Theme: Desert Sunset

[Wendy Kates]

This is an image of the dunes in the Negev desert, shot in the late afternoon. I applied Nik CEP, Topaz Simplify BuzzSim IV, and poster edges.

[Dennis Bishop]

Ah, the magic bluish/brownish combination. And with a nice variation in shades. I like all the contours and think you did a great job with Simplify.

[Nancy Bell]

Very nicely done! A lovely transition of beautiful layers and colors that easily takes the eye from foreground to middle to background. You combination of effects turned out perfect for this scene. It does seem to be sloping slightly down to the left and could be straightened some.

[Judy Howle]

Nice use of Simplify and overall processing. I like all the different hues. I would like to see a little more difference between the dunes, but it looks great as is.

[Christopher Miller]

Love all the subtle earthy tones. I might try to emphasize the detail in the dunes a little bit more. I also agree with Nancy on straightening the image.

[Wendy Kates]

Oh dear....I always save my layered .psd files, but I processed this image late in the evening when I was tired, and I somehow saved over it. I tried to start over, and include more detail in the image, but I am finding that I can't reproduce those blue hues. :( So, I've just straightened the above image in this repost. Lesson learned!

[Wendy Kates]

By the way, I showed this image to my husband and he said very tentatively: "It's nice." Then he said "it looks fake...computerized." I guess OOTB isn't everyone's cup of tea!

[Anita Bower]

When I try to reproduce the processing on an image, it never works out--even when I follow the same steps. Weird.
I like this subtle scene. The colors are lovely. I like the simplify effect a lot. Since you can't bring out more details, which I don't think is necessary, you might try darkening and lightening different areas to create more of a sense of contour. I would straighten the second image just a bit more. Many people expect photographs to look "real." I think it takes some time for them to adjust to a more artistic look. Keep up the good work.

[Anita Bower]

Or, a simpler approach would be to increase contrast and brightness. I used Contrast/Brightness adjustment layer, and Shadow/Highlights. Just an idea.

[Cheryl Slechta]

Lovely image Wendy and the Anita's repost looks the best to me. It also corrects a Simplify artifact that I was going to mention (it looks like a pair of bright sunglasses on the left side above that little bush in your original post :S3:

[Paul Lagasi]

Very nice landscape image, good advice given and taken....like the zig-zag canyon in the centre. Well done

[Anita Bower]

Lovely image Wendy and the Anita's repost looks the best to me. It also corrects a Simplify artifact that I was going to mention (it looks like a pair of bright sunglasses on the left side above that little bush in your original post :S3:
I forgot to mention that I had painted over those two artifacts or whatever they were.

[Wendy Kates]

Thank you, all. Anita...I like your repost a lot. The increased contrast really enhances the image.

[Diane Miller]

Very nice -- a strong and lovely image and treatment that profited from the above suggestions! Getting an image straight (horizon level) in camera is something I still slip up on frequently. As much as I like pixels on the subject, I try to leave a little extra room for straightening.

Sometimes if straightening would crop too much, I will duplicate the BG layer and pull a corner with Edit > Transform > Distort. I'm usually pleased with the result.