Bob, under the circumstances you mention where a stop or less of ND
adjustment is what is necessary to put that correct balance on the
picture, I'm with you that doing it in the computer makes more sense
than not. I'm with you on that and I bend those bits like there is no
tomorrow!
One of the things I really really liked about RawShooter was the
ability to yank the shadows and highlights during conversion like no
other program could. Even the latest Lightroom doesn't come close to
what that old RawShooter program could do. Da best of da best. The
closest I've found so far is SilkyPix!!!
That all said, let's deal with a specific example where I'm perfectly
content with lens-based filters. Sunset/sunrise skies. This is a
situation where I'm trying to keep the ground from going pitch black
while keeping the sky from blowing out. We have three options, which
CAN be mixed and matched:
1. On-lens Gradient Filter. This is one of those rough tools that get
you close, but further tweaking may be required. To use a cooking
parallel, this is like salting the food while cooking--it gets you
close, but people will still use salt and pepper for individual tastes
at the table.
2. Multishot HDR. Works great under many situations, but does require
extensive post-production time to perform. What takes a few seconds
with the camera now takes many minutes in front of the computer. This
method is great for archetechural photography, though! I do HDR once
in a while and have no fear of using it, but find that its usually
more bother than its worth.
3. Shadow/Highlight Recovery, curves adjustment and post-processing
tonal adjustment. This is the usual axe that I choose to wield. With
the E-1, I've got a few stops more latitude than the usual digital
bear, so I've gotten spoiled by that and exploit it heavily. Come to
think of it, I've gotten so spoiled that I have tremendous difficulty
doing my usual methods with other cameras. But if you have to make
wide swings in adjustment, this is like adding salt to food after it's
cooked--it takes a whole lot more than if it was added while cooking
and the flavor just isn't quite the same.
Doing darkroom work, I'm reminded that my tonal adjustment tend to be
a bit more heavy-handed than what most people do. I'm dodging and
burning, shucking and jiving my way through prints to the point where
sometimes there is little that resembles the original work print. Same
with digital manipulation, I can be pretty wicked with the curves.
OK, OK, I'm almost always pretty wicked with the curves. (Moose and
Schnozz--twins separated at birth). But a funny thing happened on the
way to the image dance, my Velvia shots using ND grads, polarizers and
light modifiers need almost no manipulation in the computer except to
correct for scanner deficiencies. The point is, that IT IS possible to
get things close to final in-camera without resorting to using the
post-process process as a requirement to "complete" the photograph.
Not always, but when the broad brush-strokes of a 1, 2, or 3-stop ND
GRAD filter can get the contrast of the scene in the neighborhood then
the tweaking in post is much more restrained. Just because we CAN
recover highlights or shadows in post doesn't necessarily mean that
it's the best solution when dealing with extremes.
> Different strokes for different folks in different situations with
> different wants, needs, etc., but as a rule when I'm in pretty-picture
> mode, I prefer ACR and CS4, and I must say my enthusiasms for learning
> the different things I can do approach your enthusiasms for that 3Ti.
Our choice in brand names of the cameras as software are different,
but the funny thing is that we ARE doing the same general thing to our
files. (your files tend to be more interesting than mine, though). I
too am quite enthusiastic about the digital post process and embrace
it wholeheartedly--especially for color. B&W, not so much, but that's
mostly because my own skills and my computer tools aren't up to the
task yet. Besides, I like breathing stop bath and fixer. I talk a good
game about being a recalcitrant, but when it comes right down to it,
I'm probably in front of the computer processing images as much as
anybody.
Besides, I'm not an exclusively enthusiastic about any one thing. One
day I'm Mr. 3Ti, the next day I'm Mr. L1. The next day, I'm Mr. iPad.
I just like so many things--it's all good.
AG
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