Lost on the Road to Good Intentions
Bozeman, Montana
2022
Claude finally stopped to consider his situation–he was beginning to think he’d made a wrong turn back there somewhere. Sparky had come to that conclusion some time ago but, as usual, was content to just go with the flow as long as he was with the boss.
(The latest in my collection of dystopia related composite images. Components in the image come from Montana, Wyoming, Nevada in the U.S. as well as Ireland, France and China.)
Wow, Larry! This is so believable! I completely fell for it as a “natural” image until I read your comments…and then looked again. This is fantastic! And thank you to the gentleman on his bike with his dog…so fun! 🙂
Thanks Kathy. Sometimes it takes me a long time to get a composite imagine to look even close to natural or believable. And unlike a lot of photographers these days, I don’t consider an image finished until I can get a decent medium to large size print out of the image. This composition was a tough one in that regard. It took 18 iterations involving changes in what I put in the composition, where they were positioned, the lighting on each image as well as shadow adjustments etc. The last few iterations involve small tweaks that, frankly, I doubt very few if anyone would even notice or appreciate. They were just to make it right for me–or as close to right as I can get. (Never completely satisfied!) I start out printing on 8.5″x11″ and work my way up, usually to 16″x24″ or similar size. Anyway, this one is now printed, framed, and hanging in our living room.
Oh, and I have to ask, did you see the coyote in the image?
I did not see the coyote initially. But after you mentioned it, I enlarged the photo and went looking for it. Found it…very well camouflaged! 🙂
All those things you mentioned…lighting, shadows (Important!)…all contribute to the believeability of the final result. Really well done!
Thanks again Kathy. I did not set out to make the coyote blend into the surrounding so well, but it’s neat that it worked out that way–very much the way they are in real life I think as it helps them both in stalking their prey and hiding from their predators.