Needs more pop

[f00sion]

Sorry, this was originally posted in the whipping post.

I really like this picture but I feel the colors are a bit dull. I would like to get rid of the haze and maybe have a nicer gradient on the sky?
http://scottvickers.smugmug.com/photos/170447823-L-3.jpg

[jfriend]

Sorry, this was originally posted in the whipping post.

I really like this picture but I feel the colors are a bit dull. I would like to get rid of the haze and maybe have a nicer gradient on the sky?


Here's one crack at it. I used LAB mode to enhance the colors (steepened A and B channels), removed some of the blue color cast from the mountain area (which also made the sky more yellow) and added some contrast to the mountain area. How far you go here or what exact color you want to end up with is totally personal judgment.

The blurred city lights in the middle of the picture look a little odd to me (almost as if that was blurred in post processing) because it seems unusual for the mountains to be sharp and the city lights to be blurred this much. While they are closer, they are still near infinity as far as the lens is concerned.

http://jfriend.smugmug.com/photos/171929487-O.jpg

[f00sion]

I tried out some lab changes, just not quite as extreme, and boosted the blue very slightly along the top edge.
http://scottvickers.smugmug.com/photos/172138032-L.jpg

the blurry foreground is different, but not done in PP, was using a tilt-shift lens. Definitely one of the more interesting pics I took that morning.