You know Norm, the thing I love about your art is it's beautiful complexity! It's like an onion, always so many layers and with each new one a new discovery! This to me, is one of your very best!!! I love the rich colour (I'm on a mac too) and your choice of a spotlight was perfect! I also really like the contrast and how it actually highlights the colour! My eyes are moving all around and every once ina while catch of glimpse of him shrouded in mystery as a shaman should be! Really excellent work and incredible art piece!! I really love this!! #3682407

Norman P. Banks December 08, 2006

Hey Wendy, thanks for your warm encouragement!

I always love to hear from the "Lady of the Leaves" (remember you said that leaves are among your favorite things)

I really took my time with this image, trying to get it to say what I wanted it to.

I have a Dell XPS 400 with a 20" wide screen ultra bright monitor that I only use for multimedia work (no internet connection)

The colors on this monitor really pop, so I am spending more time exploring color and its effect on an image and its content.

I use a flash drive to transfer image files to my old Dell unit, but the Monitor is getting dull and most of what I see on the net if dark, appears very dark so I'm glad that others are seeing this image as I did on my newer system.

Norm #3682799

David Pratt December 09, 2006

Norm, Wonderful creation. I really enjoyed looking at this piece. Love the feeling of depth you have created by the multiple layers and the fact, that this appears to have 3D qaulities to it. The fact that I can see into the photo, into the forest is wonderful. Terrific work! #3683570

Norman P. Banks December 09, 2006

Thank you, David!

I really appreciate the support and encouragement.

Norm #3684966

Bill Wyatt December 10, 2006

Wow Norm a powerful image. Reminds me of the free and beautiful spirt of the Native Indian. I like your ability to give your images a 3-D look and also makes the viewer think and holds their attention. Terrific job! #3688555

Linda McLellan December 11, 2006

This is really great-it draws you in to look for more. #3690483

Melissa G. Meiselman December 11, 2006

Norman, I am always interested in an artistic process and you have shared a lot throughout the comments.

I have experienced the mental state you describe when deeply involved with the creation of a picture, where my hands do the work and my mind is on a different plane.

Your process here is a painterly one where, if you had a canvas, it would be heavy with paint as the picture evolved and you perceived different things in the image that needed to be done.

While this is a beautiful digital picture with a multitude of differing interactions among the colors, with great lighting, the digital process and the light emitting screen does not do this image justice

One process I have developed is to take an image like this...I have plenty which I do not show on BP...have it printed on canvas with waterproof inks and then, using clear and thick acrylics, I add the brush strokes to the point where my once flat image looks and feels three dimensional.
Melissa #3691142

Norman P. Banks December 11, 2006

Hi Bill, Linda & Melissa!

Thank you all for your very positive response to this image.

It is interesting that one action out of a multitude, can represent a small step towards another level and though It may not be apparent to others, it is important for an individual to recognize it!

That is what this image means to me, because I participated in its construction consciously and patiently.

Simply put, I took my time, which I haven't always done (smile) and was conscious of myself as part of the action taking place, which I also haven't always done.

Forgive me if I'm getting too Zen like here, but that's kinda how I see our discipline... as a flowing meditation.(bigger smile)

Melissa, thank you so much for sharing your canvas technique. I am very intrigued and want to know can any photo printing service do waterproof inks, or is there a special printing service that one has to go to.

As to finishing the image by hand painting the canvas, it just illustrates the extent of your talent and skill. I on the other hand would probably create a mess with real paint. (smile) but am not adverse to giving it a shot!

Norm
#3691523


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