Looking for beauty where I had seen none before: I usually think of cities as dirty, polluted, corrupt and full of creeps and criminals - and certainly not places or things of beauty.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

I usually think of cities as dirty, polluted, corrupt and full of creeps and criminals - and certainly not places or things of beauty. But, we've all been told, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I wanted to see if I could find a city to be a thing of beauty, after all. Yes, I used my developing post-processing abilities to help in the endeavor, hence the posting in the Digital Artistry section. Comments on whether I failed or succeeded would be appreciated. This is Los Angeles at sunset on February 12, 2017. Please click on the download button for a better look. Thanks. Jon

(Download)

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

jonsommer wrote:

I usually think of cities as dirty, polluted, corr... (show quote)

About as good as I have ever seen downtown look, except as a fairyland of lights at night.
But I still don't like driving to downtown LA, or any other big city downtown. Not even for a couple of my favorite eating places like "The Pantry".

drmarty Loc: Pine City, NY

jonsommer wrote:

I usually think of cities as dirty, polluted, corr... (show quote)

You have succeeded Jon! I like it!

Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

I agree with you ...... we can find beauty just about anywhere if you take the time to look closely. But looking is not quite enough ..... you also have a decent artist's eye for composition, lining these buildings up so thier complementary symmetry stood out. Of the two, I like the first one best.

If I got a chance to play with the PP, I'd try to see if I couldn't get the window panes to sparkle just a bit more. Although, honestly, I don't know exactly how I would do that, except to experiment a lot.

Good stuff Jon.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

robertjerl wrote:

About as good as I have ever seen downtown look, except as a fairyland of lights at night.
But I still don't like driving to downtown LA, or any other big city downtown. Not even for a couple of my favorite eating places like "The Pantry".

I'm with you on loathing the drive into downtown LA, even though I do it almost every day, (Uncle Sam's gotta be paid, ya know), so going back, even to The Pantry for their amazingly wonderful food, isn't even close to being on my list of fun things to do. I appreciate your comment about the nighttime lights being amazing, and now that I found this location to shoot from, I just might have to venture back to try my luck at some long exposure shots. Thanks for looking and thanks for your favorable comment

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

drmarty wrote:

You have succeeded Jon! I like it!

Dr Marty, thank you for looking and your encouraging comment.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Bob Yankle wrote:

I agree with you ...... we can find beauty just ab... (show quote)

Bob, if you can find a way to make the windows sparkle, you're a MUCH, MUCH better pp-er than I can even dream of becoming, so, if you do find a way, please share. Also, thank you for looking and your generous and kind comments.

Bobspez Loc: Southern NJ, USA

I have to agree with Bob, I like the first one better. I'm guessing you were in front of the foliage on the first shot. I think the foliage kind of disrupts the symetry. Also I'm guessing the second shot was taken later in the day. More golden hour colors which were nice. My last trip to LA was in the mid 70's. The skyline sure has changed a lot. And you have a subway! Never felt poorer than waiting for a bus in LA, watching the wealthy people drive by in their luxury convertibles.

Bob Yankle Loc: Burlington, NC

jonsommer wrote:

Bob, if you can find a way to make the windows sparkle, you're a MUCH, MUCH better pp-er than I can even dream of becoming, so, if you do find a way, please share. Also, thank you for looking and your generous and kind comments.

I used a Photoshop Windows Extension called Lumenzia to create a luminosity max (zone 8), then used the Levels slider to lighten only the lightest colors. This leaves the blue sky and darker buildings alone, while brightening only the lightest areas. And then for fun, I added a layer of Topaz Star Effects, [Jewel Sparkle II preset], but dialled back the opacity to about 8%. I didn't want the change to be obvious, only hinted at.

jonsommer Loc: Usually, somewhere on the U.S. west coast.

Bob, sorry for the late reply, I really like what you have done with this photo, it now DOES have a lot more sparkle, which for me adds more depth as well as interest and makes it a better photo, overall. Also, thank you for the brief tutorial and the explanation of the software you used, as a result you have sent me on a software acquisition spree, from which I will hopefully someday approach your skill level, but in the meantime I'll have hours of fun learning to add some subtleties to my work. Thank you, thank you.