‘Firehole River Sunrise’ - Firehole River, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA
photo by Rodney Lough Jr.
website - https://www.rodneyloughjr.com/
original image - https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54fa3009e4b0152d9ffb33ee/1437238864170-MP8F4CHTAMAVKGQO6541/image-asset.jpeg
An amazing photo. There is probably a reason this photographer has photos in the Smithsonian.
I just darkened the image a little as I usually do, so it looks better on the screen.
Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona, USA
photo by Nickolas Warner
website - https://www.nickolaswarnerphotography.com/
original image - https://i.redd.it/fhikdu47ao771.jpg
I love that lone plant. And the view is amazing.
This one didn't really need any help, it's balanced so nicely.
Summer landscape on a cloudy day, shallow waters on the river, Russia
photo by Venera Salman
website - https://windows10spotlight.com/images/b4ebfde775c094e24e2b57c5d84ca54e
original image - https://www.shutterstock.com/de/image-photo/summer-landscape-lonely-shallow-waters-on-415678666?irclickid=1bGxSs3xuxyIRFMTIAS19RttUkGwpmzhBWjg0A0&irgwc=1&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=TinEye&utm_source=77643&utm_term=&c3ch=Affiliate&c3nid=IR-77643
Windows 10 Spotlight version - https://windows10spotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/b4ebfde775c094e24e2b57c5d84ca54e.jpg
I guess this didn't look as impressive IRL, the colors were clearly pushed almost to the breaking point. But it works! The clouds and reflection both look great. I did however use the Windows 10 Spotlight version of the photo as the starting point, because they again did a good job of reframing it, so it doesn't look like a puddle.
I toned down the purples, because they went too far, and we can't have none of that.
Rain forest of Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa
photo by Ashim D’Silva
website - https://www.instagram.com/randomlies/
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/sKn-Yy4BRtY
I don't really see many trees here, much less a rain forest. More like grass-covered hills. Well, whatever.
I dialed the cyans more toward the blues, because I think they were too, well, cyan.
Stuðlagil canyon, Jökuldalur glacier valley, Iceland
photo by Christian Albisser
website - https://www.instagram.com/ch_al_95/
original image - https://i.redd.it/amc5djvft3q71.jpg
A whole canyon of hexagonal basalt columns, like Proxy Falls and Giant's Causeway. Iceland is strange.
I reframed this so the emphasis is more on the canyon and less on the foreground. Also darkened the photo a little.
‘Secluded Mill’ - Old watermill near Keswick, Lake District National Park, Cumbria, England, UK
photo by Pete Rowbottom
website - https://peterowbottom.net/
original image - https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50559585627_62e2711f49_k.jpg
This was one of Flickr's Top Photos of the Year 2022. You can see why - the atmosphere is just so nice. It's just on the edge of stepping into my Pet Peeve #1 territory with the water and long exposure, but there's still some detail in the stream, so I gave it a pass.
I did bring some cool tones back, though.
‘Lonely Pine 2.0’ - Interstate Park, Taylors Falls, Minnesota, USA
photo by Paul Domsten
website - https://www.flickr.com/photos/pauld507/
original image - https://live.staticflickr.com/7908/40365080183_6ff4fa884c_k.jpg
Nothing much to say about this one, it's just a nice photo, with everything about it equally nice and balanced.
I only did the basic adjustments here, as it didn't need anything more.
‘Zig-Zag’ - Light fog over the river Kama, Russia
photo by Alexandr Stashov
website - https://photosight.ru/users/386529/
original image - https://cdny.de/p/l/a/476/4741259.jpg
Just a crazy good looking river in gold and blue.
I sharpened it a little, that's about it.
