In the end, I didn't use any of the temple shots for the challenge; it seemed a bit didactic, somehow, and though the photos turned out well enough none of the images seemed inherently romantic to me. The thing they represent, absolutely -- but someone who didn't know about the doctrines of my faith probably wouldn't look at the photos sooc and say, "Wow, how romantic!" ("Nice building!" maybe.)
However! I do really like some of the shots I got, and now that I am free of the restrictions against post-processing, I can avoid my responsibilities (I am supposed to be deep cleaning the house right now, lol) and tart up the pictures. Here's the first one I've messed with:
This version is almost sooc -- I brought back in some sky detail from an alternate exposure (hooray for RAW format!) and I cleaned up all the dust from my camera's sensor. (I really ought to get that fixed, ugh.)
Version 2 of the same photo: I've been developing my own color shift actions; I used one I call Presto Retro! for this treatment. I also selectively tweaked the contrast until I got the look I wanted and, finally, I added an original texture (train car rust) with an Overlay blend.
Version 3: Beginning with what I'd done in version 2, I converted the photo to a sepia flavored Duotone and added a ragged border for that antique feel.
I took lots of fun pictures in the last week (motivated both by the challenge and my new 18-200mm zoom lens!) and I'm anxious to play around with them all. Theoretically I'm supposed to be busy getting ready to list the house for sale -- but if I need to decompress, recharge, get those energies flowing again, I might just sneak on to the computer some more to edit pics and post them here. Stay tuned. :-)
~RCH~
