To capthaddock: Decrease Brightness

[JPlumb]

Hi Tan, this is brighter than the original. The original has (had) a weird noise, almost like a banding in the sky. I thought this was typical of compression with jpeg, but I'm not so sure any more. Trying to reduce the noise seemed to make the banding worse, and it cut back on the definition of the spray. Through the use of levels, curves and an overlay layer (to lighten) I was able to maintain the spray, cut the banding or noise, but with a brighter or lighter end result. Given my choices, I'd still take this approach, but I am looking for alternatives. Do you know the kind of banding I'm talking about, and do you know the cause and or solutions?

With respect to the framing, this is still part of an evolution. I know, I've had some horrible ones in the past but hopefully I'm getting closer to what I want. I do appreciate your input there as well, it wasn't what I was hoping to hear, but it was honest. The search will continue.

Thanks, John