Is this taking PP too far?

[xs400]

I've been playing around with some extreme post processing using PS Elements v7. Here are a couple of shots from last weekend after processing. Heck, these don't even look like photos anymore. Shots were taken down by the Port of San Francisco.
Originally taken with Pentax K100D + DA 18-45mm.
Comments are welcome.

 

[robertwsimpson]

the second one is cool!

 

[Goontz]

They look like sketches or drawings on paper; pretty neat. As far as being overkill, I suppose that's personal preference and what you want out of them. Again, pretty cool effect and I'm sure it was fun to play with

 

[GRODY]

i think so... it looks like your in highschool if you put the picture in photoshop and throw 3 filters on it.. thats just me though..

 

[SrBiscuit]

i agree with grody.
they look like those lame artistic filters.

they dont enhance the photos to me at all, so i'd rather look at the actual shots.

 

[PhotoXopher]

Too far?

I think it's an art, so it's really up to the artist what they want their creation to look like.

There's really no such thing as too little or too much, who can say but the person with the vision.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

When there is nothing recognizable as photography anymore then, yes, I believe it is too much PP. In your case, because I have seen that filter effect before, I know it started as a photograph.

But in this case (http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/general-gallery/174910-man-his-sack.html) when I first opened the thread I wondered why the OP was posting in a photo forum

There is no ONE truth. What can be too much for me may not be enough for someone else and vice versa. But as I said, for me, it needs to have something recognizable as photo somewhere in there.

 

[xs400]

Well, based on the replies, the effect of post processing on these two shots is something you either like, or your don't.

 

[KmH]

It's like the debate about past painting 'masters' using a camera obscura to produce their art. Vermeer is a classic example. His work was judged less than mediocre, till he befriends the guy that built the first practical microscopes, Anton Van Leeuwenhoek.

Many think Anton built Vermeer a camera obscura. Vermeer's work improved suddenly and dramatically and as it turned out Van Leeuwenhoek was the executor of Vermeer's estate, controlling the disposition of Vermeer's effects.

So, as to your question, "is this taking pp to far?" Only you can judge.

 

[skieur]

Whether it is carrying postprocessing too far, is really totally irrelevant. It is a "creation" , a "work", an "image". The important question is: "Is it sufficiently visually effective to stand on its own in quality, irrespective of how it was "created"?

skieur