[astonm]

Been a looong summer away from home and the computer. I think I had to totally re-learn PS (what are all these darned buttons for ??!!???)

I have to leave town again next week, so this is sort of an "audit entry" only, but I got some good practice out of it. (and blurry eyeballs LOL)

First one is 1097 only. the second one is all 5 mashed up together in LR, then twiddled a bit in PS. Enjoy !

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Last edited by astonm; 04-15-2018 at 05:21 PM.

[BruceBanner]

Guys and gals, I've come down with the flu this weekend, so I'm extending the contest by a day or two, hopefully i feel much better in the next 24hrs.

Cheers,

Bruce

[BruceBanner]

Hey all,
Feeling much better, well enough to reply properly to the entries made this week, deliver a few comments and of course announce a winner.
Let’s start with a quick summary of the entry rules this time round.

This week contestants were required to submit a minimum of 2 entries, one that was a single frame and the other a merge/blend/hdr of a minimum of 2 frames or more. The purpose being whether the image was improved at all by adding more frames or whether the single frame was king. I for one enjoyed seeing the comparisons between the two.

Glen5995, very strong entries on all 3 submissions. Yours I think illustrates the best how far a single image can come close to looking like an HDR version, had you not specified which was which I think it would have been interesting to see who guessed which was which! The final HDR of using just two images imo trumps the 5 merger. All the entries here have a fantastic balance of exposure but not over saturating or vibrancy. Bravo!

Slowpez, two great entries here, I especially appreciate the ‘rope removal’ as I never found it distracting however once it is pointed out (and its disappearance removed) the shot is definitely improved. I also appreciate the two contrasting entries, one brightly exposed, saturated and vibrant, the other quite opposite. Good work and thanks for participating.

Jcomley, two bright and saturated images, probably a tad overkill for my personal liking. I am also not sure of whether one of the images is a single frame or if both are mergers/blends. Of the two edits I prefer the second entry. Thanks for contributing!

Todd, the only cropper. An interesting choice to crop in the first place, I feel lovely parts of the shot were missing due to the crop such as the blue/green water on the right of the shot. Having said that cropping does bring our attention to other features of the photo and highlights the waterfall itself. Two nice entries, I like the second one more I think, mainly because the colours feel more natural, I also like the strong contrast between the bright waterfall and the shadows elsewhere, I can’t help feeling the second shot might have looked better monochrome. Thanks again for your contributions to this week’s challenge.

Dartmoor Dave, both your entries seem a little washed out to my eyes, like the contrast needs upped, it could however be my two monitors. I try not to worry about pixel hunting in these challenges, and I too have noticed how attaching files in these forums can do odd things to the appearance of the photo. I prefer where possible to point to a url rather than attach, the image always looks so much better. Indeed I would like clarification on the sharpness element, there might be a thread here somewhere that talks about the best compression method for attaching files in this forum.
I enjoyed both your entries, I think I prefer the second over the first. Well done and good job.

AStonm, just sneaking in with two marvellous entries before the closing date. I really enjoyed both of these but the first single frame image I think looks the best. Did you add the sunray effect top right into the shot artificially or was it always there and able to be pulled out with some tweaking? It really adds something to the shot.
The aspect ratio of the shots also seems like you have stretched things out a tad (but not so much that it looks obvious), a nice touch. Two great submissions, ta!

Honourable mentions;
Iheiramo, I really liked what you started with the single frame image, my only issue is that the waterfall itself somewhat looks like it has lost brightness and whiteness, it’s somewhat greyish looking (for me) which compared to the vibrancy to the rest of the scene seems somewhat outta place, otherwise a fantastic job with a single frame.


This week’s winner was tough to decide on, I felt as though the battle between Glen5995 and astomn entries were really close, but I’m going to hand over 1st place to Glen5995 with astomn a close 2nd. If Glen5995 is sick of doing these challenges or is busy I have no problem with astomn being awarded the honor of hosting the next mini PP challenge.
Thanks for everyone who contributed, definitely an interesting challenge showing that sometimes working with one frame is best!

Bruce

[Glenn5995]

Thank you BruceBanner for hosting this challenge and for bestowing upon me the honor of hosting the next challenge. Well done everyone!

#234 is ready for your entries:

Challenge #234 - Standin' on the Corner - PentaxForums.com

[astonm]

thanks for the nod - that picture looks like a lovely spot to go hide away
and those sun-rays.... hmmmmm, I don't recall them in the file, I think that must have just been some glare coming in through my window....

[BruceBanner]

Hahaha, well it's a nice touch =)