Once in a lifetime Snowflake picure. Need help

I took this picture a long time ago with a Dimage Z3 camera.
As you can see, this is a once in a lifetime shot and the image is not as sharp as a wish it was.. most people don't even believe me that it's real.. I was talking with someone from Komo4 news about getting my picture put on TV and after the 4 emails we sent to each other back and forth, I sent him my image and then he never responded to me again after that..
But whatever.. Since I'm not ever going to be able to get a image like this again because of the placement of the snowflake, I really want to clean this image up.
This is not the original image, I have it on disc somewhere, I cropped the image when I show people as this is the important part.
Original image is Jpeg.
And yes, the Snowflake is stuck in the snow just like someone who just threw a throwing star at a wall


Is there any software out there that can clean this image up so it's more sharp and clear? It needs more then just standard UnSharp Mask. Pixel Reconstruction or something?

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How much of a crop was there?

I don't remember, but I want to edit the full size image. I think this might be 50% or 100% crop, not really sure until I find the original image.

The more you crop it the more definition you will lose.

Well yeah I know that, but I like to get it as close to clear as I can with what it is.
But, I need the software that can reconstruct the pixels or do something more then just using the UnSharp Mask.
Probably like to keep it close to the way it is now really, since it shows the Snowflake larger.

Uhg.. Someone already did this at a much higher level.. http://www.realsnowfla​kephotography.com …le=media&catego​ry=gallery

But mine is still mine lol

Have you tried duplicating the layer, setting the blend mode to hard light and cranking up the high pass filter on it? I'd show you but you haven't set permissions.

kraaazymike wrote in post #11820339
Have you tried duplicating the layer, setting the blend mode to hard light and cranking up the high pass filter on it? I'd show you but you haven't set permissions.

ok I think I set permission. I'm not sure if I know how to do that. I tried doing what I think your talking about and a couple other things, does this look about right on what It should look like after doing that?
This isn't a final edit, just seeing what can be done for getting it as clear as posible.
I'm thinking it isn't really going to get any better? so I'm kinda thinking I should just leave it the way it is..?

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High pass sharpening is good, but because the highlights are already clipped I would add a "Blend if ..." limiter cancelling the filter from the top 10-15% to avoid making it worse. (See below).

I'd also try PSCS's Smart Sharpening which is essentially deconvolution sharpening (what you mean by "pixel reconstruction"?) and is very good for fine detail. But again, with protecting the highlights.

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As Elie points out, the snowflake has blown highlight detail. I would maybe concentrate on the contrast between the bright snowflake and the dark background and bring out the profile of the snowflake. This edit is mostly darkening the background and some slight sharpening and contrast adjustment of the snowflake, along with neutralizing the heavy blue cast.

Kirk

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Blown highlights and either highly cropped or motion blur. Nice but not much you can do really.

kirkt wrote in post #11821553
As Elie points out, the snowflake has blown highlight detail. I would maybe concentrate on the contrast between the bright snowflake and the dark background and bring out the profile of the snowflake. This edit is mostly darkening the background and some slight sharpening and contrast adjustment of the snowflake, along with neutralizing the heavy blue cast.

Kirk

Thanks Kirk, I like this one the best.

Now I need to find the original and try it out.