Darkroom Challenge Digital Darkroom Derby #286 - Closed - What do you think?

[kae1]

Start Date

May 9, 2025

End Date

May 12, 2025

This is Digital Darkroom Derby #286, 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.

If you feel that you may be unable to provide an image for the next challenge, please submit your entry with the words "Non Entry" at the top.

I think this is an old "Fulling Mill", from the days when urine was used in manufacturing to cleanse wool cloth before being flattened to produce a smooth waterproof fabric used in tunics etc.. Most of the old mills don't exist any more but this must have been repurposed over the years as it appears reasonably well maintained. https://www.littleboroughshistory.org/mills.html

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

RAW and JPEG files are here.

Challenge closes on Monday 12th May at 08:00 utc.

 

[griffljg]

Entry #1:

Interesting challenge. To me it appeared that perspective correction and a lot of HDR work to address the great dynamic range across the image. So I went back to roots......

RAF (raw) file -> DxO PureRAW 5 -> DNG file -> Capture One Pro -> JPEG file.

The perspective correction was the easy part. Lots of masking to allow sufficient (but not too much) shadow recovery to bring out some detail in the shadows. Capture One's AI masking really helped in this. That's why I like these challenges. They push me out of my comfort zone editing-wise and force me to experiment with new techniques.

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[Peano]

Not competing. This one isn't much of an editing challenge, more like a software challenge to see what the software engineers can do to recover shadow details. With that proviso, here's my go (ACR/PS):

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[kae1]

Still got plenty of time to have a go!

 

[gecko]

Edited raw file in DxO PL7 then tweaked result in Elements I did far too much fiddling to try to remember or describe.

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[gecko]

Entry #2: B&W version (Nik Silver Efex) of entry #1.

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[Irene McC]

Edited raw file in DxO PL7 then tweaked result in Elements I did far too much fiddling to try to remember or describe.

View attachment 549139

I'm curious about what happened to the roof tiles in the foreground in your edit

 

[kae1]

With only two entries, I wonder if now is a good time to consider the format/future of these challenges and whether we feel that they should continue. The concept IMO that "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!" is sound. However, if there are only going to be a few people who are willing/able to post the next challenge then does the format need to be revised or just rested.

From my point of view, as one who has "entered" over 95% of the challenges I am happy to continue to support the "Derbies" as I've been able to improve my post processing skills and hope that others may benefit too. I enjoy seeing what others can do with the same image but being honest I only "enter" to keep the challenges going. I don't know if others feel the same.

If there are only a few entries from the "regulars" then the idea of hosting the next challenge is starting to become more of a rota than a challenge and I wonder if just having a rota might be the answer. "Winners" can still be chosen but they don't need to host the next challenge. There are plenty of images posted on the site each day and perhaps some of the other members may be happy to let us edit one of their images once a month/six weeks/you get the idea and choose a "winner".

What do you think? Do the Derbies have a future? Do the practicalities need revising?

 

[griffljg]

Hi Ken,

I was thinking much the same thing. Perhaps the competitive nature of a challenge is scaring some less experienced people away, even though the challenges are open to everyone. A newcomer may take a look at the results and think "I'm never going to be as good as that. - Why bother?"

How about changing the format to be more of a tutorial session, where members are encouraged to experiment and try out different techniques, while the rest can offer constructive advice or comments? ie The "challenges" need to be made more friendly and inviting.

Just my 2c worth. 😉

 

[Zeus1]

Would like to continue these exercises. Reason I've not posted on this one, Ken, is a 300 Volt electricity spike that went through my house, frying several (costly) things, including my M1 Apple Studio with Studio Display.
Now typing on a MacBook.
PS My back up strategy worked: I lost completely nothing.

 

[kae1]

Would like to continue these exercises

Hope you're back to normal at home, Hendrik.

Are you happy with the format of the competitions? No need to change?

 

[arkitect]

Would like to continue these exercises. Reason I've not posted on this one, Ken, is a 300 Volt electricity spike that went through my house, frying several (costly) things, including my M1 Apple Studio with Studio Display.
Now typing on a MacBook.
PS My back up strategy worked: I lost completely nothing.

Phew! Nightmare! Sorry to hear your Apple Studio and Display bit the dust. That's a major ouch.
Luckily your backups are safe…

 

[arkitect]

With only two entries, I wonder if now is a good time to consider the format/future of these challenges and whether we feel that they should continue. The concept IMO that "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!" is sound. However, if there are only going to be a few people who are willing/able to post the next challenge then does the format need to be revised or just rested.

