For your viewing pleasure

All those programs were a gift to myself during the quarantine last year to keep from going nuts. 🤣😂😂

It's a beautiful shot, I didn't understand a word after "testament" ...

It's a great program but also takes great care. You used it perfectly on this image. A little of its sharpening can go a long way--it can either rescue an image or detract from it. I am a big believer in post-processing--not to change the image overall but rather to correct for digital camera flaws (some can tend to lean toward too much cyan) and to repair misjudgments like exposure and so on. Your butterfly is beautiful!

Topaz software is a great tool if used properly. I look at it as a way to make a crop sensor look like a full frame sensor, and as a way to make a 200mm lens look like a 600mm lens. I've been able to change the way I shoot because of it. For example, I can take my older, less expensive gear if I'm going someplace sketchy and don't feel comfortable carrying my newer stuff. I know I can clean the images in post and no one will be able to tell the difference.

Somehow the name "photoshop" has become a dirty word, no doubt due to people abusing its capabilities over the years. People often ask us "did you photoshop this," as if that's a bad thing. I try to explain to them that we don't have darkrooms anymore, and pictures still need to be processed. The images that come out of the camera are crap, IMHO. We've been shooting digital for about two decades now, and we've forgotten how beautiful Kodachrome and Ektachrome were, straight out of the camera. People have been looking at these crappy .jpegs on the back of their camera for so long that they think they're OK. They're not.

This is my favorite rant. I met my wife thirty eight years ago in her family's custom B&W Photolab. Her mother was one of the finest B&W printers in L.A. I have no doubt that she would be a Photoshop aficionado if she were alive today.

While I think that any photographer's photo, even an unedited one straight out of the camera, has value as a record of what was seen, i also agree that images benefit greatly from some editing here and there. Editing programs are available everywhere, and some even free when done online (and online editing sites are surprisingly capable!), so a photographer might do well to explore options to enhance their photos.

That said (and apologies for basically hijacking this thread with this post...), my creative side loves to play with editing when I get a hankering to. I end up with stuff like this:



Sometimes it's just fun. Or maybe I have too much time on my hands.

That's a great image. I should do more stuff like that.

I'm kicking myself because I only started shooting RAW about four years ago. We drove to Alaska in 2016 and I shot the whole trip in .jpg. Aaaarrrggghhhh 😤😠😡😫😩

The best one? Sorry you shot in .jpg--but they can be edited and you have the software for it.

I've been shooting with a Canon EOS R5 since last August. I have an RF 24-105Lmm, a Sigma 150-600mm Contemporary and a Samyang 14mm. My backup is my EOS 6Dmii which my wife now uses. I also have two crop sensor cameras. I'm hoping to get an RF 100-500mm this year.

I strongly considered switching to Sony. I rented the A7r4 to try it out before I bought the R5. I'm glad I stuck with Canon.

How about you?

I had two Sony models, I forget which ones (Alpha?), they were top of the line at the time. I loved them. But I ultimately moved to Nikon. I now use a Nikon D610 and my nature lens has been an 80-400mm zoom. I just bought a 200-500mm zoom and have yet to give it a good tryout. I can't imagine a 600mm one! My 500mm is REALLY heavy, I think I need to work with some weights to build up my forearm strength (I'm 70)... Aside from playing with shots of moving water, I shoot all handheld. I have a large selection of lenses, macro, a great wide angle, some others. I like Sigma lenses but other than browsing those now and then, I stick with Nikkor.

My dad was a photographer (not quite professional) and my brother currently owns a camera shop/photo lab. Kind of runs in the family I guess!

I seriously considered changing teams when the D850 came out, but I just couldn't afford it at the time. Canon was way behind for a while, but they're catching up in a big way now.

The 600mm focal length comes in very handy, but I actually take most of my action shots at 300-400mm. A bird in flight is really hard to find and follow at 600mm. I only use a tripod if I absolutely have to, mostly for astro or water.

I started out as a photographer in the sixties, but used my still portfolio to get into film school. I directed TV for thirty five years, which is like being a photographer using four cameras at once while a million people are watching you! LOL! 😂😂🤣 I met my wife in her family's professional B&W photolab. It runs in our family too.

I turn 70 next month.