Post Processing - A Little Goes a Long Ways

Ansel Adams would have loved Photoshop...I'm sure of it...He also would have loved the computing power we have at our disposal today.  It was amazing what he accomplished in a darkroom.  Just image what he might have accomplished had he been exposed to the various photo enhancing capabilities we have today.

I always strive for and promote 'In the field photo technique'...there is no substitute for a correctly exposed image...(probably a habit from my film days).  Although no photo enhancing software can save a badly exposed or composed image, almost every digital image can benefit from a little bit tweaking.

Through trial and error I've developed a workflow that seems to work well for me.  About all I do is make minor adjustments to the levels (lights - darks - midtones), a bit of color correction/saturation, contrast, and sharpening...and not all images are treated the same.  The time it takes me to complete the process is in most cases is less than a minute and not more than two or three.

Today's photo editing software are marvels of computing power and open the windows to some incredible techniques if properly used.  My take on it is to keep it to a minimum and using the least amount of correction required to bring out the texture, flavor, color, and character of the moment.  I don't really have space to go into techniques and such in this blog...just wanted to touch on the subject

How you approach post processing depends a great deal on what format the image was taken...RAW or JPEG.  Don't expect a long description of both because I couldn't do it justice anyway...but JPEG is a type of compression algorithm that reduces the size of the stored image...then re-expands it when opened.  RAW simply stated captures and stores more information allowing for more extended post processing.

What's the difference?  Well...there's actually a lot of difference if you start looking closeup and become a pixel peeper...but in reality, a well composed and exposed JPEG image will look just as good as an image taken in RAW format that has undergone extensive post processing.  JPEG images may not quite contain enough pixel information to blow the image up to large sizes where as RAW images will probably work better for those types of prints.  But...RAW images are harder to work with and require RAW converter software before you can do anything with them, plus they take up lot more storage space...(By the way, RAW images by themselves look like crap and require significant post processing to turn them into a finished picture).

I know some photographers who shoot strictly in RAW while others shoot only JPEG.  I do mostly JPEG but will from time to time shoot in RAW.

Anyway...don't think the image that comes out of your camera is in its final form...a little bit of tweaking goes a long ways.

A Trophy of the Heart

Something unexpected happened on that foggy September morning a few years ago.  For many years fishing from a canoe became a way of life for me.  I've probably paddled hundreds if not thousands of miles over the years and caught a lot of fish in the process.  When I first moved to Kentucky from Oklahoma, I left my trusted, and worn out old canoe behind.  It wasn't long before I replaced it with a brand new Old Town Camper...and she's a beaut and a delight to paddle.

I must admit it was difficult to leave my ancestral home where countless hunting and fishing adventures played out over the years.  Even so, I looked upon this rich new land of Kentucky with anticipation and soon began to scout for new opportunities.

For two seasons I randomly did a bit of hunting and found time to work in some fishing, but it just wasn't the same.  I guess I missed those week-long deer camps in the pine covered Kiamichi Mountians of Southeastern Oklahoma...and floating down the Baron Fork in Oklahoma's portion of the Ozarks, or those morning fishing trips to Old Beggs Lake...and not to forget those freezing mornings on some wild and crazy waterfowl hunting trip...but I suppose I missed my old hunting and fishing buddies most of all.

By Kentucky season three, I vowed to do more fishing to shake loose from the doldrums that had crept into my life.  Most of the hot and muggy summer came and went and I barely wet a line.  Then September arrived and with it a change in the weather as the first hints of Fall began to linger in the air.

With fresh aromas of autumn brewing, memories of days from by-gone years stirred me into action and I loaded my canoe on top of my now beginning to age Jeep, tossed fishing gear in the back, and headed out early one morning.  My destination was Shanty Hollow Lake, which is about a forty five minute drive from my home.  It's a beautiful little lake about 600 acres or so in size...ideally suited for canoe fishing...with clean water and isolated by steep heavily wooded hills.

As I drove toward my destination I passed through cave country hills and marveled at the ghost like valleys and small farms, and barns that filtered through the morning fog.  I arrived moments after official sunrise, but the sun would take another thirty minutes or so before it climbed over the tops of the surrounding hills..  A thick fog floated across the lake and filtering through the haze I could see the first vestiges of fall colors in the trees.  There was no wind at all...just a magnified sense of anticipation that wafted from lingering memories of similar mornings past.  Before I shoved off, I simply stood on the edge of the lake and surveyed the scene.  It felt good to once again experience one of life's small pleasures.  As I slid away from the bank, the sounds of the morning provided an uplifting, calming spirit.

I tossed a line here and there seeking out those hidden recesses where the big bass lie...but alas the fishing was slow.  It didn't matter.  I was drawn to the peacefulness that reigned over this time and place.  As I drifted through the fog, noble emotions I thought long since dormant began to rekindle into flame.

The morning played slowly away and while the final layers of the mist dissolved, I paused in the middle of the lake.  No wind had yet stirred the surface of the water...just the ripples from my canoe and paddle.  I gazed across the skyline of trees now accented against a blazing blue sky.  It was then I once again realized how good it was to experience life from the heart.

No matter where home may be called, by finding time to grasp those moments, in some small way I discovered that a part of Kentucky already existed within me.  Historically, I will always be a native of Oklahoma...but because of this morning...Kentucky truly became a part of me...and I became a part of Kentucky.

I returned home with a renewed spirit equipped with a trophy like no other...not one that can be displayed on a wall...but one much more rewarding...for you see, what I discovered during that rendezvous of time and place was something that stirred deep within.  It was a trophy won from the heart...a gift you might say from my new home...Kentucky.

Keith