Lightroom saga of the day: those sliders labeled, "white" and "black" . . . poof, they're gone. Where did they go? How do I get them back? Did they go up in this flame?
This one is nearly SOOC: cropped, straightened, a little contrast, some black.
Rumor has it that if I ever learn Photoshop, there's this magical feature called "content aware fill" that would fill in that white spot in the center. On the other hand, I rather like how very hot it makes the heat feel so I think I'll just keep it. Whew, put off learning Photoshop for another day.
Mine is a super-zoom because there was a red line of lettering that showed up on one whole side of the photo. It was the writing on the plastic bag I had covering my camera in the rain! Taffy's shows a beautifully composed wide-frame, showing the context: http://365project.org/taffy/365/2016-09-22
Your narrative made me laugh. This is a great image. I think the white is okay...but what do I know...I didn't know what you described was even possible!
Just tagged you as well. Lots to catch up on here.