Post Processing Challenge July 18, 2020

There are no rules as to how you apply your post processing to this image; but, please let us know what you have done so we can all learn.

If you would like to post a candidate image next week, please ensure it is of sufficiently high resolution for manipulation by the participants (3000px on the long side, 300dpi for example).

Happy Constitution Day! The first constitution of Uruguay was adopted on July 18, 1830 after Uruguay declared independence on Aug 25, 1825.

The three flags shown in the photo are (R-L) the flag of the Treinta y Tres Orientales (Libertad o Muerte), the current flag of Uruguay and the flag of General Artigas who is credited as the leader of those who fought for Uruguayan independence from the Brazilian Empire.

I took this photo at Cerro Artigas overlooking Minas. It may have been on National Plumber's Day :)

Again, all work was done in PSE2020. First I changed the crop to square, and then used the spot healing brush to eliminate the possibility of the man's gaseous emissions. Then, I used the plastic wrap filter in the Artistic menu. Next, I used the impressionist brush for selective darkening and softening. Finally I applied the sharpening tool on the couple and flags.

Punta,

Is this what astronomers call a "super moon"?

I decided to make this one about the flags, so I had to reduce a few distracting elements in the foreground.

1. My major goal was to see how much I could get away with using the Photoshop liquify filter, so I put our unwitting exhibitionist on a strict weight-loss program, which resulted in his having to acquire a new set of clothes.
   
2. Next, I worked with the colors, changing to Lab mode and playing with adjustment layer tone curves for the a&b channels, and adding contrast with the tone curve for the L channel.
   
3. Back in RGB mode, I selected the sky and added a hue-saturation adjustment layer to blue it up.
   
4. Then I gave the right-most flag more space by enlarging the canvas and cloning.
   
5. I decided to give the flags a bit more prominence by raising them higher, so I tried using the Select Object tool, which almost worked—I ended up doing a lot of brushwork to clean up the selection. I moved the selection up, then cloned out the original flags where they showed.
   
6. Our protagonists were getting somewhat lost against the background trees, so in Lightroom I used an adjustment brush to increase their exposure (ah, the irony of it all). I used another to darken the background slightly behind them.
   
7. Finally, I straightened the flag-poles, which necessitated another round trip to PS (#5--I didn't plan the choreography very well) to add some headroom to the left-most pole.
   

I decided to make this one about the flags, so I had to reduce a few distracting elements in the foreground.

 

Leslie I noticed that you even reversed the lettering on his hat after the horizontal flip. Nice attention to detail! His hat implies that he has been to Rivera, which is in the north of Uruguay.

No offence intended. Just the first thing that came into my head. The 'screen' image is mine.

Work carried out in PS CS6.

Selected the sky from original image and deleted. Used Inverse to select remaining image. Downloaded a pic of fireworks from the internet. Adjusted sizes of images and pasted the flags and people on top of the fireworks. Adjusted the Brightness/contrast and levels to make the people/ flags look like image was taken at night, Filled in the butt crack. Flattened image.

Thank you for uploading, Punta!

Nice attention to detail

Thanks, Punta! I nearly missed it--I think that was PS round-trip #3.

I thoroughly enjoy the glimpses of Uruguay that you give us--I'm having a great time reading up on the country to learn more about it.

Decided to do another one, which kinda blends abstract with fine art.

All work again in PSE2020. Initially, I used the correct camera distortion filter to make it appear that the two people are sitting on an incline (which supports the mountains in the BG). Next I used the smart healing brush again to remove the man's anal crevice. Then, in the sketch filter, I used the water color option, followed by tonal adjustments in levels. Then, I used an option from the paint bucket tool to add the appearance of rain.