Darkroom Challenge Digital Darkroom Derby #211 (closed, results posted)

[WhidbeyLVR]

Start Date

Jul 3, 2024

End Date

Jul 7, 2024

This is Digital Darkroom Derby #211, a digital image editing/processing challenge.

These challenges are open to everyone. If you have any interest in practicing or improving your image editing and post-processing skills, please feel free to join in!

Please read the rules here. Short version: Host provides the challenge image and selects the winner, who then becomes the next host.

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I think this may be a tougher challenge than usual, but let's see what you can do with it.

The RAW and JPEG files are here.

The challenge will close at 12:00 (noon) Pacific Daylight Time on Sunday, July 7th.

 

[RobD]

#1. ACR & PS

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[griffljg]

Entry #1:

Lyle, I can see what you mean about this being a tougher challenge than usual. There is heaps that can be done with this image. But how much is enough? And how much is too much? So......

For starters I adopted my usual procedure of......

ORF file -> DxO PureRAW 4 (Mainly lens correction) -> DNG file -> Capture One Pro ( Cropping, added Contrast, Clarity, and Saturation, HDR adjustments) -> JPEG file.

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[griffljg]

Entry #2:

As for Entry #1, but cropped in to a more landscape format to put a bit more emphasis onto the 'bird'.

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[WhidbeyLVR]

Lyle, I can see what you mean about this being a tougher challenge than usual. There is heaps that can be done with this image. But how much is enough? And how much is too much? So......

Perhaps if no amount of effort could ever be enough, then any amount of effort is already too much? 😉

 

[RobD]

#2. ACR & PS

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[gecko]

Beautiful shot! I thought (before I tried) that this should not be that difficult. But after yesterday spending half a day on it, I gave up in despair! Then I took Lyle's advice above and today started over, and somehow very quickly got what I thought was a fairly acceptable result. As usual, I edited raw file in DxO PL7 the tweaked in Elements. Tweaked just a bit more and replaced original entry.

Entry #1: cropped

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[gecko]

Entry #2: uncropped.

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[Peano]

Not competing. I shared Lyle's skepticism: "Perhaps if no amount of effort could ever be enough, then any amount of effort is already too much?" But I plowed ahead and made free with the removal tool and converted Day to Night, all with the aim of isolating the eagle from the surrounding plunder.

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[WhidbeyLVR]

I shared Lyle's skepticism: "Perhaps if no amount of effort could ever be enough, then any amount of effort is already too much?" But I plowed ahead and made free with the removal tool and converted Day to Night, all with the aim of isolating the eagle from the surrounding plunder.

That's the spirit! It's the journey, not the destination. Thanks to those who have soldiered on, despite the difficulties, or we would have no entries at all! Please remember that you may replace current entries to show your best efforts. You have until Sunday, so plenty of time to play.

 

[kae1]

Entry #1 DXO PL7 then Elements and PhotoAI

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[kae1]

Entry #2

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[WhidbeyLVR]

Hint: Sometimes, when you use custom perspective correction in DxO, the image gets noticeably squished or stretched from forcing the specified fit. You can use the x:y ratio widget in the perspective palette to help correct the distortion when this happens.

 

[WhidbeyLVR]

I am hoping for a few more entries before the close tomorrow. Plenty of time!

 

[doobs]

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OK,

As others have posted, this one was interesting. I threw away my first attempt after a LOT of tweaking

My ART process for the 2nd try:

1. Auto-Matched Curve - Film-Like
2. Exposure Compensation - 1.5
3. Tone Equalizer - 85 51 0 -29 -89 (Black, Shadow, Mid-tone, Highlights, Whites)
4. Saturation - 20
5. Vibrance - 20
6. Texture Boost Strength - 0.40
7. Texture Boost Detail - 0.40
8. White Balance - Cloudy
9. Crop - Left 1163 Top 258 Width 2522 Height 3380

Truth be told, I'm still not over the moon with this version.

 

[WhidbeyLVR]

This image was taken on the Swinomish Canal waterfront in La Conner, Washington State. Named after the wife (Louisa Ann) of John Conner (who purchased the town, trading post, and post office for $500 in 1860), La Conner today is a local and tourist hot-spot north of Seattle with many shops, restaurants, and galleries. It is also very nearby the annual Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. The bridge is the Rainbow Bridge. When it was built in 1957, all bridges in the state were mandated to be painted green. When the town saw the red-orange undercoat, they decided they didn't want a green bridge, but preferred the more striking base coat. They petitioned the state and eventually got approval to keep it.

I was there 10 days ago with my spouse and two of her sisters. While they went shopping after lunch, I walked the waterfront to take pictures and kill time (more the later than the former). Back home, when I went through the images, this one was definitely not on the "keeper" list. I should probably have worked it more for a better composition, but . . .

Anyway, I thought that maybe there were enough interesting elements in the image that it might make a good challenge for you. Thank you for taking it on with good humor. I hope you enjoyed it.

I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought the PVC pipes might be cloned out, and the yellow boat bumper, too. Maybe the sign and the piles supporting the pier would disappear, as well. I was surprised by Rob's care in eliminating the light bulbs. I didn't know how you would crop it, nor how you might try to resolve the tension between the eagle sculpture and the bridge.

I really enjoyed David's (@Peano) take on it, but he isn't competing. Of the remainder, my top 4 were by Rob, Larry, Ken, and Chris. the final verdict. . .

Winner: @RobD #2 -- Nice processing and cloning job!

2nd Place: @griffljg #2 -- Very nice color/contrast processing and the crop was good. I wish you would have cloned out some of the distractions.

3rd Place (tie): @kae1 #1 and @doobs -- Ken, I really liked what you cloned out and how you tried to straighten horizontals out, but the resulting vertical stretch bothered me. Chris, your cropping choice made the bridge the star (good) and it felt balanced, but it would have been nice to see the PVC pipes go.

Thanks to all of you! And over to Rob.

 

[WhidbeyLVR]

I did take a stab at it, as well. I don't think it is destined to be hung on my wall. I cloned and cropped. I didn't move mountains but I moved 2 hills and a bridge to make the bridge feel more like an aura or halo, framing the eagle.

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[RobD]

Thanks for the win Lyle. I have to admit Photoshop's "Remove" brush did most of the work easily removing the light bulbs and PVC pipes.
After finding a suitable image to play with, I will get a new challenge up this evening.

 

[kae1]

the resulting vertical stretch bothered me

Not a problem, Lyle.

Just for information I sorted the horizontals etc. out in DXO then wanted to alter the perspective so the bridge appeared to be further back in the image so used Elements "Correct Camera Distortion", filled in the resulting edges and a bit of blur.

 

[RobD]

Next Challenge is up here - https://cameraderie.org/threads/digital-darkroom-derby-212.57875/