Mars from Above

I follow a blog that sends out B&W images from the HiRISE Camera (link shows original image) on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. Every now and then a really interesting one shows up with lots of detail and depth like in the image above that shows Recurring Slope Lineae (dark markings on steep slopes). The image needed to be sharpened so Topaz’s (see sidebar for website link) new Sharpen AI was used. Then several adjustments layers were added: Channel Mixer set to Hard Mix blend mode at 36% opacity and 6% Fill, Gradient Map set to Vivid Light at 36% opacity, another Gradient Map set to Overlay, Hue/Saturation where the Greens were adjusted, and Curves set to Darken. Several Spotlight Effect layers in different colors were used to further direct attention to certain areas. Nik Viveza 2 was used to even out the tones and sharpen the focal points, and the font is called Abraham Lincoln. This was a lot of fun to do and it is hard to believe the image is from Mars!…..Digital Lady Syd