Show off your prowess at photo enhancement with the first ever DPNow.com Photo Fix Challenge
Discuss this article on the new DPNow Discussion Forum
UPDATE - The entries are now all in and the ten best contenders have been selected, so
now we would like you to view the top ten and
vote for your favourites.
Here's a new idea on DPNow. In the first of a regular series, we'll be challenging you, the reader, to turn a digital snapshot into something entirely more impressive. We'll be rewarding the best efforts with some small prizes, but most rewarding of all, if your effort is rated among the best, thousands of DPNow readers will be able to appreciate your achievement. How will the best be decided? The Editor will compile a short list selection of the better entries and then DPNow readers will be able to vote for their favourites. We will then declare an overall winner and reveal what he or she did to knock their image into shape.
The photo below is a simple snapshot taken with an affordable point and shoot digital camera. The scene looked interesting and memorable at the time – that's why the photographer was moved to take the picture in the first place. But the result is not quite right. It's rather flat and lacks sparkle. But there is definitely some potential and with some nifty tweaking in Photoshop or your other favoured image enhancement package, I'm sure there is a much better picture to be made.
Can you make this run of the mill shot into something special?
You could try all sorts of things, from increasing the contrast and changing the saturation, to cropping and even converting to black and white. All we ask is that the resulting image is recognisably of the original and that it is sized to be printable to A4 size (approximately 10x8 inches).
A monster of a challenge, literally!
To add to your undoubted creative zeal, the picture was taken at Burg Frankenstein, an old castle near Darmstadt, Germany, and is supposed to be the place that inspired Mary Shelley to write the infamous horror novel of the same name.
If you'd like to take up the DPNow Photo Fix Challenge,
download the original camera image now and the rest is up to you. Once you have completed your masterpiece, email it as a JPEG image file attachment to:
[email protected], including your name and country of origin.
For the record – the rules:
• The copyright of the original image is owned by Digital Photography Now (DPNow.com).
• DPNow.com gives permission for the original image to be altered for artistic purposes by DPNow readers.
• By submitting an edited version of the original image it will be assumed that you are happy to be publicly associated with the image submitted.
• The work done to edit the original image must be attributable to the person who enters it.
• Entrants must agree not to use the resulting edited image for purposes, commercial or otherwise, other than personal enjoyment, without permission from DPNow.com.
• DPNow.com agrees not to use entries for any other purpose other than featuring in or publicising the DPNow.com Photo Fix Challenge without the permission of the entrant.
• Selection of the short list of best entries is the decision of the Editor and the Editor alone.
• The selection of the overall best entry will be decided solely by votes cast by DPNow readers.
• The above DPNow.com Photo Fix Challenge rules are subject to change without notice.
• All entrants will be informed of rule changes to give them an opportunity to withdraw their entries if required.
• If you would like further clarification of any aspect of the DPNow.com Photo Fix Challenge, feel free to email your question to
[email protected].
