204. Gemini

‘Until the Very End’ - Piopiotahi (Milford Sound) Marine Reserve, Fiordland National Park, Southland, New Zealand
photo by William Patino
website - www.williampatino.com
original image - https://i.redd.it/hul735vv9kv61.jpg

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Otherworldly. Definitely check the original image. It's in the portrait format, and it's crazy good. I had to crop it to landscape for the wallpaper, so I did the best I could.

I got rid of some of the rocks on the right for a better composition, enhanced the colors and the contrast, and got rid of the excess bloom.

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201. Help!

Swiss Alps, Switzerland
photo by John Rodenn Castillo
website - https://www.eyeem.com/u/14590670
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/rQqWOHZ96OM

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There is a subreddit dedicated to proving that Switzerland doesn't exist, as its landscapes look too meticulous and beautiful to be real. This photo is a case in point I guess.

So, given that this image is probably a fake anyway, I made it even more fake by throwing in a ballooon. Just to break up the monochrome nature of the photo and give it a point of interest. Although I don't think the occupants of the balloon would have a good time at that height.

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199. Absolutely Fabulous

Lone tree, unknown location
photo by Johannes Plenio
website - https://j.plenio.de/
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/MS2dni_S3Ew

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Unbelievably atmospheric.

I removed the sun flare and fiddled with the colors.

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192. A Postcard

Unknown location
photo by Ismail Niyax
website - https://unsplash.com/@ismailniyaz
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/E328aPWyD_k

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Looks like one.

There was something strange going on with the horizon, so I straightened it out.

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186. A Tree in the Sea of Blue

‘Nemophila’ - Lone tree in baby blue eyes flower field in Hitachi seaside park, Hitachinaka, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan
photo by Morgan French
website - https://mtfrench.smugmug.com/
original image - https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-QsV78bk/3/4K/i-QsV78bk-4K.jpg

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The tree by itself is amazing, the crazy blue flowers take the whole photo to another level.

It needed some work, though. I removed the park visitors, brought out the detail from the clouds, balanced the colors, and removed a bad vignette.

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184. Strange Skies

Annular Eclipse of 2012 during a thunderstorm, Gardnerville, Nevada, USA
photo by Cathleen Allison
website - https://archive.nevadaphotosource.com/?fbclid=IwAR1TqrTRS1V1EeGzYhDXBw6J4qhTed4pRLPFo4PR7pnbPkLU9m2d65jSPSI
original image - http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/HRm9CxJY1Vp7vGlEEyptIQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9aW5zZXQ7aD0xMDI0O3E9Nzk7dz0xNDcx/http:/l.yimg.com/os/152/2012/12/02/YIRsolareclipse-jpg_051103.jpg

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There's an eclipse, stormy clouds and a derelict windmill. It doesn't get more atmospheric than this.

I fiddled with the contrast and increased the saturation somewhat. Also made everything extra-crisp.

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181. Long Shadows

NamibRand Nature Reserve, Namibia
photo by notausernameagain
website - N/A
original image - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBGgR4YCnchbQ4uYMYQUmgVMqRWdnNNCDLOldJYsCl-gijEhcqFYaNjpGh8-YxLlhv3BgkQ73J3VHJ7asgqTnc24QIZNhd_yk3_xVd5nCe9QfszDv4FR7V0-otcoq_gV-G3Ea8tQpN-FQ8it9GvqCqXeH0yVvk7O1g5fVsDHxqyJSo4___ki59N9UoyQ/s4311/181b_Original.jpg

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NamibRand again. The long shadows and the minimalist composition were the draw for me here. I used to like lens flares and glares - I still do, when I'm filming something - but not so much for the wallpapers. So it got the boot.

And I pushed the blacks.

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172. Inversion

’Natural Networks’ - unique rock pattern in a beach in Portugal only visible at low tide, Villa Nova de Milfontes, Alentejo region, Portugal
photo by José Ramos
website - https://www.instagram.com/joseramosphotography/
original image - https://i.redd.it/gdd9xm2ulwf61.jpg

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Kind of inverse of this.

Unfortunately, both photos had one thing in commmon: a vignette. Out it went.

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