Great job everyone, and thank you! This weeks winner is R.G. with 5 votes!
Now it's time to pass the torch and find out how it was done with more to follow.
Thank you again!!! S-
Original
Winner
Thanks for the votes. As I said in my post, my main inspiration was to get busy with the Adjustments brush - really busy! I selected shadows, sunny bits, dark bits, hazy bits and gave the selections what they needed.
The shadows and bright bits are typically soft-edged, and with a bit of practice you can get the brush's feathering to match the drop-off of the shadow/glare/haze etc. Most of the time it doesn't have to be perfect, especially if the original lighting is as mottled as it is here.
You probably found that global adjustments in the main edit produced some undesirable side effects. Something I've taken to doing more and more is to push the main edit adjustments knowing that I can tackle the unwanted side effects with the adjustments brush at a later date.
Doing that goes against any instincts you might have to use moderation and stop short of the point where adjustments are starting to look excessive. If you know that you can tackle the excesses (which are usually confined to specific areas), you don't have to use so much restraint. But I find that it does test my confidence to go beyond the usual moderate limits that I set for myself. And it does mean giving yourself extra work.....
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