Simon writes
“I‘m a retail manager in Bath and a part-time photographer when time allows me. My website is www.startphotography.co.uk. In this picture I wanted to see if it was possible to get the whole of the Circus in the shot and capture the bare tree autumn mood. The camera was lying in the centre of the Circus and set on a self-timer so that I could avoid a self-portrait!”

 
Martin says
Fisheye lens shots can be something of a gimmick and you don’t see too many of them. This one works well because Simon chose to shoot at the well-known Circus in Bath, which is a great match – the combination of the circular layout of the buildings combined with a fisheye lens perspective.

It is a well-conceived photo that is only let down by the optical quality of the lens. It is probable that the bright overcast sky is responsible for some of the lens flare seen here.

I made a circular marquee selection to match the shape of the image circle (right) inverted the selection, feathered it to soften the edge and applied a darkening curves adjustment. I then reloaded the selection, made the circle slightly smaller, inverted and feathered again and applied a blue channel curves adjustment to remove some of the blue cast. This all helped improve the outer edges and reduced some of the lens flare, too.