No worries, it's not like being a purist is the only right way of doing it, I just prefer the challenge of having to get it right the first time. I guess it is also a philosophical view point on what images are about and what makes for an authentic image. I tend to go the way of really tweaking the hell out of images if I'm going to manipulate them.

Pretty much exactly the same :)

That is not to say I don't CLEAN UP the image with CS5 raw editor. I.e. Noise reduction etc. That, to me, is common sense and compensating for the flaws in technology.

Cool images in this thread, well done.

@Hedwards : I like your "Maple in yellow on green", but why so small ?

Mostly because 3072x2048 is too large and I wanted something that would fit on screen comfortably when fully enlarged. I don't see much need in making folks download a larger image than they can properly display, I probably should reconsider, although, making it much larger wouldn't make too much sense as even my large monitor is only 1200 pixels high.

I probably could just edit it as I think that one has a larger version stored for prints.

Plus, I personally find it annoying to have to sit around waiting for things to download more bytes that are really necessary. Probably moot now that I think about it.
I let Qimage do it's default and I'll typically leave it at that, however as far as I'm concerned RAW conversion is perfectly legitimate in terms of cleaning up an image and I often times do some amount of adjusting, most often for white balance.

That's for photos that I'm passing off as real, when I manipulate them, I really manipulate them to the extent that there's no question about the authenticity.

But, more than that I just find that being a purist is probably the best way of mastering the equipment. I'm getting to the point lately where even my new lens is like a part of my body. When I have the money I'd like to get a 180mm macro lens, but more likely I'll go with a close up adapter as I'm not likely to lose too much light like that.

Probably my next series is going to revolve around humming birds, which should represent quite a bit of work on my part.

Another HDR attempt. I really don't like that bright highlight around the pick-up, but if I get rid of it, I don't get the colors and shadows that I want. I'll figure this out... someday.

On the other hand, I have the sun right where I wanted.

You have some of the best old vehicles up there, I really look forward to the shots you're posting . . . =)

Looks like there is an overlapping selection feather between the different exposures. Maybe look for a way to decrease the feather?? Nice shot !!

Update FYI, loaned a friend my little digital camera and it was dropped, lens now sits at about a 10 degree angle to the body . . . =(

Yes, something like that. I'll look into that direction but I don't know if Photomatix manages the feathered edges very well. That's one of the reason I haven't purchased the software yet. I'll start using Luminance HDR from now on, which seems to be more complex.

Ouch... Sorry to hear that. Is the body damaged as well or is it just the lens ?

Both, I need to get a new DSLR anyway, right ??

Well, you could give it a little PS work . . . =)

Edit: This Luminance HDR program sounds promising . . .

I personally use this one when I do HDR, it's typically pretty convenient in terms of workflow and I don't generally need to use anything else.

I am going to seriously look into the HDR programs. I've never really gave them much thought until Cambrey started posting images he had created with the programs so . . I credit him for getting me interested in HDR as another tool. I found the detail in the different exposure areas to be outstanding and much better than anything I could get with PS in the same areas of a single exposure image.

I must admit to using Cambrey's photos for experimentation . . . hopefully he will forgive me. It's hard for me to see an image with out trying different methods on it. I tweaked on the truck image to see how hard it would be to get rid of the feathered sky. He has the most unusual vehicles up there . . . =)

I've found HDR to be mostly useful for boosting the saturation without making it too garish, IIRC later versions of Photoshop even include the functionality.

And while you're test driving software you might want to take a look at QImage Ultimate which apparently now has HDR capabilities as well.

Thanks, good info, I will take a look at QImage Ultimate as well. lol, I have access to CS5, have CS3 but work almost exclusively in PS 7.01 . . . I've got to pay more attention on those occasions that I open the newer versions . . . =)

No problem at all. :) Your editing is amazing.

Thanks, I just move the pixels around a little . . . = )

I'll try to resist the urge in the future but . . . you find such awesome old vehicles to photograph. Somebody really loves that old truck or it would have been scrap metal long ago. Really unique image that says allot.

I only deleted the sky with the ( **shudder** ) "magic wand" tool, added a gradient behind the dupe truck layer using the blue at the top and the gray at the tree line, added a transparent layer with yellow / white feathered sun and popped a cloud in just to see if it filled in the blank area or not. Used a High Res cloud brush for that which I got from www.obsidiandawn.com. So . . . I only added the sky to this rare truck image.

Keep up the good work, you have a real talent !!