Wikipedia:Picture peer review/Waldenburg, Germany 1945

Waldenburg, Germany 1945

Original caption (U.S.): "Infantrymen of the 255th Infantry Regiment move down a street in Waldenburg to hunt out the Hun after a recent raid by 63rd Division". April 16, 1945

An example of wartime destruction during World War II. Soldiers file through a smoke-filled street past the abandoned hulls of destroyed buildings. The lines lead the viewer's eye along the street to the church - only structure in the scene that has survived. Extreme dark tones and blown whites work for me this time, perhaps because of that composition.

Nominated by

Durova^Charge! 05:40, 16 January 2008 (UTC)

Comments

• Very promising, got me off my laurels and searching for a better version. Not for the tonal problem (which I have to say would raise a lot of opposition on FPC) but the original had already been very carelessly edited, leaving huge chunks of cloned "echoes" all over the place. this is the original, so far as I can see, with the bleached out sky intact. If you want to re-do the cleaning.. if not, I'll probably have some time over the weekend. I think its worth it, the sense of devastation is almost tangible. That shop sign hanging wistfully, the two soldiers looking surprised to find a cat wandering about. It's a wonderful photo. --mikaul^talk 23:57, 16 January 2008 (UTC)
  • Wow, much better source image! Yes, I'll work on this as soon (heading out for a bit now). You're right about the sign and the cat. I also find it interesting that the soldiers are almost indistinguishable. You might just make out their nationality from the shapes of the helmet, but other than that the scene is almost completely dehumanized: an essay on destruction made all the more forlorn by its few traces of normality. Durova^Charge! 00:07, 17 January 2008 (UTC)
    • Have a look at this version before you tackle the cleanup. I just noticed it was half the size of the Waldenburgapl1945a.jpg one, possibly due to the latter being upsampled, but it's more likely a different scan. The print original is the same, but the crop is different on the new source (a bit of church spire missing) and there seems to be a little more linear noise. The real difference is the lack of any manipulation at all, and I think this makes it favourite. I've only corrected it for contrast, as it was really poor, tweaked the tonal balance her & there and pulled out pretty much all the detail tht was hidden in that murky gray. Have a look and decide for yourself which you'd rather clean up, I really must get some work done! --mikaul^talk 10:44, 17 January 2008 (UTC)

I'll go with this version.

Thanks very much for the links. The first link appears to be the least manipulated version - I'm guessing that because its histogram is off and the obvious correction leads to the blown whites in the sky. It's also the least lossy. So I've left the levels alone, cleared the streaks and other artifacts. Interesting what different decisions people reach about how to work on the same image. You're right about murkiness - yet in a smoke filled scene murkiness is inevitable and probably right. Let's see what other Wikipedians decide. Durova^Charge! 04:12, 18 January 2008 (UTC) (nominated for FPC)

It's OK to have the # in the lower right? BrokenSphere^{Msg me} 04:25, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

I'd remove it for FPC, although personally I don't think they're a problem in general. The less manipulation the better. Speaking of which, I just realised I uploaded the wrong file yesterday :o/ --mikaul^talk 07:59, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

There were a couple of stains left, so I've taken those and the number out and will upload the edit as an FPC alt based on the one I should have uploaded before. More haste, less speed.. --mikaul^talk 10:01, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Thank you. Durova^Charge! 10:03, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Seconder

Nominated at FPC as Waldenburg, Germany 1945 by Durova on 18 Jan, 2008. --jjron (talk) 07:58, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

Actually this section can be archived; It's featured now. Durova^Charge! 03:13, 26 January 2008 (UTC)