There's a certain brightness about this image.
It's levels are perfect; it's curves are seductive.

The exposure, the one thing the camera has complete control over,
is the work of a master.

Yet the vibrance is horrible.
It's color balance is leaning towards red,
it's green channel is completely missing,
and the blue...black.

It abuses the threshold of beauty.

I've tried variations of the theme,
matching the color,
replacing the color,

and yet this image,
that looks so perfect in the dialog boxes,
is brutally ruined
by the mis-mixed blacks and blues.