Darkroom Challenge Digital Darkroom Derby #224 - Winner announced

kae1

kae1

All-Pro
Location
West Yorkshire
Name
Ken
Start Date
Aug 31, 2024
End Date
Sep 3, 2024
This is Digital Darkroom Derby #224, 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.

This challenge is a picture of an aspidistra(?) in Salts Mill, Saltaire. The Mill was one of Britain's industrial powerhouses in the Victorian era which is now converted to a place for arts, shops and dining in addition to smaller office based industries.

DSC02551.JPG
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RAW and JPEG files are here.

Derby closes on Tuesday 3rd September at 08:00 UTC.
 
Not competing. Initial diagnosis turned up three challenges for practice: 1) geometry (restore right angles where their should be right angles), 2) remove the cars and electric wires, 3) increase dynamic range without making it look all HDR-ish. I somehow lost a lot of the green in the plant, probably through carelessness.

Mill-2.jpg
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Last edited:
Entry #2: Differences from entry #1: I "increased" color using ON1 Effects, did not remove cars, sharpened background very slightly. [I came across "aspidistra" for the first time very recently when reading one of Dorothy Sayers's Peter Wimsey mysteries, so I was happy that i learned what it was in this Challenge without having to look it up :) ]

DSC02551_DxOd2s2LL.jpg
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If I was a proper photographer I'd spend more time taking my photos than I actually do. My wife and I had gone out for lunch with my cousin and we were just walking through the ground floor when I liked the window, the framing and the plant & pot and took my snap and ten seconds later moved on. When I got home and saw the nice exposure for the mill, but the plant & pot in shadow, the geometry and the wires I realised I should have moved a bit, and spent a bit of time on thinking about exposure. This is where the modern day darkroom, i.e. post processing, comes into life for me by spending a bit more time and making the best out of something I've taken which isn't right and can be made better.

As usual, some great entries meaning you've all improved the image by correcting the geometry, taking a view on the plant & pot, considered the wires & cars, thought about the crop and then adjusted the colours and light. I could make an argument for each of them so well done to you all.

1725346137038.png


It was difficult to select my top three as I especially like them all, however my choices :-
Winner - @Zeus1 - I like the geometry, the crop, the plant & pot, the blurred background, the colour and no cars
Joint runners up - @gecko #1 - I like the crop, the window sill, the plant & pot, no wires and cars, and the colour
and @Rob R #2 - I have a soft spot for B&W and I love the contrast, the film grain and the image created.

Congratulations, Hendrik and over to you (y)

For completeness my attempts
DSC02551_DxO.jpg
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DSC02551_DxObw.jpg
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