"The Champ Gets By"

A night action scene depicting soon to be Factory Stock Division 2011 Champion Shannon Mongeau driving the #18 as he goes "3 wide" to avoid a wreck in turn 2.

Still getting the hang of the different distortion tools available in CS6. Just want to know what folks here think about how this one was handled, I've already decided there will be another version as I'm not entirely happy with some of the artifacts introduced by one of the Topaz plugins. I started with a full size file, but after warping and distortions, the file size is 51% of the original. I've also discovered that high ISO night work requires extra care when altering as shadow areas are prone to muddiness.

Thanks for viewing, all C&C welcome and appreciated. I'll catch up with commenting on the wonderful posts being made by others during the day.

I like what you've done with the distortions. The speed of #18 relative to the other cars is immediately apparent. Great composition, too. The circle formed by the cars and the curve of the track in the upper left is very effective.

I really like the distortion Randall. Perfect for this "Crash" theme. I love how the car at the top will go zooming by. Just a thought, I wonder what it would look like if you could lighten the faces. Just an idea.

I like the warping effect, it reminds me of a space/time distortion from Star Trek or such. I wouldn't worry too much about artifacts in a stylized image, but I'm curious to see what you do with this image. I used to enjoy this kind of racing as a kid, before it became a big corporate spending orgy called NASCAR. We used to go to Art Zipp's Speedway in Indianapolis on Friday nights and watch the (truly) stock cars race in the dirt. Of course the highlight of the evening was the figure eight races!

Your title sets the photo. Visual progression from the warped, destroyed to the champ who speeds on. The stretching of the back car makes this more effective.

Hi gang, my apologies for taking so long to get back, the last two weeks have been a handful. Thanks for the suggestions and comments! Anyhow, here's a minor rework. I tried softening the artifacts and cleaning up some grit while maintaining a crisp look, altered the color balance and adjusted parameters to brighten the driver areas as per Jackies suggestion. Dan's post of Kerry has exactly the smooth glowy effect I'm after as far as color tones and texture, I'd like to be able combine that with the hard line sketch effect-at least that's what I have envisioned. Kerry, Big money has transformed many a sport, but none as much as homegrown grass roots racing. I can't even watch a Nascar or Drag event on television anymore, and much prefer the local track scene. I'm also a Trekkie at heart... :)

I like the repost Randall. Looks like the WB changed from cool to warm. At any rate I like the smoothing of the asphalt and the lightening in the driver's compartment.

I think the distortions and processing work really well. The photo tells the story. The elongation of car No. 18 creates the feeling of speed as it passes the crashed cars. The shapes of the crashed cars are also interesting. I like both versions.