-I have created 2 layers with the same image, darkening one of the layers so that the background is darker...
-I have then used a layer mask to hide the lighter area
-and then allowed the lighter layer to show through in selected areas.
-I have also then run a noise reduction on the end image
-and added a little sharpness (lost through the noise reduction).
I used the canon RAW software to edit the jpeg... balanced the histogram, increased the brightness and contrast and the saturation and then ran a noise reduction on it as well.
I have toned the brightness down a touch and increased the contrast slightly. Then I have run an unsharp mask on the picture to just bring the sharpness back into your picture. Once you have resized any picture, (up or down) you need to run an unsharp mask (USM) on it to pull the details back.
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