Something new and exciting is waiting to be discovered in your photographic past! Think back to a photo project completed five to ten years ago. Inside that project are RAW images…images that you either overlooked or have already processed and shared. Don’t view those photos/projects as complete! In the 5-10 years since they were taken, substantial improvements in both RAW processing software and your post-processing skills have opened up a whole world of new possibilities!
I recently revisited photos taken during my 2008 trip to the Northern Territory of Australia…specifically my photos from West MacDonnell National Park, east of Alice Springs. Looking back on some of my photos…it wasn’t hard to see “something new.” When I say “something new”, I see new possibilities! What could I possibly gain by taking another look at these RAW images? It wasn’t long before I found out and was amazed!
A Walk Through Standley Chasm, West MacDonnell National Park, Northern Territory, Australia
Pentax K10D; Sigma 10-20mm lens @ 10mm; f9.5, 1/10 sec., ISO 100
One of my favorite photos was of a woman walking away from me in the narrow stream bed at the bottom of Standley Chasm. The photo was originally taken in color and oriented as a portrait, capturing the towering cliffs on each side of the chasm. Although I really liked my previous interpretation, lately I’ve been really getting into panoramic landscape scenes, specifically the 6x12 and 6x17 formats. I decided to convert the image to black and white, while cropping it to the 6x17 format. Adding more details to the highlights, lightening the shadows a bit, boosting contrast, and sharpening resulted in “something new.” For a look back at the older version of this photo, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHsj2vL8rQ.
For a look at my revisited RAW images, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHsknHBpzo.
The bottom line is this…revisit RAW images from the past, you will probably find “something new!”