200. Another Big Round Number

‘Sunrise at the Ghost Town of Old Paria’ - Paria, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA
photo by John Fowler
website - https://www.flickr.com/photos/snowpeak/
original image - https://unsplash.com/photos/5bv-_tIwHFk

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Beautiful lighting and combination of colors. But there was something strange about the sky - there were some strange colors and halos where it met the cliffs. Possibly the clouds were added in later, or maybe it was just a result of a long exposure.

Whatever the case, I decided to do a sky replacement of my own to remove the artefacts. So now it's definitely a composit. I really liked the original atmosphere, so I tried to stay true to it as much as possible - which was not easy. I also darkened the whole thing.

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147. Double-Oh-Seven

Ko Ta Pu islet, Khao Phing Kan island (‘James Bond Island’), Phang Nga Bay, Thailand
photo by Lucas Inacio
website - https://lucasinacio.com/
original image - https://www.dreamstime.com/photo-girl-front-iconic-island-phang-nga-bay-thailand-girl-front-iconic-island-phang-nga-bay-thailand-image108853462

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The famous James Bond Island, from The Man with the Golden Gun. Unfortunately, most of the photos that feature it are taken midday, resulting in harsh contrast and unpleasant glare. Even this one I chose is not that pleasant to look at, despite the nice composition and detail.

So I decided to tone things down with sky replacement. According to Google Maps, you can't really see either sunrise or sunset from this position, but you can still have the Belt of Venus there, and I went for that. The yellow hotspot on the islet shows that sun was already getting low behind and to the right of the camera, so it should be plausible.

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142. Here There Be Dragons

Dragon Blood Trees, Socotra, Yemen
photo by John Lund
website - https://www.johnlund.com/
original image - https://media.cntraveler.com/photos/56556b9e659c4b48748660c4/master/w_2240,c_limit/dragon-trees-socotra-yemen.jpg

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I really wanted a wallpaper with these amazing trees that kinda look like giant mushrooms. But good photos of them are not that plentiful - this one is the best one I could find. It's not bad, the composition is nice, the lighting realistic, and the trees are exposed well. Unfortunately, that washes out the background, as they were apparently in deep shadow. And I couldn't have that.

So I went for something moodier - I restored the background and replaced the sky with something darker that still matches the lighting and the shadows. So now it's a sunset. Also got rid of the bird. Nothing against it personally, but it was too perfectly positioned within the frame - smack in the middle of the available negative space - and I found that distracting. It drew the eyes to itself, instead into the photo.

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128. Pointy 'n' Sharp

Sunrise over Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
photo by hdjdjxdj
website - https://www.reddit.com/user/hdjdjxdj/
original image - https://i.redd.it/d5ih21bkn1l71.jpg

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Some really sharp-looking rocks sticking out of the forest (that also happens to be pointy). The original was a portrait, so I cropped it into a landscape.

The clear sky was too bare for my taste, so I put in some clouds for some added drama. Finding the appropriate ones was harder than it looks. I also made the colors more dramatic while I was at it, and sharpened the whole thing, to keep up with the theme.

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113. Like a Sore Thumb

Baegundae Peak, Bukhansan National Park, Seoul, South Korea
photo by Munduuk
website - https://windows10spotlight.com/images/bca4d5e4fab6c7a2c2f124a2d2008b60
original image - https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-mountain-landscape-seoraksan-korea-morning-image59283029#res29250703
Windows 10 Spotlight version - https://windows10spotlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/bca4d5e4fab6c7a2c2f124a2d2008b60.jpg

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Strange looking mountain peak and nice moody atmosphere.

I toned down the colors a bit as I think they were overdone (especially the magentas), brought back some of the detail from the shadows, and added-in some whispy clouds - I thought the gradient-only sky was looking too bare. But I was as subtle as I could, to keep the same atmosphere.

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100. A Big Round Number

Lava field on the Big Island, Hawaii, USA
photo by Aya Okawa
website - https://www.aya.photo
original image - https://i.natgeofe.com/n/5352ba88-e4f0-4c7b-abd7-776673cc17ab/amazing-places-na-hawaii.jpg

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The 100th post! Wooo!!!

It calls for something special, so how about some red-hot lava on Hawaii?

A great photo, but I did replace the sky here. The original composition just seemed static to me, with the lava and the sky each taking one half of the photo. I wanted something that would draw your eye in, so I found some clouds that emphasized the perspective. They are also red, so they work well with the lava. I even put some heat-haze over them near the horizon - it's there in the original photo - though that's barely noticable. And I sharpened the lava in the lower right corner - it was blurry there (possibly due to the aforementioned heat-haze, but it didn't come across as such). The guy got the boot.

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93. Cradled by the Trees

‘Guiding Line’ - Saint Thomas church near Idrija, Slovenia
photo by Piotr Skrzypiec
website - https://www.piotrskrzypiec.com/
original image - https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=513906380107414&set=a.255225789308809

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So relaxing.

Another photo where I replaced the sky - just the blue gradient was too bare for my taste. I tried to find something that would compliment the church, and bring attention to it. I think I succeded.

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92. Watch Out for Sandworms

Cosmic Ashtray, Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, Utah, USA
photo by Galyna Andrushko
website - https://www.instagram.com/galyna_andrushko/?hl=en
original image - https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/cosmic-ashtray-unusual-natural-formation-cosmic-ashtray-grand-staircase-escalante-national-monument-utah-united-states-99940937.jpg

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Straight out of Dune. In Utah, and there's going to be a plenty more of that state, as it's full of stuff like this.

I did a lot here. The original photo was at least a little overexposed, and while I could get the detail in the sky back, it was very grainy. Anyway, I didn't like the stark midday lighting, so I decided to change that. It was made possible by the Ashtray itself being just under a cloud shadow, and lit only indirectly. So I replaced the sky with sort of a sunset/duststorm variant for a moodier experience, giving the Ashtray a sort of secluded feel.

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