It is Christmas! So you get another PlayRaw from me on the same day! This is the sister PlayRaw to [PlayRaw] The Unpopular Entrance. Turns out the beautiful streetcar that I boarded was going in the opposite direction that I ought to be going, but I did say that I wanted to
and I loved almost all of it.
(A lovely lady sat across from me, but I don’t take intimate portraits like @beachbum, so I focused on the rolling cityscape, with occasional glances at the reflection. )
The ride began to become less enjoyable as I started to debate whether I should get off before I end up on the other side of the downtown core. I boarded from a loop after all. I decided to stay on.
There was an announcement telling all passengers that there was a crash ahead and that the streetcar would not go any farther. Guessing that I was probably close to the terminal station at that point, I decided to walk the rest of the way instead of waiting for another streetcar to go back to the Toronto Christmas Market. It was long, cold and dark. Fortunately, I was able to distract myself somewhat by peering through the shop windows and waving at the dogs that walked by. I entered a balsamic vinegar boutique shop but didn’t taste anything.
Then I came upon a mural on a side street that I liked. Showing the streetcar that I was just riding on (well, an older model) and unceremoniously told to leave. It was pretty dark at this point. I shall give you the original shot and a boosted one in case you would like to do some wizardry. Sorry they aren’t aligned and suffer from camera shake, but that is a part of the challenge, right?
Can’t wait to see what you decide to do with the both of them!
I didn’t tell you the reason why I liked this mural. The thing that caught my eye was not only its relevance to my experience but also the lines of the brick and masonry vs the perspective of the mural. Moreover, there is the texture (edit: dirt and rust too) of the wall, and the aperture, frame and light (edit: reflection too) from the windows; and then the wires, posts, signs and fence. The side street was narrow, so I had my back against the wall of the bank building opposite, actually in the cavity of a window behind another fence, which I had to bypass.
Here is my take of the darker image. Used it because the woman’s dress was cut off in the brighter one. Didn’t want to do any stacking magic as I suggested in the op. Wasn’t completely satisfied with this take because of the noise (well, it isn’t that bad; you be the judge). Might go back to deal with that someday.
1.PhotoFlow → HL mode (none) → lens corrections → AMaZE → linear Rec2020 (no clipping) → 32f
Sorry that you’ve been hearing only crickets, @afre.
Herewith my somewhat simplistic attemp with darktable.
After being unpleased with my “conventional” (boring) attempts to render a realistic natural appearance, I sought to eliminate the lines between the bricks on the tram as much as possible, and - apart from the roof, had some success._MG_1078.CR2.xmp (17.7 KB)
I like it: dreamy and awash. Makes me want to rub my eyes with the backs of my hands. I can tell you that I was in no such state during my walk. It was already dark when I took the photos.
The crop is a little too tight for my tastes. You have the main characters; however, I would have liked it if you included the prospective passengers as well. The rest I like; just more would be nice.
, so I focused on the rolling cityscape, with occasional glances at the reflection. 
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by @afre.
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