A technique Aveline showed me.
My resolution and settings aren't actually all that high, this is what I did in photoshop:
Duplicate the picture in two layers. Set the top layer to overlay.
Desaturate (Make B&W) the bottom layer, based on luminosity.
Apply a Gausian blur to the bottom layer. Will vary depending on the resolution of your pics, anywhere from 2-7
Now crank up the brightness and contrast on the top layer, adjusting until it looks right.
And feel free to add a few effects in like lens flare, to get something like this:
Original
Final
My resolution and settings aren't actually all that high, this is what I did in photoshop:
Duplicate the picture in two layers. Set the top layer to overlay.
Desaturate (Make B&W) the bottom layer, based on luminosity.
Apply a Gausian blur to the bottom layer. Will vary depending on the resolution of your pics, anywhere from 2-7
Now crank up the brightness and contrast on the top layer, adjusting until it looks right.
And feel free to add a few effects in like lens flare, to get something like this:
Original
Final