UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who contributed an edit this time. Once again, very interesting versions! NO MORE SUBMISSIONS PLEASE. Watch for the next Raw Challenge at PhotoGP

If you’re not sure what’s going on here, you might take a look at the previous PhotoGP Raw Challenges.

Above is an unedited raw file from Silverstone, 2013. As you can see, this image shows the chair Marc Marquez sat in last year while on his side of the Repsol Honda box. Not a very engaging image as is, so let’s see how we can make it more interesting.

You can click on the image above to see it larger, and as before, I have left off the watermark because I am releasing this one into the wild.

As last time, this image is too dark. Someone in Repsol Honda Team colors has just walked into the frame on the right side. There’s some junk in the lower left corner. Perhaps that reflection on the Repsol logo is distracting.

But more importantly from my view is this question: What is this an image of besides a chair? Why would someone find it interesting to look at? How can we edit it to create some drama?

I have already edited this file according to my own tastes for how to improve it. But before I show that result, I’d like to give you the chance to take a crack at it.

I have posted the original raw file for download by anyone who wants to play along. To download the raw file, click here. WARNING: this file is 21MB.

You will need a raw image file editor, I use Adobe Lightroom. If you don’t have the ability to edit a raw file, you can still play along with any app that can edit a JPG file. The hi-res JPG file can be downloaded here.

So if you want to share your version of this source image, download whichever file you can edit and get to work. Crop it, adjust contrast, brightness, saturation, shadows, highlights, white balance, add noise, remove noise, remove dust spots, do whatever you think the image needs to be as good as you can make it.

Instructions:

1. Download either the raw file or the jpg.

2. Make your edits and SAVE AS a jpg file, 728 pixels wide.

3. Use YOUR NAME as your file’s name. You are welcomed to include a text file with any remarks you’d like me to add when I post your edited file (OR you can put them in the Comments section of this post). Please name the text file similarly to the jpg so I know which goes with which.

4. Send your file to me via this link.

I will watch the folder for new items and add the to this post as quickly as I’m able. But please keep in mind that I am also doing other things, and there may be a delay between uploading your folder and your image showing up here.

On the final page of this post I’ll also include my version, but it may not be the one any of us likes the best! Maybe someone will make different decisions that result in a better image and I’ll learn something, too. That would be great! I’d love to see something that makes me say, Why didn’t I think of that?

Feel free to ask questions in the Comments below. (I ask you to register to comment in order to cut down on spam and trolls.)

If you want to try this and keep the results to yourself, that’s fine, too. But I hope we’ll see a variety of approaches to processing this single file to produce different results.

Last time we included the first 20 people who responded, but in fact quite a few more wanted to participate, having discovered the chance too late. So let’s allow this one to run over the weekend OR to the first 30 folks to respond, whichever happen sooner.

Have fun!

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Our first version is from Angelo Reyes:

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#2 in line is this one from Jensen Beeler:

More on the next page: