167. Details Matter

Tolbachik Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia
photo by Daniel Kordan
website - https://danielkordan.com/
original image - http://danielkordan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/DSC_1173.jpg

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I love it how an unexpected detail can make a photo. Ostensibly, this is a photo of the Tolbachik Volcano, and sure, there it is in the background, sitting pretty. But the real star is the grass in the lake. It's what makes the photo stand out. That, and the beautiful colors. Daniel Kordan, whose photos I really like, can be quite heavy-handed in Photoshop, but here I think he hit just the right balance.

But as usual, I felt the need for some more darkness, so there.

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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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139. Warm 'n' Glowy

‘Kolyma Gold’ - Jack London Lake, Kolyma, Russia
photo by Daniel Kordan
website - https://danielkordan.com/
original image - https://danielkordan.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DJI_0585-Pano%D0%BE%D0%BE.jpg

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Another photo by Daniel Kordan. I love the warm glow here, so satisfying.

I fixed the general levels and increased sharpness a little.

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133. We Don't Like Visitors

‘Autumn Caucasus’ - Shoana Church, Mount Shoan, Karachay-Cherkessia Republic, Russia
photo by Daniel Kordan
website - https://danielkordan.com/
original image - https://35photo.pro/photos_main/1103/5518301.jpg

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A really nice photo by Daniel Kordan, but something about its composition was off, it felt somehow disbalanced. It took me a while to figure out that the ridge the church sits on looks better if it's cropped a bit so that its beginning falls out of the frame.

Colorwise, I thought a bit more painterly look could be appropriate, and I increased the contrast. Oh, and I removed all the tourists that were milling about.

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111. Neon

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

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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.

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90. Primary Colors

Salt lake Dus-Khol' in the evening, Tuva Republic, Russia
photo by Alexander Leshchenok
website - https://35photo.pro/alx1/
original image - https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/%D0%9E%D0%B7%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE_%D0%94%D1%83%D1%81-%D0%A5%D0%BE%D0%BB%D1%8C_%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%BC._%D0%A2%D0%B5%D1%81-%D0%A5%D0%B5%D0%BC%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B6%D1%83%D1%83%D0%BD.jpg

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The strange red grass and the fact that there are really only the primary colors - yellow, red and blue - in this photo is what caught my eye.

So, I brought them out some more, and darkened and sharpened the photo somewhat.

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65. River of Gold

‘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

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Just a crazy good looking river in gold and blue.

I sharpened it a little, that's about it.

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