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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164. Pretty Ominous

‘Forever Primordial’ - Karymsky Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia
photo by Isabella Tabacchi
website - https://isabellatabacchi.com/
original image - https://isabellatabacchi.com/wp-content/uploads/photo-gallery/Forever-primordial-web-res.jpg

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This looks like a villain's lair. I love it.

I darkened it to for even more villanousness. Yes, I know it's not a word.

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158. Mordor

Shi Shi Beach, Olympic National Park, Washington, USA
photo by Kyle Adams
website - https://www.kyleadamsphotographer.com/
original image - https://i.redd.it/f47n98pvc4z61.jpg

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Well, it looks like it. Sea instead of lava, though.

I fixed the blacks.

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141. Perfectly Balanced

Brecon Beacons National Park, Wales, UK
photo by Dorin Vancea
website - https://unsplash.com/@dvancea
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/kKDPBa5GmT4

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This is one of my favorite landscapes. So simple and unassuming, but the longer you look at it, the more you realize how perfectly balanced it is. Great composition which just draws your eyes in, great lighting, muted colors that are simultaneously dramatic and relaxing. I like just about everything about it.

Usually I remove things like cars on the road, but even they work perfectly here, giving small scale detail to the photo. So I left it alone.

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117. Thirsty

Atacama Desert, Chile
photo by Oven Pérez-Nates
website - https://www.instagram.com/apatama_ph/
original image - https://i.redd.it/c7sztzdbgdy61.jpg

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Another photo that, too me, looks like it was made to be a wallpaper. Unintrusive, yet interesting.

It did, however, have a terrible, horrible, no good vignette, that was a hell of a job to remove.

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98. Old Rail

Railroad tracks on a mountain path, Miiies, Thessaly, Greece
photo by Aimilios Seimenis
website - https://unsplash.com/@aemiliu5
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/0Yml69Cs5xU

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Nice lighting. Nice composition. Nice peaceful atmosphere.

Only basic adjustments and sharpening.

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79. Go Home Nature, You're Drunk

‘Glow on the Pavement’ - Tesselated Pavement, Eaglehawk Neck, Tasmania, Australia
photo by Robert Garrad
website - https://500px.com/p/robertwgarrad?view=photos
original image - https://drscdn.500px.org/photo/201596761/q%3D80_m%3D1500_of%3D1/v2?sig=347714a7539f344d35370b210c8ca90267a2f736c7cb537fb3abc39d4ac3070e

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Contrary to what it looks like, this is a natural formation. Strange stuff, but beautiful, especially when you have a spectacular sunset and clouds for reflections.

I edited the colors here, because the original looked like the aftermath of a nuclear explosion to me. So I set them to something I think is more plausible.

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78. Well, Sort Of

‘Golden Hour’ - Ynys Llanddwyn, Wales, UK
photo by Howard Renshaw
website - https://www.flickr.com/photos/howard_renshaw/
original image - https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/40701316233_9954f04a3a_o.jpg

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Despite the title of the photo, it looked a bit too dusty and filtered to me, so I returned some of the color, and changed the atmosphere to something more like twilight.

Other than that, I reframed the photo to focus more on the chubby lighthouse, which I find to be the most interesting part of it.

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