Photoshop. Gimp. Scissors and paste. Photo editing. You love it. You hate it. Maybe you ignore it.

Some use it to massively modify. I'm (usually) more of a "recover or extend" kind of guy.

Below are some before/after examples. You see the starting image. Click on the button to see the "after".

 

The shadows get dark when you stop down enough to protect the sky from over-exposure.

ACR (Adobe
Camera Raw) adjustments to the rescue!

 

Everyone gets a good shot of ONE flower...

So add another!
After
before

 

Animals and flowers not together in the right place at the right time?

Layers! (I LOVE layers!)

 

Speaking of flowers....

It's not YOUR fault if some of them have died! (Thanks cloning tool!)

 

Sure, you could take two shots and use HDR processing to fill in the details.

But then you'd miss the cool chromatic shifts that come when you massively lighten a shadowy area!
After
before

 

Of course there ARE times...

...when nothing beats the depth available with three images combined using HDR.

 

Extension Tube Macro Depth-of-Field blues?

Use Layer Blending to extend DOF (just like one does for High Dynamic Range).
Another example: which do you want in focus - the front or the back flower?

Eleven exposures combined using Layer Blending, extend DOF across both.

 

Starting with a good model is key.

Minor tuning can give that "graduation portrait" look (if that's what you want).
After
before

 

I generally know what I was thinking when I took a picture.

Adjustment layers help me bring the viewer closer to that vision by eliminating distractions and highlighting focal points.
After
before

 

I try to frame shots when I take them.

But sometimes an element just "appears." Thats when Liquify in Photoshop is handy.
After
before
Once in a while I do go off the deep end and twist the dials up to 9 or 10

 

Sometimes getting the message across requires

more than a gentle touch...
After
before

 

Under-exposure.

Can (once in a great while) be your friend.
After
before

 

And once in a great while, a picture just begs for something ....

stronger.
After
before

 

Hot weather got you down?

create one of those rare high-elevation summer snowfalls.
After
before
My Landscapes seldom show the simplicity of line and color that I "saw."

The Cutout filter reduces complexity and makes the image look MUCH more like what I saw.
Fall colors define shapes but they are often lost to the flood of details - dirt, leaves, etc.

Another example of Cutout filter revealing what I really saw.
   Thanks for looking!
   Did you find this interesting? (or find a bug?!)
   Please drop me a line at a_held@hotmail.com
   or visit my Flickr site.
   To learn about the Hiker's Camera Belt, a handy device I developed and just began offering on the web visit Hikers Camera Belt.