There is a common misconception that everything has to be perfect at time of capture as images cannot be saved in processing. Of course that is not always so and I personally have always considered my end product (generally a print) to be only 25% shooting and 75% darkroom and manipulation (whether traditional or digital) - and many times the shooting has been manipulated and pushed beyond the limits, also.
What made me think of it was this shot from a recent wedding where I saw the potential for an interesting image even though out of the camera it was underexposed, lacking detail and soft. I did what I always do and used my darkroom skills to see if there was an interesting image (if not I just eliminate it). After lightening I added grain and toned it and included it in the couples final selection. The mother of the brides print order came in today and guess what shot was her favorite. Not only was it included in her parent wedding book, but she also purchased quite a few individual prints to give to her family.
Original:
After Darkroom treatment:
I presume this mother is in love with the shot because of the character of the image (reminds me of many a portrait found in old books of famous photographers, when I visit libraries). After all she had several perfectly executed shots to choose from. During the 1980's and 1990's when I processed all of my work in my traditional wet darkroom, I developed many looks and print effects that became part of my style - as a result of mistakes in developing and processing and keeping track of what I did and then reproducing those mistakes on demand. My digital darkroom is simply an extention of my traditional darkroom - with he advantage that I can more easily reproduce the methods I have done in the past that appeal to me. What is most important is not all the methods - - - but the content and emotion that moves the viewer (even if it is only me being moved). I have printed this shot on 13"x19" fiber paper and it is one I'd have no problem displaying on a gallery wall.
