Fiddling, instead of working

I have just been playing with some basic, free photo enhancement software.  I am not always sure that using these products is for the best, especially in the hands of someone like myself.  I am relatively comfortable with the idea that photos, just like memories and all of us, just fade away.   That said, having seen some stellar enhancement efforts in recent times, I resolved to have a go at 'improving' some of the family's photo collection.

Around 1977-78 His Nibs invested in one of those cameras which spat out the result as soon as you pressed the shutter.  It was a great way to have your still-developing photos make an early entrance into the dusty atmosphere and even the dirt of whatever railway yard you were standing in.  

You don't need to see the 'before' shot, but here is the 'after'.  I could never work out what we were trying to photograph in this shot - the gantry crane or the station building.  The original was taken about 80 yards from the former, which really helps with the composition.

Even in the 1970s I can guarantee you that the sky was never that colour.  Still, it is an improvement on the original.

Next are a couple of shots of 4911 in May 1979 on a down wheatie.  I have cropped the photo and lightened the side of the loco/train.  Am now happier with the shot of the train, though it looks like the silo is about to ascend to heaven with Charlton Heston.

And now, back to work!

Cheers
Don