2020 Austin Studio Tour
Bison Portraiture
Bison Portraiture is a collection of photographs taken at Yellowstone National Park in the summer of 2016. That year marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service.
Writer and historian Wallace Stegner called national parks "the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.”
During this time of pandemic, we’ve seen America at its worst and best. Take solace in these images of the mighty bison, once on the brink of extinction, they endure and symbolize the American spirit.
Note: Due to the COVID pandemic, the East and West Austin Tours have been combined into a virtual and limited physical tour in November 2020.
Artwork is available for purchase. Please email David Carrales to discuss the particulars.
Bison Duo
I originally processed this image in color and was satisfied with the result. When I revisted the image during the curation process for this exhibition, I decided to process it as a monochrome image. I chose the monochrome version as it reminded me of a fine charcoal pencil drawing. I like the eye of the bison in the foreground, such delicate eyebrows on the shaggy beast. He appears contemplative, but perhaps is just a wee bit sleepy.
bison on a hill
I chose to crop this image square and process it with a sepia tone to give it the look that it was produced from a vintage medium format camera. I thought the sepia tone would enhance the texture of the grass in the foreground and his facial features.
bison in profile
I processed this image in a similar fashion as “Bison on a Hill” with hopes of enhancing all the wonderful textures in the image: the dark hairs of his head, the lighter hairs on his shoulders, the delicate grass in the foreground, and the sandy background. The detials are fairly sharp as I was close to him, safely behind a guardrail on the boardwalk. I felt confident I could outrun all the tourists around me if he decided to impose his will.
bison in high key
When I saw this solitary bison on the rise, I felt it would make for a good high key monochrome image as the color version I was witnessing was blah. The sky was gray, light flat, his coat a dull brown and the grass between his feet an uninteresting shade of green. Sometimes you have to take a flyer on an image and hope you can bring out something in post production. And sometimes you’re rewarded for your efforts.
too close for comfort
I had a 70-200mm telephoto lens on my camera body when this magnificent beast approached within a few feet of the open car window. I didn’t have time to switch to my camera body with the wide angle lens, so I just leaned back and tried to get as much as I could of him in frame. I felt he could have fogged the lens with his breath he was so close. Blessed to be in the presence of such a majestic creature, awestruck as he sauntered by.
on the move
I accidentally processed this image with a duotone effect and I liked it so I left it. I liked how the texture of the grass creates a natural vignette or perhaps a gradient effect on the top and bottom of the frame.
bison horn
I liked the three textures at play in this image, the gnarled light brown hair, the darker finer scruff that has hints of purple in it, and the mottled and scarred surface of the horn….the stray grass gives the appearance that this image was developed from a scratched negative.
smile
I think after I made the close crop i couldn’t help but recognize the hairy alien face with the bison’s nostrils serving as eye sockets. Funny how the mind is wired to see faces…I wonder if it views this as a friend or foe.
eye one
I don’t think I noticed the reflection of the eye prior to cropping this image tight, but it is a cool detail. I now notice he lacks the long eyelashes of one of my previous subjects thought I can seewhat appeart to be an raised ridge of hair that serves as an eyebrow. When I look into an animal’s eye, I always wonder what they are thinking.
eye two
This eye was barely visible but still servces as the focal point as I deliberately tried to narrow the depth of field.
yearling
I am reminded of the joke, a horse walks into a bar, the bartender takes one look at him and says, “why the long face?” This fellow will grow into his horns, his eyes will appear less bug-eyed as his face fills out and his beard will flow for several more inches. A full grown bison’s head weights up to 200 pounds, about ten percent of their body weight.