Edit Me An Image #43 / Dandelions In The Sun

Second attempt:

DXO 9 some level adjustments + enhanced greens and yellows +
Nik Analog FX with Warm faded preset and Bokeh filter
and Nik Color Efex Glamour Glow

Yes, near the Sunset, a city waiting for the dark

Spring!! ... and the lake is still frozen.

This is the final day for submissions for any who have yet to exhaust their creative vision. Tomorrow (Friday) is voting day, with the winner being announced Saturday morning. Good participation this week.

It’s voting day, winner to be announced tomorrow morning.

Congratulations Greg, it looks like we have a clear favorite this week, and that favorite is yours. The torch is passed, please post something new for folks to play with...

It's a bit (a lot) darker than what I envisioned, but it looks nice with the skinny crop, the wide angle lens often leaves you with too much foreground if you want to keep the verticals vertical. For any who are interested, this was my edit for this one. I didn't even consider removing any of the poles as some did but, in retrospect, not a bad idea.

Thanks to everyone who participated, some interesting submissions here, I didn't really expect such a wide range of interpretations with this one.

@ErikWithaK

Thanks for the votes. The gray sky seemed to complement the midtones of the bridgework and the buildings. But if I am totally honest, it was a side effect of an old Photoshop “cartoon” action from a couple of decades ago. I’m not sure if I still have the .atn file, as I ran it manually from some notes written on a beer-stained napkin. lol
Over Thanksgiving or the Christmas period I will endeavor to list the written Photoshop “cartoon” instructions along with some PS layers screenshots.

Not that I am a huge fan of panoramic shots, but the crop also seemed to work well with the long bridge and the unseen imagined roadway to the left.

"Even though there are compositional guidelines that help a photographer balance elements and create a visually pleasing, impactful image, with the Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines, Framing, and Balance being key examples. These "rules" are not strict regulations but rather principles for arranging subjects and elements to guide the viewer's eye and achieve a desired aesthetic."

The central horizontal waterline would usually be a bit weird and unbalanced, but the grassy foreground with the dandelions brings everything back into balance. And the vertical elements in the shot play their part too.

If anything is to be learned from this image, it is not to be afraid of gray skies on bright but overcast days.
Clouds, after all, are nature’s softbox!

The yellows were increased ever so slightly and nothing else.
I would never remove any physical element from a photograph, as I now and always have believed in truth in photography, warts and all. A complex and highly debated subject…😎

Unfortunately, due to the recent failure of my main computer, triaged as a power supply failure, I am unable to offer an image for the “next round” at this time, so please feel free to offer the opportunity to someone of your choosing.

OK then, sorry about your computer trouble Greg, mine's not long for this realm either. Anyway, I guess it falls to you then, Richard A, the new grand prize winner....

Oh, and what do dandelions look like in your neck of the woods?

UK and US dandelions are largely the same.
I go to war with them most years and dig them out by the roots on my front and back lawns, though they weren't too prolific or bad this year.

"one year's seeds, seven years' weeds"

This what we call a Dandelion. Until they get to this stage we don't really call them anything really. Don't really get many growing in my area, certainly not in a mass like the photo.

This is an extreme closeup of course.

New Challenge is up by the way...