an OOB for OOTB

After being an inactive forum (non)participant for too long, I started lurking around and decided to jump on board with both feet. An out-of-bounds image seemed like the way to start. The red rock country is reason enough to visit Sedona AZ, but there are also some amazing sidewalk sculptures. This one was actually spinning on its axis late one afternoon. The next morning, I was there ready to take some action photos, but it was padlocked to an anchor.

9 exposure (1 EV) HDR, f/2.8, 35mm

Topaz Simplify (BuzSim and Hard Pencil on different layers)
Flypaper Textures texture
Alien Skin Snap Art 3 (Watercolor Abstract) over the entire image but added only local areas of subtle color -- like another texture based on the image.
Alien Skin Eye Candy (Motion Trail) applied to a layer with only a loaded selection of the dancers

At this point, the dancers heads didn't stand out enough from the background. So ...
Exposure adjustment layer with mask, and
Nik Silver Efex Pro (High Structure) with mask and Luminosity blend mode

I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Welcome..I really like this image gives a nice sense of motion to the dancing figures...like the old look of the statue and the wheel..cars in the background, not so crazy about...well done

Nice work, but i have trouble with the motion blurs. In their positions, they really could be dancers or they could just be in a joyful embrace.. I prefer the latter and thus omit the blur. Nothing else has a movement to it, so it distracts for me. I like the literal OOTB. Nice idea. Welcome to the forum. Looking forward to many more posts from you. Really like the challenge of your work.

Dennis, welcome to OOTB:S3: I like the processing (thanks for the workflow) and the fact that they are "out of bounds" adds to the image. I like the contrast between the vintage style of the dancers and the modern background - it's almost like they're waltzing into a new era. I hope we get to see lots more of your work!

Dennis, Big welcome to OOTB. This is a very interesting piece. I like it and I like the motion you implied. The OOB is a nice touch. I think Cheryl makes a good point about the contrast between the vintage dancers and modern BG. I might add sliver more room on top if it were mine. You did a very nice job with the filtering, thanks for sharing your work flow.:S3:

Hi Dennis, and welcome to OOTB. Thank you for sharing your work flow...nice job of processing on this image...Denise makes a good suggestion about adding a sliver to the top...and while I like the juxtaposition of modern vs. vintage, the large area of white (the van) to the left of the dancers draws my eye. Love the image within an image approach! Thank you for sharing.

Thanks very much, everyone. Here's a re-post based on some of the comments. All those cars on the other side of the street bothered me no end. I'd gotten out early in an attempt to preclude people and traffic, but that didn't work. I'm thinking there might've been a breakfast place across the street. I hadn't really been able to come up with what I thought would be a feasible solution to the car problem until John's comment about the large white area triggered it. It was a simple matter to put in a new layer and paint over it with a color from the statue.

Putting more room at the top of the image was a good idea, too.

I was entranced by the observations about the contrast between the dancers and the modern background. That hadn't occurred to me, but it's a great way of looking at it. Thank you for commenting on that.

Part of the reason for taking the out-of-bounds approach on this image was all the clutter it eliminated on the near side of the street -- more cars, the edge of a roof nearly touching the woman's head, and a couple signs imploring people not to stand on the statue.

The repost looks great Dennis!:S3:

Looking good on the repost! Nicely done!

Hi Dennis, welcome aboard and welcome to OOTB. I really like the filtering and the comp. Very nice work...love the repost best!

Nice work, Dennis, repost looks good!

Dennis, the repost looks great!

Dennis, I am late to the party... welcome to OOTB! and a great image to start with. Echoing everything that has been said... excellent repost and looking forward to more. TFS.

Hi Dennis, I'm late too but better late than never! Welcome to our corner of BPN. Nice to see you hear and I appreciate your comments on other images.

I like the out of bounds idea, we don't see that much here and usually a bird flying out of a window. :c3: I like how you combined the elements to make a unique image. Repost looks good to me. I look forward to more from you!