Post Processing Challenge #497 -CLOSED- Winner(s) announced

[GregRed]

A hazy photo from a hike this summer in the Canadian Rockies. Looking across the valley at Mt. Rae, from the slopes of Mt. Elpoca (Kananaskis Country, Alberta):

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RAW file:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8turt5vv5p82ol5/P_G94572.RW2?dl=0

72-Hour Post-Processing Challenge Rules:

1. The Challenge Master provides an image or images to be "improved" upon by way of post-processing, as well as a closing date for entries.
2. Entrants are to post their entries, visible in this thread, at a resolution of 1000 to 1600 pixels in the longest dimension, prior to the closing date.
3. Each entrant is allowed two entries in the Challenge.
4. At the close of the Challenge, the Challenge Master will select a Winner and Runners-up.
5. The Winner of the Challenge is honored as the Master of the next Challenge.

Notes:

• Any/all source images used for the challenge must be the Challenge Master's own images. They are posted solely for the purpose of this Challenge; not to invite critique or criticism nor for other uses. If Entrants post their entries at a photo sharing site, they should credit the owner of the original image.
• "Improve" is a subjective term, and may include many creative ideas, as well as traditional "fixing". The Challenge Master agrees that Entrants may make any changes they deem fit in their entries.
• Entrants are strongly encouraged to share the tools and techniques used for their entries, however this is not a requirement for entry.
• As we all know, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. The Challenge Master is encouraged (but not required) to state the criteria used to decide upon a Winner. While we may not all agree with the result, the Challenge Master's decision is final. Please refrain from posting adverse comment.
• If the Winner is unable to post a new Challenge within five days, the honor passes to the next Runner-up.

Contest will close sometime in the evening (GMT-6) on Tuesday 9/24.

 

[Robert Davidson]

Processed in Luminar 3

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[betamax]

Exposure 4. Angled gradient to reduce haze. Cropped to portrait, then lifted saturation, and sharpened.

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[rpatodia]

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[frankmulder]

Processed in Rawtherapee. Tried to keep a somewhat natural look.

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[rpatodia]

sharpened in Nik

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[relic]

Processed mostly in DXO PL2, applied DxO-one landscape preset, tone curve, some microcontrast. In Elements, slightly brought out shadows, darkened highlights, and resized.

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[Jay_M]

Luminar 3

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[BosseBe]

DxO PL2, first in colour:

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And the in B&W:

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[BosseBe]

@GregRed you might like to have a look on the lens ad see if it needs some cleaning, in the B&W above you can see a circle in the heaven above the mountains in the middle of the picture, I believe it is a drying mark on the lens. It is hardly noticeable but can be kind of seen in almost all the other processed pictures.
Maybe this can be a great way to check how clean your lens is? Take a photo of the blue sky and convert it to B&W, then give the contrast a boost.

 

[GregRed]

@GregRed you might like to have a look on the lens ad see if it needs some cleaning, in the B&W above you can see a circle in the heaven above the mountains in the middle of the picture, I believe it is a drying mark on the lens. It is hardly noticeable but can be kind of seen in almost all the other processed pictures.
Maybe this can be a great way to check how clean your lens is? Take a photo of the blue sky and convert it to B&W, then give the contrast a boost.

Thanks for pointing that out. I suspect it was either the fingerprint smudge on the rear element of that lens which I just discovered, or an artifact of a not-too-thorough sensor-cleaning. I was photographing some local rodeos this summer, which are dusty, sensor-unfriendly affairs, so my sensor cleaning kit got a workout. Either way, I can’t seem to replicate the effect.

 

[relic]

A black-&-white version. I was trying DXO Filmpack 5 (Essential Edition) but as I experimented with several film emulations, I don't remember which one I ended up using).

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[Fred S]

Processed in Affinity

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[jyc860923]

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[betamax]

Exposure X5 B/w fog filter and some extra contrast and highlight adjustments.

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[GregRed]

Challenge #497 is now closed.

Thanks to all the entrants who took the time to edit and process this photo. Every entry had something to recommend it, so choosing wasn't easy... but here goes:

Second Runner Up: @betamax, for the soft monochrome edit, which has a slightly dreamlike quality which I like.
First Runner Up: @relic for the colourful Topaz rendition. Pictorialism in photography has gotten a bad rap for most of the last hundred years, unfairly I think, and I liked this painterly interpretation.
Winner: @Hannety, for getting the balance of colours between the rocks and the vegetation closest to the way I remembered it, and leaving some of the natural haze in the sky.

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

And so the baton is passed to @Hannety...

 

[relic]

Challenge #497 is now closed.

Thanks to all the entrants who took the time to edit and process this photo. Every entry had something to recommend it, so choosing wasn't easy... but here goes:

Second Runner Up: @betamax, for the soft monochrome edit, which has a slightly dreamlike quality which I like.
First Runner Up: @relic for the colourful Topaz rendition. Pictorialism in photography has gotten a bad rap for most of the last hundred years, unfairly I think, and I liked this painterly interpretation.
Winner: @Hannety, for getting the balance of colours between the rocks and the vegetation closest to the way I remembered it, and leaving some of the natural haze in the sky.

Thanks again to everyone who participated!

And so the baton is passed to @Hannety...

I think for 1st runner up you meant to say @Hannety's 2nd entry where he used Topaz? My entries are always on the "drab" side Thanks for the challenge and congratulations to @Hannety and @betamax.

 

[GregRed]

I think for 1st runner up you meant to say @Hannety's 2nd entry where he used Topaz? My entries are always on the "drab" side Thanks for the challenge and congratulations to @Hannety and @betamax.

Ooops... maybe so. Well, as I said, I had a hard time choosing among so many good entries. Congratulations to the winner(s), in any case.

 

[BosseBe]

Thank you. As I said I didn't think there was a lot of scope for being different leaving not a lot to choose on.

I have been playing with a Topaz Studio 2 trial and loaded my 1st entry and picked a preset 'look' I liked and messed around with a few settings for that look. It isn't a photograph, but, if I had to choose one of my entries to print and hang on the wall I think it would be that one.

Is anyone specifically responsible for this competition series or does it just keep itself going? It would be nice to see more participation. Anyone have ideas on that or reasons for not participating?

Could we change it up, maybe only abstract processing for one? Have there been portraits in the past? Very different processing requirements. I struggle to find images that I know can be nice and offer a lot of scope for processing.

Anyhow I have picked another landscape(ish) one for #498 and will post it shortly.

No one but we ourselves are responsible AFAIK.

I think the participation has picked up the last month or so, you are an example of new participants, but I think I have seen more new names in the line-up.
But I agree that it would be fun with more people (except when you have to judge a contest ).

As I'm here to learn and have fun, I think trying something like abstract processing (whatever that is) could be fun.
Portraits I don't remember having done, but should be fun trying.

 

[barry]

https://www.mu-43.com/threads/post-processing-challenge-498.105795/