Congratulations Kayaker72---Assignment #65: "Before and After"

[Kayaker72]

On behalf of conropl, I would like to present the finalists for Assignment #65: Before and After.

The topics as described by conropl:

For this assignment I would like to see Before and After shots. The After shots should demonstrate a technique or process that transformed a plain dull shot into something extraordinary. This can be the first shot was dull so you changed the lighting, composition, or concept to really make it come to life; or perhaps you extended the exposure time to create a completely different effect than you expected or started out with; or perhaps the post processing really brought it to life (B&W, HDR, etc.). You are free to interpret as you wish, and the after effect can be done in camera or in post processing.

Knowing you folks, I am pretty sure I can learn a thing or two with this assignment, and I thank you in advance.

The Finalists:

A lot of good entries and I do not quite feel right about leaving some really good shots out. But I had to choose, so here are my picks:

jerrytech1 (brownnnBW) - I like the B&W processing, but the crop and cloning helped a lot as well. The "after" has a totally different feel to it.
Before:


After:




dd0725 (Digitally Painted Cardinal with Canvas Texture) - Denise had a lot of really good examples, but the cardinal "after" version took a rather ordinary shot with a bird that was to small to do anything with it (or that is what I would have thought) and transformed it to something that could easily hang on a wall. I was amazed at what Denise could do with what I thought was a throw away shot. Denise - you make my post processing look like child's play.

Before:



After:



M_Six (Pseudo HDR) - This went from a tourists snap shot to a nice travel landscape. The shot looks so much better with the people removed, the perspective & crop adjusted, and the water looks so much better. The overall feel is much improved.

Before:


After:


Kayaker72 (Horseshoe Bend) - I was amazed at what you pulled out of the shadows in this one... and at the same time, you managed to tame the highlights that were a little blow around the sun. This was an eye opener for me at how far you can go in post processing. Great finished image.

Before:



After:




Good luck!