At the Bolshoi

Moscow, Russia.  Come on man, this was just too perfect.  I mean, a ballerina posing outside the Bolshoi?  Who could pass that up?  Though it probably had nothing to do with the Bolshoi itself; it was likely just someone hired for a photoshoot.

Shadows of Chernobyl

On a scale of Photo Realistic (1) to Photo Fantasy (10), I went for about a 3 on this one.  Though the closer you look at it, the less photo realistic it appears. 

Since the original photo had a washed out sky, I put in a better sky, not only on the sky portion, but for the whole photo.  The reddish purplish tones in the water are actually a sunset.  The other major alteration was to put it through Topaz Glow.  

The biggest complication with this photo was the sunken riverboat.  It always wanted to turn out too dark.

Photo Art - St. Nicholas Church, Kiev Ukraine.

A more artistic take on the photo I posted on Monday of St. Nicholas Church, Kiev.

St. Nicholas Church, Kiev. A Before and After.

Something posted previously, but since it's been a while...

Obviously a bit of 'shopping going on here.  Photoshopping, that is! 

After:

Before:

Lillies - Two variations

Just a shot of some lillies from our garden a couple of years back.

The first one is an artistic take on the original photo. The second one is the original (with some processing applied)!

Extreme Photo Makeover - Church in Uhzgorod, Ukraine.

All photographers have found themselves in this situation one time or another.  You have a subject you want to photograph, but one or more things just aren't right.  Sometimes it's just weather related and if you come back in an hour or a day, you may be able to get the photo you want.  And sometimes you have to get the photo as you see it, because you may not be able to come  back in an hour or a day.  Or, you may be faced with a situation like this.  No matter how many times you return to the scene, the issues will not correct themselves.  Let's face it, if trees or power lines are blocking your view, those same obstacles will likely be there every time you return.  So you get what you can when you can.  

The first photo is the "after" photo.  The second is the "before" photo.  

So, what was done here?  Obviously, power lines were removed, mostly using the Spot Healing Brush Tool.  An antenna was removed.  Blue fringing on the right side of the photo was removed, and the reddish tone in the peoples faces were lessened.  The photo was brightened using Curves adjustment.  Then some final sharpening was added.  

As an example of an Extreme Photo Makeover, this is a relatively mild example.  There will be more serious photo makeovers coming!  

Autumn Leaves as Art (1) and (2)

Started with some images gathered at a local park here in KIev. From there, I just played around with them a bit to see what I could come up with.

Sunrise, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt

Sharm El Sheikh is a beautiful resort town near the southern end of the Sinai peninsula in Egypt.  It's also considered one of the best diving and snorkeling destinations in the world.  Sadly, events have caused a severe downturn in tourist visits to Sharm and other Egyptian resorts.  Only now is it returning to normal.