OK, shamed into action

[Rusty]

In another thread, several of you pushed me to do something with my "dirty glass leopard". I haven't posted anything into the gallery yet -- not sure which I like better.

Comments, please:

First is Dave's painting technique. That provides an automatic fix to the dirty, smeared glass. I'm not sure if it isn't too extreme ??

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1TKchXljySR8TOZBAXwJSjHu21xUWh_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1TKchXljySR8TOZBAXwJSjHu21xUWh)

The second is "more like a picture". I sharpened the image; maybe a bit more than usual. Then I cloned over the discolored parts of the rocks caused by the dirty smears. I left the cat completely alone (other than, of course, the sharpening). Is this "just another zoo picture" ??

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1IH5UgmZBvNON0NVsKKFurLigh35l0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1IH5UgmZBvNON0NVsKKFurLigh35l0)

Truth be told, I like both. What do you think?

Thanks for looking,
Rusty

[JRR]

I like the 2nd one better. The cat looks more natural to me. Nice job!

[CalamityJanet]

Rusty, how nice of that leopard to pose for you! Great shot! I like both versions, but I like the painted one the best.

[JulieM]

What a beautiful cat! I really like the first one - it's a very nice application of the painted effect. Not sure why, but the second one looks a bit unnatural to me - I think it's the eyes...

[kroberts]

I like both of them, two very different effects! I do agree with Julie about the eyes in the photo, perhaps you could darken then some?

Great job getting rid of the 'dirty glass.':)

[Jancy]

I wouldn't be able to decide, They are both wonderful!!:)
Jancy

[AngelicKim]

I like the second one best. You did a great job with the dirty glare.

[Shari]

Nicy job Rusty. I like the first - it has more power to me.
Shari

[Rusty]

Ha, Ha, Ha - I knew this was going to happen :D

I couldn't decide so I took the easy way out. Sure 'nuff, half of you like one best and half the other :)

I agree about the eyes. This was taken the first day I had my new camera. I hadn't even looked at the owners manual other than to see how to charge the battery. I simply set it on auto and, of course, the flash fired with a return from his yellow eyes. Now I know what "P" is :)

There are several threads on this forum about "pet eyes", plus something in one of my books. I'm going to have another go at it.

Thank you for looking and commenting,

Rusty

[kimh]

I too like #2. I think Matt's new book has some tips on fixing pet's eyes.
Kimh

[Wendy]

Hi ...

Well I like both versions but I think that No 2 is my favourite :)

Wendy

[msbrad]

I like #2 better, although both are good. Good fix on the glare.
And I'm glad to know you are going to work on the eyes.
m

[nkeevers]

Rusty, great job on the painted effect! I like that best.

[irishnh]

Hi,
Although both versions are good... I lean to the painted effect version as my preference. I have a few zoo pictures that I'm inspired to post to my gallery and will do so when I get home. I did a little sharpening and enhancing of several of the big cats' eyes. I'll let you know when I've updated my gallery and share how I dod the eyes.

Nice Work and great pose for that big Cat.

[BrendaC]

I like the first one the best. There's something about the eyes in the second image that I'm not crazy about. Brenda

[Rusty]

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions. I finally settled on #2 and have posted it to my gallery. I actually started all over with it because I agreed that the eyes just had to be completely re-done.

Then, I wanted to take another approach to "fixing the glass" - Thank you, Butch. You didn't know you were helping me but I was eavesdropping on 2 threads and asking questions on another one :D :D

I used a blank layer for cloning - Butch showed me how to do that last night. Then I used a levels adjustment layer, turned into a mask, to blend the cloned parts - also learned from Butch some time back. Except for the eyes and sharpening, nothing was done to the cat, all the fixing involved the rocks. That was fortunate - you can make a rock look like just about anything and nobody is likely to question it.

Just think how much smarter I would be had I popped for the $150 Adobe tech support somebody talked about on a thread last week??? :p

Rusty