I was the first to awake. I peeked out the porthole and saw it was snowing. What the heck, I donned my bathrobe, put on some shoes, and went out on deck to shoot a few photos (OK, I also grabbed a mug of coffee). Except for the birds, it seemed as if I had the ship and all of Svalbard's Hinlopen Strait to myself. The way it should be when you're walking around in your bathrobe.
Thank you for your help, Jim. You are a good and patient teacher. I am a reluctant post-processor but agree this shot benefitted from some touch-up (easiest to see by having photos in two tabs and switching between them). I had the idea of using something from that morning when I learned the theme of the latest challenge and admit I simply grabbed and posted it.
One thing I wanted to preserve was the falling snow. The flakes were very small, almost the "needle" variety. Anything I did with my limited resources (still no Lightroom or Photoshop) seemed to make the snow less noticeable. While I like the birds at lower left (they seem to provide some needed balance), I do wish they were two whole birds rather than 1½.
I tried a fix on my own that I have also posted in Pending and will compare it with what you achieved with your greater experience and resources. Please feel free to share your opinions about it.
Dave, see what I mean in Pending. Just a simple edit of increasing the contrast and increasing the white point (in Lightroom); similar to adjusting levels in Photoshop. I also cloned out the birds on the far left.
Dave, when I compare this shot to your other one, this one needs a bit more exposure adjustment, and perhaps a white balance adjustment. I like the capture.