still playin with my toys....

This is the most extreme makeover I've done on any of these Toledo zoo pics. The "original" has already been worked over by Photoshop Elements' "auto smart fix." Elements managed to remove a lot of the blue haze of reflection on the plexi between us and the tiger. So it's not really "original." Starting from there, I removed most of the remaining haze by hand (nice to have that almost plain black background!). I increased the contrast (a lot), and finished with the posterizing....

Isn't it cool to be able to do this?????? Without Elements, I had three or four pics that turned out reasonably well. With Elements, I have lots more good ones, and even the ones that started pretty good are better. When I think of "real photographers" Stalking the Moment -- waiting for hours, days, whatever, for the perfect moment, with the perfect lighting, the perfect clouds, the perfect person in a red slicker walking in front of Notre Dame in the rain.... I'd rather spend my time in the comfort of my own study, tweaking the pixels........