Thanks for playing along this week. You all produced a wide variation of creative versions.
I hadn't actually processed this one myself before choosing it for this exercise. I played around with it some later and noticed there were sharpness issues as well as some pretty obvious color fringing that needed to be addressed. I figured extra credit would go to at least some perspective distortion correction and/or creative choices.
I'll try to comment on each.
jcomley, You submitted a colorful HDR and a sketchedy version. I liked the first version better, but would have liked to see a smoother sky with less grunginess and haloing, plus a correction of the color fringing in the power lines.
Glenn5995, Three excellent entries. You get extra credit for the time traveling version and your second entry was just perfection. I liked the sky in the 3rd entry, but am not a fan of removal of the power lines. These lines are necessary for the train to continue around the curve.
quant2325, Your entry gets extra credit for current events (even though the photo used is very old), but Al Franken's ugly mug negates the current events points. Funny entry, however.
Meg4mi, I love the drama - without overdoing it. Perhaps a little cool for my taste. Very well done!
Todd, another stellar job. First, I love the foreground grittiness and contrast. I was liking the direction you were headed for the dark dramatic sky, but it looks a little unfinished in areas where it meets the buildings and with white artifacts around the power lines.
dlneubec, You offered up 6 creative versions with 4 being abstract painterly versions. I find the foreground to be very dark in all 6 versions. If the foreground wasn't so dark, I think your painterly versions would have really popped. Like I mentioned in Glenn5995s review, the power lines are quite necessary for the electric light rail train to operate. While I see a valid reason one may clone distracting power lines from a scene, removing them here leaves me scratching my head trying to make sense of the scene.
johnhilvert, Nice overall tones in your single entry. I think you went a little to far with the perspective distortion correction and find the color balance a little warm for me.
astonm. Whoa! That's what I said when I first saw your entry. I like it when another photographers vision of the same scene is so different than mine. I love the sense of motion as well as the overall color and contrast. Great job!
Tas, Your first entry was nice, but wow! The second entry was so cool. You managed a great sky replacement even with the challenges of all the power lines and such. I love the moody tones and sense of motion in the sky and train.
I always feel strange trying to judge other people's work. I feel like I barely know what I'm doing myself, but I must chose someone to host the next round.
Our next host will be astonm!
If I had to pick a second place, it would be Tas... or maybe Glenn5995... or Meg4mi... or Todd... You get the idea.
Thanks for playing.