Normally I hate modified photos. In particular, I hate modified photos when you can tell the photo has been modified.

One of the presents Anya got me for Christmas was a copy of Photoshop Elements. At first, I wasn't sure whether I would use it much.

With my recent venture into entering various competitions, I've found the need to use it a bit more.

We have some photos from our dive trip to Cozumel, and I love them as photos, but their color isn't necessarily spot on.

So I modified the following photo to see if I could make the colors closer to what I remembered them to be like. Take a look at the original and the modified version below, and vote for which one you like better.

Unmodified

Modified

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Unfortunately, I forget what exact changes I made (something I will try to be a bit better about recording in the future), but I know that I darkened the photo and adjust the contrast slightly. I also modified the colors slightly to remove a bit of the blue color cast that is typical of underwater photography.

The colors in underwater photography without a ton of flash is usually not accurate since the spectrum of light drops off the deeper you go. Did you know that? That is one of those things you don't really think about, but you learn when you get scuba certified.

Anyway - vote for which version of the photo you like better, and leave a comment to back up your vote.

- Bill