From my point of view, as one who has "entered" over 95% of the challenges I am happy to continue to support the "Derbies" as I've been able to improve my post processing skills and hope that others may benefit too. I enjoy seeing what others can do with the same image but being honest I only "enter" to keep the challenges going. I don't know if others feel the same.

If there are only a few entries from the "regulars" then the idea of hosting the next challenge is starting to become more of a rota than a challenge and I wonder if just having a rota might be the answer. "Winners" can still be chosen but they don't need to host the next challenge. There are plenty of images posted on the site each day and perhaps some of the other members may be happy to let us edit one of their images once a month/six weeks/you get the idea and choose a "winner".

What do you think? Do the Derbies have a future? Do the practicalities need revising?

This is a curious one…

I have often participated offline, so to speak. I download the RAW and work at it in PhotoLab etc… but I never publish my result.

My results are fine. I'm happy with it, and I love the process of PP.

But here's the thing: For me when I do post processing on my own images I always remember the scene, the mood, the atmosphere — what I "saw" when I was there.
So my PP is always that attempt to evoke that memory…

Working on someone else's image means I don't have that emotional connection really and it is just an exercise.

Don't know if that makes any sense or if I have just muddied the waters further. 😬

I don't think it is the format of the Darkroom Derby… it's just that each of us have their own reasons. 🙂

I shall certainly try to be more active.

 

[Zeus1]

Are you happy with the format of the competitions? No need to change?

Imho, the best derbies are those where posters describe what and why they did something (congrats to @griffljg , @kae1 @WhidbeyLVR ) so that we others can learn something.

 

[Peano]

But here's the thing: For me when I do post processing on my own images I always remember the scene, the mood, the atmosphere — what I "saw" when I was there.
So my PP is always that attempt to evoke that memory… Working on someone else's image means I don't have that emotional connection really and it is just an exercise.

There might be some value to breaking out of your comfort zone and making an edit more than just an exercise. I do paid work for photographers, and I'm never there to see the original scene and make an emotional connection as they experienced it. But I find that I can make an emotional connection with how a scene might have looked had conditions been different. And in fact clients pay me to use my creative imagination to improve their photos. Here are a couple of examples from a bird-shooter client. (As-shot is on the left.)

 

[Piano]

Sometimes I go through phases of remembering to enter and enjoying the challenge. I sometimes look at images and think I can't do them justice and don't enter and sometimes the subject matter required too much time to do it justice so I'm a bit hit and miss. However, I like looking at everyones' entries and seeing what can be achieved and more importantly, how. I think a rota idea of putting up challenges is a decent one.

 

[rayvonn]

My back up strategy worked: I lost completely nothing.

🏆🏆🏆

 

[WhidbeyLVR]

I haven’t lost interest in the challenges, but I have, for the time being, lost the spare hours to consistently participate in and host them.

It’s been a busy year for me. My nephew and my mother passed away within a four day period in January. I am the executor of my parents’ estate, so I have been making monthly trips between Whidbey Island and Southern California to deal with things. I suffered a very small stroke last month, which put me in the hospital for a few days (I’m about 95% recovered, thanks). So my photography has mostly been flowers this year, both at home and in California. I did participate (but not compete) in one post-processing challenge over on mu-43.com because the subject was a portrait, which we seldom see here.

My life will continue to be busy for the next several months, but I am hoping to be able to occasionally participate here in about 6 weeks.

I don’t know what to do about the low participation level on these challenges. I feel like my absence hurts, but my presence alone wouldn’t be enough to turn things around. I think it would require an additional hand full of regulars who are willing to compete more than half the time, and host challenges on occasion, to keep this viable.

I will also offer my (possibly heretical) opinion on hosting/judging duties in the challenges:

A. The challenge image matters (but not a lot).
B. Judging the winners primarily matters as a means to keep the challenges going.

So don’t worry too much about the image, except that you think it might be salvageable. And just pick the entries you like best for whatever reason, or no reason! If you can explain it and offer feedback, so much the better, but don’t let fear keep you from participating. It’s meant to be for fun and self-improvement. There is no cash prize nor trophy. Bragging rights are up to you.

 

[rayvonn]

I've got no stats to back this up but I'm almost certain less people PP to the same extent they used to say 10 to 15 years ago (perhaps with today's technology in cameras it's not as necessary). Could this be a reason for the mild participant rates? In any event, no need to stop the challenge(s).

 

[kae1]

I suffered a very small stroke last month, which put me in the hospital for a few days (I’m about 95% recovered, thanks)

Sorry to hear that, Lyle, but glad you are recovering well.