Looks like I have the baton this week as geodude is unable to host this weeks challenge. So here goes.

I belong to a group on Flickr called Slider Sundays. The object is to take a photo and process it to the max. It is a lot of fun and has taught me a lot about post processing and how to use those programs to enhance a photo or push it beyond all reason. So, for this weeks challenge, I would like two shots from each of you: the before and after images. Make it fun and process it to the max.

This challenge will end on Friday Sept. 1 at midnight my time.

The fine print:
Every week, a new theme is picked and judged by the winner of the previous week.

Rules
1. Post ONE photo (max 1024x1024).
2. The photo must portray an interpretation of the theme.
3. Post your single picture in this thread and explain what motivated you to take the picture and/or how you feel it represents the weekly theme (especially if it's not obvious).
4. The challenge is interactive. Any response is welcome.
5. The judge will pick the WINNERS and choose one of them to be the judge for the next week.
6. This challenge runs for 7 days plus an additional day for the judge to choose the winners.
7. Any Pentax/Ricoh (DSLR) camera can be used.
8. Pictures can be from any time frame, not just within the week of the current theme.
9. In case the winner of a challenge is unable to become the judge for the next challenge, they will PM the #2 winner for that person to be the judge


Read more at: #396 Urban or Rural Decay - PentaxForums.com

Here is an example of what I did to the lowly trillium:

[geomez]

Does it have to be cropped the same? If so, I'll change it.
I did not make these for this challenge. I processed them separately, hence them being cropped separately.

[slowpez]

Does it have to be cropped the same?

No. It makes no difference about the cropping or time-frame. Just take a photo and change it in someway. This works fine for the challenge geomez.

[savoche]

Sounds like fun! If I manage to drop by home before this challenge closes I'll submit an entry

[Bruce Clark]

My contribution to this terrific challenge is this Pelican from Kangaroo Island, Australia. The Light was flat and ordinary, the landing crowded with birds, jostling for position leaving little option to shoot and hope that Lightroom could help make something out of it.

[atupdate]

This one required a ton of masking and adjustment layers. Once that was done the color shift was easy, as it only required a shift in the hue adjustment layer.

Raw converted to jpeg with no adjustments


Composite


Tim

[Hattifnatt]

I took this picture of an old lady on a street in Vienna. It was the middle of the day and light was pretty much flat and uninspiring, but I liked the shot so I went crazy with the post-processing. Normally I like to process my pictures as little as possible aiming for a more natural look, but this time no Lightroom slider was left untouched. Here's the before and after.

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[SpecialK]

I don't really process to the max, nor keep before and afters, so you are stuck with my exploration of the "blue sky", "haze reduction", and maybe another tool in Elements on Devils Tower. I do have one that is not as strongly processed for blue or haze.
Attachment 367539

The cloud banding was more pronounced beyond this degree of processing.
Attachment 367540

[slowpez]

Looking great so far everyone. Keep them coming.

[Vaskebjorn]

Normaly i do not “over” proces, but in this case i like the result. I upped the black part ancropped a bit.

[Barbara Fu]

I rarely process at all. The Optio gives me enough filter toys that I rarely need to, and with my work and travel I can't even keep up with tagging and filing most of the time. The challenge...sounded like fun, so I grabbed some 'night' tags and chose this one. At first I was going to prettify it, correct for the awful lighting, but I found my skills were just too rusty for that. Instead I went zombie video game. I hope you like the results. I'd caption 'before' and 'after', but I figure you can figure that out.
The escalator to a grocery store in suburban Japan.

[charliezap]

The temperature on this day was around 15 degs and it was freezing the salt water at the shore in Lynn Ma. I fooled around mainly with the brightness and contrast and the finishing touch was applying the "Like a painting" mode in PSP. --charliezap

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[Kerrowdown]

I needed this scene but at night, I couldn't get back to it at the right time, so had to PP a night scene.

[Barbara Fu]

I needed this scene but at night, I couldn't get back to it at the right time, so had to PP a night scene.

I am seriously impressed!

[Kerrowdown]

I am seriously impressed!

Thank you for your kind words, whilst it didn't take that long to do in PP, I still feel it would have been better final image if perhaps it had been the real deal.