‘Evening with Poplars’ - Inner Mongolia region, China
photo by neko_ramen
website - https://www.reddit.com/user/neko_ramen
original image - https://i.redd.it/dnsa5283gb861.jpg
Clean and calming.
I removed an ugly vignette, replaced the moon with something cleaner, and fixed the general levels.
Moonrise over Wasatch Mountain Range, Utah, USA
photo by Royce Bair
website - https://www.instagram.com/roycebairphoto/
original image - https://i.redd.it/d7ueykw490v71.jpg
Amazing moonrise, and a simple yet powerfull and atmospheric photo.
It did have a vignette that I cleaned up, and I didn't much care for the original blue color, so I made it darker and stronger.
Very Large Array, Soccorro, Plains of San Agustin, New Mexico, USA
photo by The persistence of the memory
website - https://www.flickr.com/photos/persistence/
original image - https://live.staticflickr.com/6059/5914905048_a268b81c3e_o.jpg
I always loved those telescopes in the middle of nowhere. Technology with a mystical note. And I added-in a guitar chick for more notes, because why the hell not. I also added-in the Moon for more atmosphere. It should be about the right size - I have another photo taken from more-or-less the same location with a similar photo lens that has a setting sun in it, and that's the size of it.
Right, for all the purists out there, this is obviously a composit. Other than that, I boosted the colors and sharpness, and removed a not-so-bad vignette.
‘Mystery Morning’ - Heather fields near Hilversum, North Holland, Netherlands
photo by Albert Dros
website - https://www.albertdros.com/
original image - https://i.redd.it/66hlnugoyb611.jpg
Moody. I'll take it. I reframed the photo a bit - i think the tree looks better like this than dead center. More dynamic. I also added the crescent moon, hopefully oriented properly to where I think the sun is. I did it because there is another photo from the same series - Purple Dutch - that had the moon in it that I liked, so this is a case of having your cake and eating it, too.
Other than that, I darkened the image a bit, as I usually do.
’Twilight Hours Around the Great Lakes’ - Nordhouse Dunes Wilderness, Lake Michigan, Michigan, USA
photo by Two-Snap
website - N/A, was https://www.reddit.com/user/Two-Snap
original image - https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjcgmW2QZQw-eLj-EPrXMhuQnFERkKk9vIUtC553vs4Ow_9B74-KEUoeCAIOur3a4-xwDwHt7cuy7hd8GyFZc4vbGGovYuj3EpZ1NMsOmfHim-x4HJZbDYQeILUIYp1HsihQxidka1rxC1uBQzT2Ib-xb0x4rmPDM3K-_H0zRi3TQQFkcB4T4jlKXBMNw=s1800
A photo by the reddit user Two-Snap, who appears to have deleted his or her account in the meantime, so I can't link to the source. I don't even know what I am looking up (Burnt wood in the desert? How does that happen?), but I like the simplicity of the composition, with clearly defined foreground and background. And the crescent moon is in just the right place. It's a pity that the wavy sand got cropped out for the landscape version.
I left everything as is because the colors were quite elegant and the contrast is nice, I only upped the sharpness somewhat.
Gene Cernan at the Lunar Rover, Apollo 17 EVA 3, Taurus-Litrow Valley, Moon
photo by Harrison Schmitt
website - https://www.nasa.gov/
original image - https://www.spaceflightinsider.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/40_a17eva3.jpg
original NASA panorama - https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a17/a17pan21362-72.jpg
Well, this one definitelly is otherworldly. Apollo 17, the final moon landing. Sad that we haven't gone back.
The starting image was pretty low-res, but I think the blown-up version is just about acceptable. I found what I think was the original high-res panorama (linked above) on the NASA site, at least judging by Gene Cernan's position by the rover, but I didn't feel like cleaning-up the flare over the lander, because that's a lot of work. However, the rest of that panorama doesn't align perfectly with the one I used, so I guess they are slightly different composits. I took a bit of artistic license and added-in the Earth above the scene. The size should be about right, the position is not. Judging by the other photos from the same mission and the lighting, it should actually be to above and behind the camera. And since the moon is tidally locked to the Earth, that's where the Earth stays.
Other than that, I slightly increased the contrast and darkened the image. I allowed the lander to become more of a silhouette, so that the eye is drawn toward the rover and Gene.
Lunar Eclipse over Mount Hood, Oregon, USA
photo by Ryan Fernette
website - https://www.ryanfernettephotography.com/
original image - https://i.redd.it/6ydhzx9p5i171.jpg
I like the composition and the colors of this. I wonder if it is a singe shot or a composit; I am almost certain the moon was added-in. It looks like it's in front of the clouds, but it is possible that the eclipse darkened it just enough that it washes out the part of the cloud over it without backlighting the rest. But the whole lighting situation is very suspect - the mountain looks like it's illuminated from the front and above. Even the clouds seem to be dropping shadows onto it, which puts the sun above and a little behind the camera, but certainly above the horizon. This makes no sense, as the sun has to be below the horizon for the eclipse to occur. The lighting could be a result of a long exposure and ambient light, but then I'd expect the clouds to be blurry, which they are not, and shadows to be so soft that they disappear. I don't know. To remove the at least some ambiguity, I made a small whisp of a cloud go over the moon.
I removed the contrail - i know that it was an important part of the composition, but kowing it is man-made just breaks the desolation and the tranquility of the photo for me - and fixed the general levels of the image.
‘Sun Rises in the Valley’ - Saint Mary Lake, Glacier National Park, Montana, USA
photo by Tanmay Sapkal
website - https://tanmaysapkal.com/
original image - https://i.redd.it/8d502pm4hxg41.jpg
I find this to be very calming, and I like the two-color scheme. The crescent and the bush are nice points of interest. I had to reframe the photo since it was a portrait, but here I actually like the landscape version more - it got rid of unnecessary detail. I don't find the underwater rocks that were in the foreground that interesting
I darkened the image somewhat because it works better as a wallpaper for me that way. As a bonus, that also brings out the fog above the lake.
