The Blackwater River in Canaan National Wildlife Refuge. The lichen-covered tree in the foreground is a black cherry, Prunus serotina.

I don’t usually talk about the technical here, but I want to make a point. First this image began as two camera raw frames from my little Sigma DP3 Merrill, each at a different focus. These were processed in Sigma Photo Pro to TIFF files. The TIFFs were imported and merged in Helicon Focus and output as a PSD file. I processed the PSD in Lightroom to apply some noise reduction, sharpening, softening, and tonal adjustments. Then I output to my standard size (22.5 x 15 inches at 360 ppi). Next into Photoshop for some final tweaking for localized color and tonal adjustments. Ready to make a print. I guess you can say it has been “photoshopped,” like all of my work.

The idea that digital image processing somehow delegitimizes a work or a photographer is complete bunk. The digital tools are just that: TOOLS. And one has to learn how to use them properly. Unfortunately many people don’t. They get caught up in the gee wiz – look at what I can do aspect of things and never learn how to bring it under control to produce a good photographic image. These are powerful tools: easily abused, not so easily mastered.

The categorization of photographers as digital photographers or film photographers making vintage prints is self-serving nonsense. What is important is the final print. Does the process employed support the vision of the photographer and produce an expressive print? Nothing else matters.