PChop-on the right track?

[Proteus617]

Just a noob with the post processing. Any suggestions? I'm not happy with the soft focus in the original, 60% me and 40% my cheap zoom, a 50mm prime is next on the buy list. Scanned from a print on my cheap flatbed (last time I did that). Cropped, Levels to correct for exposure errors, Curves for contrast, micro sharpening via the unsharp mask technique I picked up in this thread, cloned out the artifacts. Before and after:

 

[batonrougeart]

I think it came out nice. I myself though, enjoy dark, gloomy, imagray. After you altered it, it now resembles a charcoal drawing.
I think I would like the first one better though, just a little darker, and make the shadows a little darker. Nice work.

 

[Fiendish Astronaut]

The second image is better as it has a higher range of greys. But I reckon you've gone too far on the Unsharpen Mask and possibly made the sink too dark to see the details - but then again it may look better on your moniter.

 

[Neuner]

I like your processed image better, but it leans to heavy on the contrast for my taste / or as Astro stated my monitor at work may be a contributor.

 

[LaFoto]

It feels like you went a bit overboard with the contrasts, you totally lose the one "leg" of the sink in the shadows, now there is only black, but maybe that is what you wanted? And it sure is too sharp now. I like gritty photos, and don't mind noise/grain awfully much, but here it is brought about by too sharp a photo (to my mind!), so maybe a little less of both.

The original, scanned as it was, sure NEEDS some pp-work, there is NO doubt about that!
But as much?
That is up to you, really, and what you want to achieve.