Okay, maybe just after. Because of the recent spate of oppressively hot weather, and numerous projects in the works to transform a motor home into a home, I haven’t been getting out with my camera as much as I would like. So, in my relentless quest to improve my craft, I’ve been learning new things about editing images.

Thankfully, I made the decision to shoot my images in raw format soon after I started taking photography seriously. This means that the raw data, exactly as the camera captured it, is saved and available to me so I can start from scratch when re-editing an image. Having the raw material to work with allows me to “cook” it properly, rather than try to redeem an image that I had inadvertently “overcooked” in the past.

Since most of my early learning in photography was concentrated on exposure, composition, depth of field, and other technical aspects of capturing images, much of the raw material I have is quite suitable for re-editing. It seems clear to me that taking my photography to the highest level possible involves both capturing of good images, and enhancing those images to convey a vision. Whether that vision is exactly what my eyes saw at the moment, or a vision in my mind of how the scene should appear really depends on the image. Usually, it’s a bit of both.

Looking back at some of these images, I realized that in my efforts to enhance them and convey my vision, I went too far. I’ve since learned that less is more and subtlety makes all the difference in photo editing. Whether it’s gently enhancing one color while leaving the rest alone, softly subduing the highlights without darkening the shadows, or selectively burning and dodging the way Ansel Adams once did in a darkroom, it’s really the small moves that make the biggest impact.

When contemplating this article, I had originally intended to show before and after of each of the images. However, when I looked at the before images, I was quite frankly a bit embarrassed by them. That’s when I made the decision to only post the “afters.” I do believe that some of the “befores” have been posted in earlier articles on this website, so those of you who really want to see them will just have to do some searching.

My goal has always been to share my unique vision through photography, with images that capture not only the actual sight, but some of the feeling of being there, or the emotion of witnessing a scene. Hopefully, as I continue accumulate knowledge and tools, I move closer to fulfilling that goal.