Why edit?

I used to be a "straight out of camera (sooc)" purist. I love taking a good picture with the camera, not editing a mediocre picture into a good picture. But I've learned that I was a little elitist in thinking that way, and that there really are very few pictures out there that don't benefit from a little bit of editing. Editing also allows you to turn lemons into lemonade in cases when you HAVE to capture a shot right then and there, even if conditions are not ideal.

I went to pick up my daughter from her friend's house last weekend. Two weeks ago, I had done the same thing, and lamented not having my camera with me to take pictures of these amazing old oak trees that I drive by on my journey there and back. The sunset that night was gorgeous, and I watched it, only able to record it in my mind. So this time, I had my camera with me, and we were driving home at the perfect time for sunset...but the sunset did not cooperate. It was a very lackluster sky, and the cloud cover meant it got too dim too quickly for any good shots...so I'm going to use them for a short editing demo (but please don't think I'm implying these are good at all-they just have redeeming value in being a good object lesson ;-).

So here are several pictures I took that night, all of the same tree, and all within a few moments of each other. The only difference is the slight change in where I took the picture as I walked along and the orientation of the camera vertical or horizontal. The other changes are all in the editing...
The top picture is straight out of camera-not one pixel changed.






One of these days, I'll have GOOD pictures to show you from these pastures with their grand old oaks!