The lines do seem a bit faded, but until I read your description, I didn't notice. In fact, in terms of lighting and perspective, they are the most natural looking element. The ride seems out of place for two reasons. One is the lighting. With the sun behind it, and the full silhouettes of the background, the well lit ride seems unnatural. The second, less obvious problem is perspective. The ride was shot from below looking up, while everything else seems to be shot toward the horizon. Rather than fix these less obvious issues by making everything silhouette (and losing the playful colors), you could add more distraction such as making one of the swans unnaturally large, or make the knots in bright colors to match the ride.   Posted: 07/02/2024 16:07:12

In my view Mike this perfectly meets the creative category. A creative image does not have to look natural with perfectly matching lighting. It is also about altered reality which is what I feel you have achieved.   Posted: 07/07/2024 10:19:15

"Flying things" - I like this montage as it gives me lots to see and enjoy. I think you picked a very effective background to play with. A fun picture. Maybe on the low end of the AR scale, but for me it fits our definition just fine.   Posted: 07/12/2024 16:21:07

Excellent job of selecting the ride. The silhouetted background works well to highlight the ride. The birds add interest to the image. Good job.   Posted: 07/15/2024 23:04:42

Certainly catches the eye. I don't think you need the right hand birds and wondered if the flock (top left) would be better there.   Posted: 07/21/2024 08:04:10

Definitely altered reality!
I'm not sure about the swans - I think they could be moved closer to the ride and maybe reduced in size a bit. I feel that a crop of the background would help, so that the street lights are taken out.
Selecting intricate areas like the lines on the ride, can be done using Select > Color Range, so if you used this and selected the sky colour (adjusting the fuzziness to suit) then deleting the selection would leave just the ride. It depends on the size of the original, but it can work well. I used this technique to isolate the rigging on this ship when making the attached   Posted: 07/25/2024 20:45:30

Dear Mike - I think this is wonderfully altered - and spectacluar. It has the right amound of interesting "things" fo keep the viewer looking for a long time. Excellent job preparing the ride. For me - the swans should be a bit smaller and perhaps, muted a little. I love the resuts!!
Melissa Cramer Sonnen, DDG-27   Posted: 07/29/2024 18:18:28