A bit late? My try.

Some very good examples. Can I ask what is LightZone?

It feels a bit like playing CSI doesn't it?

2-ton,

Lightzone is an Open Source photo editing software, that includes RAW processing and editing.

Here the link

Lightzoneproject

You have to register to download the software. It is realy nice software.

Issabella,
You are never too late!!!
An excellent result on what was a very difficult challenge. Everyone has excelled themselves on this one!

Not a lot of results on the red flower, which while not so difficult, I thought might have attracted some interesting artistic interpretations.

david.

Issabella, how did you get such a beautiful picture out of such a dark one? Could you briefly state what you did?

A bit of fun with the red flower - very quickly done!

david.

Pictures such as the bar on the beach are akin to hypnotizing a person to uncover memories that are there, but they do not realize it. All of the information is captured by the camera, but it is overwhelmed by the light/dark differences. Almost as though the camera gives up thinking and just spits it all out at once. To be fair, the human eye/brain does the same thing. It is the expert 'developer/hypnotist' who can bring out the hidden details.

Sallyanne came so close, but she is right in that the exterior/sky wasn't in balance. Issabella met all of the criteria, in my opinion. Perfect balance of exposure/color/saturation/shadow-highlight, etc. Not every aspect can have all of the detail in sharp relief, or you lose the depth of field. Like the paved footpath at the entrance. Not every tile is outlined, which is fine, given the distance from the photographer. As we saw in iarga's(?) version, the detail is there. It just doesn't need to be to make a well balanced image.

Awesome Issabella.

steven8,
I am agreeing with you again - Issabella is the star of the show!!!

On my version I left the interior somewhat darker to try and create the contrast of the hot outside with the cool interior, I perhaps overdid it slightly.
At the entrance are not tiles, they are wooden boards, originally varnished in two shades - now wearing thin.

But, after all this discussion, my frappe (iced coffee) on the table on the left is getting warm!

david.

Ahhhhh!!!!! You all are so kind, but are you sure my result is good? I'm happy for that but I didn't know it could be nice for you experts. I remember that firstly I corrected applying stretch, bright and contrast, enhanced it by unsharp mask, much playing by intuition.
I don't know much about masks yet, but I'll try to learn about it so that I can feel confident with them.

David, I tried it on the pretty red flower picture. I see it so nice as it is, but I played with GMIC and applied Graphic Boost and here it is the result.

I leave two photos so that you all can play.

Issabella,

Your version of the red flower is very like mine, but I reduced the saturation and lightness on the background.

Now my try at your latest photographs. The picture of the swallows is very difficult!
I am sure someone will find a good solution.

david.

A little joke.

What's the thing in the bottom right corner?

(edit: with joke I mean the sharp background in stead of a out of focus background, not my question about the corner. I now see it can be misinterpreted. That kind of things happen a lot with me, also in my own language. I apologize.)

Thank you David. You help me to know a little more about treating photos.
iarga, nice result. Please, What does transmogrified mean?
I did this on the one with swallows.

Definition of transmogrify: "to change or alter greatly and often with grotesque or humorous effect"

see: Merriam-Webster dictionary

I learned this word from "Calvin and Hobbes".

Issabella,

An excellent and innovative idea for the bird photograph!
I am glad you asked for the definition of transmogrified - English is my first language, but I would not have been sure of the precise definition!

If I can find the time, during the next few weeks, I will try to write something about the way I use luminosity masks to fix difficult photographs. I am sure others may be able to do it more effectively than me, but it may prove helpful.

Pat David has written an excellent tutorial for their use to add "punch" to the mid-tones of a picture.

david.

Issabella, is it a flower of an aquatic plant? because the "thing" in the bottom right corner looks like a fish. But maybe it is my imagination or wrong deconvolution.

This crop is made with GIMP and Refocus:

Thank you so much David and iarga, you are great and helpful.
I'll love you David could write your treatment with masks, as you do it normally. I think that I'll understand you more than reading any tut. but when you have enough time for that.
iarga, the flower isn't an aquatic flower, I think that it's any plant around of the poppy with plenty of pollen. Thanks for your definition of transmogrified.

Issabella, thanks for answer. That's the fun with some photo "enhancements". Sometimes you get things there are not. One time I did "enhance" a "reflection" in a window. But when I looked to the original physical image, I saw this "reflection" was composed out of multiple scratches. This time, with your picture it seems to be my imagination running wild again.