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Cold, Tepid and Warm (22)
Eagle78 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 517 W: 32 N: 384] (1925)
This is a view you can get from near the top of Serra da Estrela, the highest portuguese mountain (about 2000m), in this cold December days:
- near me i can fell the COLD of the ice and of the freezing winds that usually blow at this high;
- in a second plan we can see the TEPID silhouettes of the surronding misty mountains;

- at the skyline we can see and still feel the WARM of the last sun beams of this day, giving powerful colors to both clouds and sky.
Altered Image #1

Eagle78 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 517 W: 32 N: 384] (1925)
Edited by:martin Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 514 W: 264 N: 37] (1242)
Yet another Workshop on Contrast Masking. But there are so many new members joining all the time that I thought that another one is justified -- and that Marco's wondereful image provides a nice opportunity. Using Elements 2, the steps were:

1. Create a Duplicate Layer.
2. Enhance / Adjust Colour / Remove Colour.
3. Image / Adjustments / Invert.
4. In the Layers palette, select Overlay in the options bar.
5. Still in the Layers palette, set the % for Opacity.
6. Filter / Blur / Gaussian blur: set the pixels radius.
7. Flatten image.

You use trial-and-error to determine what opacity (step 5) and Gaussian blur (step 6) are appropriate for the picture and for your tastes.

In this case, I set the opacity at 70% and the Gaussian blur at 30. But then, to exaggerate the effect to show what is possible, I repeated the whole process with the same settings. I also added a frame. [Since the original image was only 34 KB, the post-processing image was only 167 KB, so no down-sizing was necessary for uploading to TE.]

I should say that, whereas my own preference is for the one involving just one application of contrast masking, MY SON PREFERS THE ORIGINAL IMAGE. I hope that, even if everyone agrees with my son, some members may nevertheless find it interesting to see what contrast masking can achieve.