It probably goes without saying, but I do want to be up front about processing my photos. I will not hesitate to remove, with Photoshop magic, a scrap of paper on the lawn, evidence of a runny nose or a dratted bottle of tomato sauce sitting right next to the beautiful birthday cake. I will also slightly alter the colours to enhance the emotion of the image or correct for weird lighting. It's a feeling that I'm hoping to convey, not just a snapshot of where we've been.
For example, the first image here is straight out of the camera; quite nice but needed cropping, some saturation and a bit of blur.
Now here it is below without those pesky signs or fence posts. Better, right? I mean, I wouldn't present this to the folks who owned the house...possibly a little insulting and certainly not an 'accurate' picture. But I find it more pleasing, and, truthfully, it's more in line with what I saw when I looked out their back door yesterday morning. Somehow, I didn't notice the distractions at the time. Just a beautiful, soft light on the feathery grass and ancient geraniums, and the gently rolling hills in the distance.
And you? Where do you draw the line with processing?