hi osman,
there seems to be a huge prejudice against postprocessling, yet many famous photos are crops: lange's migrant woman, hcb's puddle jumper, kertesz's photo of his wife's face with his hand on her shoulder. and all the great view camera people have dodged and burned like crazy: weston, adams, and so on.
i've made no secret of playing with these plugins
http://www.niksoftware.com/colorefexpro/usa/entry.php?
i've tried hundreds of plugins (literally) and this set the one i use almost exclusively these days, along with neat image and focus magic.
Hi Wayne,
I completely agree with you on the subject of post-processing, maybe for slightly different reasons. I think the photographer has every right to utilize whatever technique he can to achieve the results he has in mind. I never shun any attempt, saying that the image was heavily manipulated, though I retouch my images only slightly.
My personal perspective is this: After recovering from a very advanced case of cataract in both eyes, I went literally to tears upon rediscovering the beauty of things; the color, the texture, play of light on things, the majesty of nature and man-made wonders. Being a very latecomer in photography, I only had a beginner's insight to taking photographs. I was very fortunate to have Seyhun, my very good friend and a very knowledged photographer to help me limp along on this bumpy road. But still a long way to go...
So, in comes the magical world of post-processing. Only then I can come close to producing images of the things I see with my new eyes, because my raw files leave a lot to be desired. (Learning became a steeper climb for me in my fifties). I think; "If I can really capture the beauty of the Topkapi Palace as I SEE IT, I shall be able to share my amazement with others through my photographs".
I know this message has become painfully long, so I'll end with sincere thanks to you and Shooter for taking an interest in my photographs and providing me valued insight. I downloaded the demo version from Nik Software and shall give it a try today.
Best,
Osman
P.S.: Thanks for your kind words about my city. You'd find it changed considerably during the past forty years.