Tracks Into City

[hollybug]

I like this photo of the sun setting over the city, with railroad tracks leading in (despite the power lines draping the horizon). I feel like it has some potential, however I cannot seem to get what I want in photoshop (I'm a beginner). I tried to lighten it, tried to darken it, tried to enhance the colors of the sky, cropped the sides a bit. Nothing I do seems to be just it, so I'm looking for some advice on where to begin editing. Feel free to play around with the photo, if you like...would love to see what others can do.

This is the original photo without any edits at all (other than decreasing the size). Thanks!

[SwissJon]

Well I had a little play.. Tried cloning out the wires, but I think that would have been easier on the original since all I really succeeded in doing in the 5 mins I played was creating another building.

I had a play with the levels and I think the photo is much nicer when the buildings are silliouetted..

The foreground rails are great, it's just a pity about the powerlines.. I suceeded in getting rid of a similar number of powerlines in a recent photo of my own, but it took me nearly 5 hours, 1 pixel at a time.. Might be easier to go out with a chainsaw instead

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[hollybug]

Thanks, looks good! Yeah, those darn power lines!

[Browno]

Hi, this is a really nice shot other than the power lines but sometimes you can't avoid these things. If it were me, and like you I am a beginner, I wouldn't know how to improve it either so I would leave it as is. I may be wrong but the fact that there doesn't seem to be much you can do to improve it any more means that it's spot on.
Why not have a go at getting rid of the power lines anyway. It may take a while (do them bit by bit) but you will learn from it and I'm sure you'll love the end result !

[hollybug]

Thanks, Browno! Yeah, working on getting rid of the power lines will be a good learning experience because I don't know a lot about photoshop!

First of all, I'm no PS wizard.
In fact, I'm a creature of habit, and a sucker for 'warmth' and contrast.

That being said, I played a bit with the warmth and the contrast.

I have to admit - I started out getting rid of the wires/lines. As I was doing so, the image, to me, was losing its impact.

I LIKE THE WIRES!

It's a cityscape! Cities have wires. Cities are harsh. Cities have intersections. Cities have disruptions. So if you look solely at the wires - they help to define this image for me as they add a harsh, intersecting, disrupting element (all in a good way) to the image.

Anyway - I had a quick go at it.

Fortunately, the tracks suck your eyes right out of your head as they drag you towards the city. Nicely done.

Just my 2 cents! keep the wires!

[IMG][/IMG]

[Browno]

That's a good point and fair comment Bakeys. It is a city and they do have power lines !
I would still maybe like to lose the lower few, because as thin as they are I feel as though they're blocking my view of the skyscrapers if that makes sense ?

[Michael_2010]

I could try to learn to love the power-lines, but man they sure suck at first glance. The angle of the rails leading into the cityscape add a lot of interest, but those darn power-lines kind of slice and dice the frame into chaos. If it was just one or two, the scratch removal tool would be a good first swipe at them and then come back with the clone tool to repair any damage done. Any way you go at it will be pretty tedious.

[hollybug]

Yeah, there would have been no way for me to get the shot without the power lines in the way. I was on a bridge that had a tall metal fence that I had to stand on my tip toes to hold the camera over. So if I got any lower, the fence would have been in the way. So it was either the power lines or nothing. Off the bridge, you don't get the same view of the tracks and I can't really get down the the level of the tracks either. At first, I didn't mind the power lines. Then, the more I looked it, the more they bothered me. Maybe I can get back to not minding them because I really don't think I have the skills to fix it in photoshop. So I'll have to go with Bakeys view of the power lines being a distinctive feature of a city.

[benchdog]

Makes me miss Charlotte.

Love the shot, power lines aren't the most distracking for me it's the blown out sky. That's where my eyes went first. I would suggest having waited for the sun to get lower in the sky maybe even let it drop below the horizon before taking the shot.

Really like it nice job.