Thanks. I spent a lot of time getting it just the way I wanted. I wanted the main focus to be the workings of the instrument, so the adjustments I made, although generally applied equally to the picture, were designed to keep the instrument relatively unaffected. This I hoped would draw the eye to the instrument. The composition was also designed to draw attention to the instrument. That the instrument is angled and the player is orthogonal to the frame is not an accident. That, too, was designed to make the player become more decoration than subject, directing attention again to the instrument.
One thing I really wanted to do was to simplify the tones in the background, or what I was making into a background. The cutout filter wasn't my first choice, but I settled on it because I like the results. I tweaked the settings to keep the subject recognizable enough, and give enough detail in the player so that it looks like he's almost looking at the instrument. This further directs the eyes to the intended focus point.
Throughout all this, I wanted to keep the brass color of the instrument pretty true.
-- Victor