Post Processing or In the Camera?

One of the things I've been struggling with over the years is how much post-processing I want to do with my digital photos.  I started learning in a darkroom and the alterations that are made there are usually just seen as "printing" and a more natural evolution of the image.  With digital photos, I'm torn between knowing how much is a "tweak" and how much is serious post processing, moving into the realm of digital art and further from "true" photography?  In considering a subscription with Adobe's Creative Cloud to have access to tools to remove power lines, add a little pop with some saturation, maybe cover up some sidewalk in the corner...I have to question myself; is it still photography or has it become something else?

Currently, I work with many individuals who are digital artists, where all art is created on the screen or heavily manipulated to create effects that would otherwise be impossible to achieve. I find myself wondering if I were to dive into this to clean up my photographs for presentation, at what point does it become "digital art" instead of photography?

One of the websites in which I have been an on-again, off-again active member of is Worth1000. This website has contests that I have used to assist in my inspiration and habits of getting out there to take more photos.  They have a few sections, one for photography and one for photo effects.  There are strict guidelines as to what is permissible as far as digital edits are acceptable in the Photography section.  I have tried to also adhere to these guidelines in my own processing, but I'm wondering if that is somewhat limiting to myself.  I look at the work of other photographers and see that there is much bending to the original capture.  What is the modern-day value to the original capture?

Perhaps it is a by-product of using digital cameras.  The ability to take a lot of pictures quickly as well as the ability to crop, rotate, enhance in the post-processing stage has severely detracted from the painstaking step of composition at the time of capture. Hardly anyone who grew up with access to a digital camera knows what the value of a stand alone light meter or probably hasn't heard of the Zone System.  Are these completely outdated? And to bring up a thoroughly debated question: With all of these digital steps, can photography be considered a fine art?

Left: Image capture      Right: Post-processing enhancements

Subject matters

I know I suffer from being kind of focused on a few specific subject types that I photograph. Most of the files on my hard drive are of landscapes,  cars, and nature, in no particular order. I dont like falling in ruts with anything I do, but it seems that photography subjects seem to catch my eye more frequently with those categories.  Not that having a certain category that one works well with is a bad thing, but as an individual I enjoy being well rounded. Thoughts?

Happy Thanksgiving

Have an enjoyable time with friends and family today. Be sure to capture the memories,  but dont be too busy not to enjoy them yourself!

When its right, you just know...

Every so often you just get that one shot that makes you sot back in your chair and.... ahhhhhh.... you perk a smile and just have to admire that all the pieces of composition and lighting and backround, they just worked....

Mother nature - my temperamental lighting director

Taking outdoor pictures can be fun. It can also be frustrating.  Every time I take my camera out and click off any number of new pictures, I learn something new about how mother nature can either help me, or frustrate me. Tonight, she seemed to be on my side.

More fall wonderment

As the fall season continues on here in Wisconsin, I'm continually reminded that the opportunities for really breathtaking photos are truly everywhere this time of year. I try keep my camera handy and at the ready as I drive around, lens on and ready.
I just need to remember to give myself that little extra time getting places so I can take in all this splendor.

The mobile age....

With the dawn of mobile phones and internet, the camera phone became popular.  And now we have an app called instagram. I enjoy a quick edit using the filters on there, but I always tweak more than the out of the box settings.
Now compare that to taking a picture in the raw, opening it in an editing program such as lightroom or photoshop, and taking the time to refine the picture as a whole, not changing the integrity of the original, just touching it up a bit.
Is instagram taking away from the purity of editing a photo, or is it making newer enthusiasts excited about being able to personalize the look of an image?