Top 25 ... was hoping for better but am happy nonetheless. I really struggled with the processing on this one, and feel display/monitor and even browser likely swayed some votes to the downside.
Alternative shot (different angle/viewpoint):
This is a 3-exposure HDR to ensure wide tonal range (mostly to retain shadow detail). RAW files were converted to TIFs in ACR (only tweak being consistent WB), HDR blended and tone mapped in dpHDR, then back to CS3 for final post processing.
B&W conversion was done using a number of adjustment layers including B&W, Saturation, and Curves. I did not employ Gorman's technique, although it does have a bit of that feel (very high contrast, with dark darks and bright brights). This one was actually done entirely in RGB mode, not LAB with High Pass as it might appear. Finished with localized dodge/burn.
Note: Depending on the quality/calibration of your LCD this might look a bit dark, with muddy shadows and contrast creating slightly "hot" highlights. If your display can resolve a wide tonal range then you should see good detail in the shadows and no clipping.
Statistics
Place: 23 out of 219 Avg (all users): 6.3268 Avg (commenters): 7.2000 Avg (participants): 6.1977 Avg (non-participants): 6.3929 Views since voting: 1281 Views during voting: 445 Votes: 254 Comments: 5 Favorites: 1 (view)
Outstanding tonal range. Just the right detail in the shadow. Superb clarity. I like the toning very much.... maybe a selenium? eta: Interesting that on my home computer, I don't see the toning I thought I saw at my work computer. Looks great, regardless. 9
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