Did I overdo it?

[FowlersFreeTime]

Going through my old photos as I watch more videos on ON1 editing and I decided to see what I could do with this:

• ILCE-6400
• E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
• 18.0 mm
• ƒ/4
• 1/250 sec
• ISO 125

The picture above is a jpg straight out of camera.

It was a rainy day in Hakone, with a decent view of a torii gate, but a low fog on a rainy day made for less than stellar lighting or background. That's my only excuse for the quality of the original image.

Short of sky-swapping, this is what I did with global and local adjustments, slight straighten & minor crop, then denoising thrown in for the heck of it:

• Sony E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
• 18.0 mm
• ƒ/4
• 1/250 sec
• ISO 125

So does the red gate "pop" like I wanted, or does it just look over-saturated?
I also tried raising the shadows, but didn't like the results, so I abandoned that.

 

[Slug]

Not at all, if anything I would go one step further and monochrome everything else except the red and make a real color splash out of it..

 

[spudhead]

for sure re-edit is better Chris

 

[PixelDoc]

With respect to composition, I think the scene would be significantly improved by erasing the few straggly branches located on the top-right and along the right edge. This would clean up the borders and thus emphasize the main subject.
The bush in the bottom left could also be erased for further clean-up, but this action requires more work than it might be worth.

Finally, I'd select the orange color on the gate and brighten it up a tad; as is, it looks rather muddy.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Definitely better, not overdone. I'd even like to see the red a bit brighter. Not more saturated, just brighter.

• Sony E 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 OSS
• 18.0 mm
• ƒ/4
• 1/250 sec
• ISO 125

Going back to the image every time is more practice, so good prompt. I realize I need to learn how to refine the mask a bit more because even though I masked based on the red color of the gate, when I made my local adjustment to exposure, it affected the hills behind as well.

 

[alexpler]

The 2nd edit is the best IMHO. The torii gate stands out while keeping the gloomy atmosphere. The 3rd edit loses that ambience. If you could remove the branches on top and right side, it would be perfect.

 

[GT12]

For mine, I agree the branches on the RHS (maybe also the left) are a distraction. Prefer the second edit as the third looks a bit artificial to me with such bright paintwork on the gate. With the gloomy background, I feel that the gate should follow the same sort of light to a fair degree. Good on you for going back to old shots.

 

[Clix Pix]

One of the first things I ask myself when I'm staring at an image that I shot: "what is the subject? What attracted me to shoot this scene? How can I improve it or is it fine just as-is?" I tend to try to keep things relatively simple and uncluttered. I agree with the suggestions to remove the branches -- imho they are definitely a visual distraction from what I think your main idea was (the red gate framing the scene across the water?). And, yes, that misty, grey atmosphere makes for a wonderful contrast to the red gate, so definitely worth retaining.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

One of the first things I ask myself when I'm staring at an image that I shot: "what is the subject? What attracted me to shoot this scene? How can I improve it or is it fine just as-is?" I tend to try to keep things relatively simple and uncluttered. I agree with the suggestions to remove the branches -- imho they are definitely a visual distraction from what I think your main idea was (the red gate framing the scene across the water?). And, yes, that misty, grey atmosphere makes for a wonderful contrast to the red gate, so definitely worth retaining.

I took this back when I was very green to photography, and if you had asked me what the "subject" was at the time, I think I'd have vaguely waved my hand at the gate and floundered. In reality, there was a long line of tourists and a long wait to get a chance at briefly photographing the gate, or taking selfies under it (even in the freezing November rain!). So the composition wasn't very well thought out, other than trying to get the gate centered and level.

I'll try to remove the branches as suggested by many here.
Thanks!