183. Livin' on a Prayer

Seceda, Dolomites, South Tyrol, Italy
photo by Daniel Francis
website - https://www.flickr.com/photos/d2francis2/
original image - https://live.staticflickr.com/8410/29967995056_f0621b1bec_k.jpg

Download Wallpaper

Coz we're half way there. This is the 183rd wallpaper. Exactly half way through the year. And this one is fitting, because a photo of this particular place - Seceda in Italy - made me waant to start collecting landscapes. Here is the photo. Technically, it's pretty bad, but the atmosphere is something else. So I wanted a similar, but higher quality photo of this cliff, during a cloud inversion. Easier said than done. I finally found one I almost liked, but it was shot during a very sunny day, with too much glare for my taste. So I decided to make it more moody, and here's the result.

I turned the sky stormy, and tried to make it look like there is a hole in the clouds somewhere off-screen through which the sky shines onto the green plateau. You be the judge if I succeeded (had to really hold myself back not to make a really bad pun here. But now you have it in your mind anyway, don't you?)

Before

After

180. In the Shade

A tree in Tuscany, Italy
photo by Daniel Kordan
website - https://danielkordan.com/
original image - https://danielkordan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/DSC_3102.jpg

Download Wallpaper

I liked this photo - especially the silhouetted cart, but not the colors. Pale, monochrome and dirty.

So I went to town with them. I decided to make something that would look pretty to me, even if not exactly realistic. Warm, kind of what it may look like during the sunset. And I didn't like the look of the mud, so I made it more reddish.

Before

After

162. Waves on Waves

Ponza island, Lazio, Italy
photo by Ferhat Deniz Fors
website - https://www.instagram.com/fotograferhat/
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/Ref87M0aSDM

Download Wallpaper

Another photo for my case against gratuitous long exposure photography. Look how magnificent the sea looks because it's stopped in time. All the intricate detail and lighting. Compared to what would be a foggy mush with long exposure, it's no contest.

I did some clean-up and fixed the blacks as I tend to.

Before

After

152. De-pinked

‘Coldai Cauldron’ - Lago Coldai, Alleghe, Veneto region, Italy
photo by Ted Gore
website - http://www.tedgorecreative.com/
original image - https://live.staticflickr.com/7399/26957075213_c9046b7af5_o.jpg

Download Wallpaper

I just... couldn't. It was just too pink. It had to go. Other than that, it's a beautiful landscape and a wonderfully atmospheric photo.

As mentioned, got rid of the pink.

Before

After

135. Alpenglow

Langkofel, Dolomites, South Tyrol, Italy
photo by David Siglin
website - https://www.davidsiglinphotography.com/
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/LJC4CJt7T1o

Download Wallpaper

A nice example of it. I like the crispness of the atmosphere.

I just fixed the overall levels, nothing more.

Before

After

130 Giant, Hard... Pillars

‘Mars’ - Earth Pyramids of Platten, South Tyrol, Italy
photo by Marco Grassi
website - https://marcograssiphotography.com/
original image - https://i.natgeofe.com/n/4e4cf60e-575d-43b6-a268-a8614d71d655/11330400.jpg

Download Wallpaper

Somewhat... suggestive-looking rocks somewhere in Italy.

The blue monochrome was a bit much for me, so I restored some color to the photo.

Before

After

123. Painted Clouds

‘Green Mountains and Clouds’ - Monte Altissimo di Nago, Monte Baldo, Garda Mountains, Italy
photo by Cristina Gottardi
website - https://www.instagram.com/cristinagottardi/
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/wndpWTiDuT0

Download Wallpaper

That long line of distant clouds makes this one. Not that the vista isn't impressive by itself. But I wonder if those clouds were there to start with - there is a pretty bad white edge around the mountains, which indicates either sky replacement, or oversharpening of the image. I can't really say, but i think that the clouds are the original ones.

So I fixed the white edge, and removed some of the orange tint - after all, the photo is titled 'Green Mountains and Clouds.'

Before

After

108. Layers

Grigna settentrionale (Grignone), Grigna mountain, Lombardy, Italy
photo by Alessio Sogetti
website - https://asoggetti.it/
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/IuSemNxGS88

Download Wallpaper

Monochrome, but it works.

The before-and-after images look the same because they are the same. I did nothing here.

Before

After