Photoshop Can Make Even an Oil Rig Beautiful

A couple of days ago I needed a picture of an offshore oil rig to illustrate a post. I remembered that I had taken one recently, so I figured I’d just use my own photo. Here’s the original:

But then I decided to dick around a bit in Photoshop. Nothing fancy, just a few minutes of playing with various settings. Here’s the photoshopped version:

Amazing, isn’t it? I should note that I took this picture early in the morning, so the golden glow is legit. It just wasn’t very visible in the original, hazy shot.

Anyway, I guess this is why movie stars look so great on magazine covers. If an amateur like me can make an oil rig look good in three or four minutes, just imagine what a pro can do in several hours.

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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