Here's a re-edit of my Dragon's Eye - Upper Antelope Canyon - Page, Arizona image. This time with an added border ( I hope it is light enough, Pedro) and lifting the shadow areas more.
There were lots of circumstantial conditions making this a difficult image to produce including:
location restrictions - time, light, equipment and quantity of people;
editing - HDR merge, dynamic range, tone, color and adjusting to be visible on screen;
location and access added a little to the difficulty as well - getting to Page, AZ, securing a tour.
Image shot with Nikon Z6 ii 30mm 1/80 sec. ISO 2800, edited with Capture One 23 and ON1.
Really nice picture, even tho I personally think the first edit you posted looked the best :)
Thanks Thomas!
Your point is hard to argue with. I do spend some time with most of my edits before posting here. But getting a lot of eyes looking at them and getting constructive comments is welcomed by me, as I believe it helps me to get better at photography and the editing of the images. This image is an attempt to adjust the original, and my own critique is I did not spend enough time and/or have the right program (s) to accomplish what I had set out to. Plus I was rushing to get a third image. as the contest is coming to an end soon.
That's true, it's a good way to learn and to improve :) Also, editing style is a matter of taste, so it depends on who you ask. I think tho, as long as it's not a project for a client who wants a certain look, the most important thing, is that you yourself is happy with the end result :)