The Post processing Challenge #2

[Donald]

Hot on the heels of his win in PP Challenge #1, Al (aka Snarkbyte) has provided the image for PP Challenge #2 which is ...........

Al says about this image, "This is a shot of sculpture done by a local artist, but don't worry... the photos were taken with the sculptor's permission, and I have his permission to do as I wish with the photos. Just FYI, the name of the sculpture is "Warspeed Warrior", by Bruce Butler. This isn't intended as a plug or a legal hedge, but I thought the sculptor should be given some credit"

The closing date for entries into this thread is April 26th.

The purpose of the challenge is to provide all members with the same image and, with it, an opportunity to explore and develop their post-processing skills and to examine and learn from how they and others approach the task. Although there will be a vote, the idea is not to be competitive, but to engage in a learning process. So, discussions and exchanges of views as we go along, are encouraged.

The culture and values of CiC as embraced by its members makes the need for over-formalisation of procedures & guidelines largely unnecessary. However, we cannot always know who is joining the forum and some formalisation is required, particularly to protect the work of the person who has offered the image for post-processing.

These procedures are:-

* You download the image, process it and then post it back up to this thread.
* Photographs should be posted in this thread before the closing date (don't leave it too late).
* No voting allowed for your own entry.
* Each entrant will be allowed one submission.
* All entrants must work on the file made available for download (at the bottom of this post). Any other image posted into the thread will be deleted.
* Entrants may use appropriately licensed images to assist in the creative process, but the original must remain the basis of the finished product and the entered image be a representation of that original.
* The image file made available for the challenge will remain the sole property of the person who made it available for the purpose, under a Creative Commons SA Licence. A full copy of the licence can be viewed HERE
* Any person downloading the image offered for editing in this challenge, whether they submit an entry in the challenge or not, is deemed to accept the terms of the licence and to be bound by it.
* A decision to pursue a claim against anyone breaching the terms of the licence shall be a matter solely for the copyright holder; i.e. the member who offered the image for download in this challenge. ‘Cambridge in Colour’ cannot be held responsible or liable for any breach of the Creative Commons SA Licence.

NB - The best way of dealing with this formality is to resolve that the only thing you will do with the image you downloaded is work on it for entry in this challenge and that you WILL NOT use it for any other purpose.

Voting, Choosing the next image file and telling us How You Did It:-
When announced, voting (open to any member) will be by Private Message (PM) to Donald, over a period of two days or so. This will ask you simply to say which you think demonstrates best PP skills and artistic presentation. Automated voting may be introduced at a later stage.

The ‘winner’ of one challenge will be asked to provide an image for the next challenge, or delegate that ‘honour’ to a Mod. The ‘winner’ will also be invited to tell us what they did (so keep a note).


The image file is available in TIFF and large JPEG formats. The TIFF can be accessed from here, and the JPEG from here.


Have fun ... and good luck!

[arith]

Just a bit of fun.

V1

[MiniChris]

V2

[Ati]

V3

[3Wheels]

V4

[Donald]

V5

[bambleweeney]

V6

[Will]

V7

[RonH]

V8

[Snarkbyte]

V9



This really does look better viewed at a larger size, which can be seen at http://tinyurl.com/3oh9lcc

Note: The images of Saturn, Messier 51 galaxy, and V838 Monocerotis used in this composite are by NASA. The images are in public domain and may be used freely when credit is given.

[Camellia]

V10

[Chesil]

Still using that old thing?

V11

[Donald]

THE ANNOUCEMENT

(cue long drum roll)

By a looooong way, the winner is:

Chris, with

Well done, Chris. I will be sending you a PM asking you to select a RAW file for use in PP# Challenge 3.

Everyone else keep a lookout. PP Challenge #3 will be up in a few days.

[RonH]

Brilliant Chris.

[jeeperman]

Well done Chris.

[ilovelucydog]

Great edit, Chris. They were all really fun.

[Snarkbyte]

Congratulations, Chris, very well done. I had absolutely no idea what to do with this shot when I submitted for the competiion, so I was very interested to see what others would do. I wasn't disappointed. Great work, and a very clever idea.

[MiniChris]

Just got back from running my Mini up and down the mountains in North Carolina where I had a marvelous time. Won a video camera that suction cup mounts to the side of the car and does great HD movies... I will post a short clip when I get the PP finished.

Anywho, saw I won this...As with Al, who provided this image, I really didnt' have clue one what to do until I was reading on one of my Mini sites about a member who's warranty ran out three weeks before his engline blew, but that Mini was going to go halves with him on the repair...and the idea of a warranty blowout occured to me...thanks to all who voted for my edit.

[MiniChris]

V2

Really, this was pretty simple layering and masking. I used the smoke trails from shots I'd done at the airshow the previous weekend to give the appearance of the parts blowing off. Using the Quick Selection and on occasion, Magic Wand or Lasso tools, I cloned bits and pieces of the "Starship", changed their size or orientation in layers. The trickiest part was keeping the layers sorted as to smoke trail vs part and separating the chain from its position and reinventing a background that fit the original. In some of the removed piece areas, I either left them black, or usd a red/yellow blend to mimic flames or mini explosions. It was fun but exceptionally time consuming. I think I spent almost 6.5 hours on this task.

Of all the things I did to this image, drooping the barrel was the most fun. It was all silly and fun... I will find an image over the next few days to set up the next PP challenge...hmmmmmmmmmm

[hashim]

#9