Before and After #56

[qtaran111]

This game is to help those of us who are trying to learn new tricks when it comes to editing.

Here's the breakdown of the game. I will post a picture that I choose, resized to exactly 800 pixels maximum on the long side. Outside of being resized it has to be unedited...meaning no adjustments to any levels, it has to look like it did as it came out of the camera.

The game will last 48hrs and whoever can produce the best edited image (as judged by me) will be picked and it'll be their turn to post their unedited picture for all of us to take a crack at.

The participants must have their "Image Editing OK" turned on and they must provide at least a simple breakdown of how they edited the image, some entrants are a little vague on this point, please give us all details so we can learn and share tips. For instance if you use the unsharp mask tool or Smart Sharpen, provide us with the adjustments you used so others can try them out.

You can post multiple images, but the first image you post will be the one that is judged - all other images will be considered for knowledge and tip use only.

Also, please keep all comments, be they positive or negative, to yourself until after the game has ended.

If you happen to be the winner of the game please start the next one with the title of the game and the following number. For example…the next game should read (Before and After #57).

This is all about having fun so have at it!!!

This will end at 11:00 am BST on Fri 9th May.

http://camdenphoto.smugmug.com/photos/291256080_NCGrM-O.jpg

[openmatt]

http://www.jmsuite.com/gallery/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=8659&g2_serialNumber=1

Adjusted brightness contrast
USM
converted to B/W
converted to duotone... black & redish-brown for sepia effect
converted to rgb
adjusted levels to bring out some more red in the photo.
cropped to emphasize a triangle composition between the bicyclist, shadow, and building

[Permagrin]

changed perspective with "distort" option
tonal contrast filter
convert to B&W
bronze photo filter
bumped contrast just a bit
added frame
canvas texture
http://lcimages.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p934269877-4.jpg

[BitterSweet]

I tried to focus more on the building but wanted to keep the man on the bike so this is what I came up with.

-Cloned out walkers in the the background, some few sticks, drain cover and the man on the bike.
- added another layer of the image with everything that was cloned out before but the man on the bike and put it on a low opacity. Also that was in black & white
- added contrast
- added a skylight layer twice once for just the building and then one all over.
- added a low key filter and a brightened everything but sky and building
- then did over all brightness
- a tonal contrast
- did a square vignette and a border.

http://i266.photobucket.com/albums/ii244/Devilslilvamp/BA56T.jpg

[thekid24]

adjusted curves.....and cropped....add vignette and thats it:| I know....more is exprected from me but.....

[Elizabeth44]

Toto is not in Kansas anymore.
Selected sky and and filter render clouds. Darkened exposure
on man and building etc. Used magnetic lasso to select and drag
toto and tornado. Moved the man with mag lasso. Added green
sat through colour balance.

[theflyingkiwi]

one from me.
created another layer of the original photo
added some dodge and burn to the photo to highlight the rider, the shadow of the biker and the building.
converted to b&w with a yellow tone
created a darker border
added noise

[Beau Hudspeth]

Here it my 35 minute go at it:
Create 3 image HDR in Photomatix
noise reduction
Selective color to enhance blues and whites
smart sharpen
clone out bad stuff
crop
lens correction
My Lomo action set to 36%, Soft Light
Smart Sharpen the cyclist
add borderhttp://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb213/ViciousVP/Post-Production%20Examples/hold-25.jpg

[Ocron]

- Adjusted white balance and leveled in ACR
- Fixed (mostly) the barrel distortion (lens correction filter)
- Brought out the sky by duplicating the layer, multiply blend mode, then masked out the other parts of the image.
- Used shadows/highlight to bring out some of the shadow detail.
- LAB mode soft light apply image pop the colors some. Blended this layer at ~40%.
- It was still a little too blue and dark so I used a Nik skylight filter layer and slective levels adjustment to fix this.
- Sharpened, but mostly masked out the hedge.

http://ocron.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p278403758.jpg

[suzyb]

Straightened.
Cropped.
Cloned out the manhole. The marks on the street. The people. The trashcan.
Oh...and the tree.
Brightened the shadows.
Added contrast.
Noise reduction in the sky and bushes.
Sharpening on the bike and building.
Border.

[Spidy]

Straightened
Toned down the color just a little
Dodged and burned
Sharp
Border
Highlighted the people walking down the road
I left everything else. This is great picture! I love the detail of the manhole, and "stuff" in the street.
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h62/Spidy5005/291256080_NCGrM-Ocopy.jpg

[TheSonofDarwin]

Let's see...

Duplicated, increased contrast and saturation drastically and selectively masked
Levels adjustment layer to darken just the street (thank you, tire spokes, you were a joy)
Levels adjustment again to lighten up the trash can(?) on the right just a tad
Nik Bicolor Warm/Cool 1, 5%
Nik Bicolor 1b1173/825508, 7%
Warmed the image just a bit with warming filters and hue tweaks here and there
Layer Adjustment darkened the image until just the underneath of the clouds looked "stormy" and masked everything else off. Trying for a feel of a storm/night rolling in from the left and clear/sunset on the right.
Straightened using the bottom of the tires as 'level,' cropped, border, and resized to 800px.

I must admit, if I could, I would marry layer masks :oops:


http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y173/thesonofdarwin/view_final.jpg

[openmatt]

Elizabeth44's is definitely my favourite!

[qtaran111]

Well done everyone, some great PP work as always!

Firstly, a special mention for Elizabeth44; your edit really cracked me up, especially Toto in the basket :lol:

Of the rest I think there are 4 that are equally good, all potential winners:

BitterSweet: Your idea was really creative and the ghostly cyclist gives it a nice wistful, spooky feel.

Beau Hudspeth: Fantastic HDR! I know the "hyper-real" look isn't to everyone's taste, but I think it works really well here.

suzyb - Great work as always. IMO you gave the image the best crop/framing and the extended perspective looks perfect.

TheSonofDarwin - Another superb edit. The way you treated the sky and foreground gives it amazing depth.

Winner: I'm going to go for Beau Hudspeth's HDR. Congrats!

[Permagrin]

very nice edits everyone :) Great photo to play with as well.

[BitterSweet]

Congrats Beau Hudspeth and to everyone else.

thesonofdarwin- I love how the sidewalk turned out in yours.

Glad you liked mine I wanted to keep a nice balance between the building and the man on the bike instead of having your eyes go back and forth it kind of starts at the building and then goes to the bike. Plus the way he was dressed reminded me of a slightly older time.

[suzyb]

Congratulations Beau! And thanks for your comments, Qtaran!

Justin, I have to agree with Tracey. Your sidewalk turned out great. I really like how you brought out the shadow of the man on the bike.

I also thought the B&W looked really good on the building in Permagrin's edit. It almost looked like a pen and ink drawing. And Ocron, your colors were fantastic as usual!

[TheSonofDarwin]

Congrats Beau! I loved the sky in yours. It'd be nice if we lived in an HDR-esque world.

There were so many great edits this time. It was hard to decide which direction to go because the image offered so many opportunities.

Thanks Tracey and Suzy :D

[Ocron]

Great job Beau and everyone else. I'm glad I didn't have to judge this one!

[Beau Hudspeth]

Wow. Thank all for the comments and for the win! I will get on up ASAP. I just NOW got back on the web after 2 days with no connectivity. Darn broken router, anyway! AKK! :)

[kab8715]

I'm going through withdraw! Did I miss #57 somewhere?!

[thekid24]

um...no....not sure whats happened

[kab8715]

maybe Beau is having more computer problems? Perhaps a runner up could take over?

[thekid24]

or flip a coin....i got heads....i meant tails...wait...what did you get?

[kab8715]

Hahaha I think your the winner!!
I very seldom even attempt edit the pics but I LOVE watching each round. Just amazing how people see the pics differently. I think I check for new edits every morning before I even check my email. :)

[kab8715]

I wish I had the patience to actually learn how to edit like everyone on here does....I'm always so jealous :( And they ideas everyone comes up with - I always find myself saying "gosh why didnt I think of that?!"

[thekid24]

i like it too. Before the contest was official i would edit peoples photos just to put my spin on it. Sometimes they like it...other times dont

[ZeroOne86]

I was kind of a disappointed there was wasn't one post soon after this one. The weekend is the time I usually have the most time to edit pictures. I like these too keeps every thing fresh in my head. I'm a person that has to do things repetitiously to keep it locked otherwise it gets brain dumped. During the week I usually have to pass up them because of work. I'd say runner up should post the next one.

[Beau Hudspeth]

I will get this up tonight. I was out of town all day at a biz meeting. Keep you shirts on :) :) Hehehe!