Another reason to shoot raw

I've posted various articles about the technical advantages of shooting raw already, and in the end its all about preservation of the maximum image quality that can be achieved. A valid question may be: why should I do that?

Post processing, thats why. I switched from the free Rawtherapee (during an excursion to Linux as my main desktop OS) to Windows-based Rawshooter (discontinued, still available for download, but doesn't support newer cameras because Adobe bought Pixmantec off the market) and then to Lightroom. Besides the fact that - IMHO - each program was a step towards better post processing possibilities, there was one major change over time: my own post processing skills. I know how to get more out of the software that I'm using.

Nothing works better than an example, so here we go...


"Autumnlight v1" (Octobre 2007, Nikon D70s, AF-S VR DX Nikkor 18-200mm)

And for comparison the new edit:


"Autumnlight v2" (Octobre 2007, Nikon D70s, AF-S VR DX Nikkor 18-200mm)

What I can immedatiately see in the new version is:

1. better colors: a clear advantage of the development that went into ACR and the camera profiles - the birch leaves were not orange like in the first version, they were yellow!
   
2. better shadows: the original version was edited on an uncalibrated display - one of the most important things about calibration: correct gamma! In fact, the print of this photo was so disappointing because my display was not calibrated.
3. better detail & less noise thanks to the finer sharpening controls in Lightroom
4. blue tint on the right side is gone: the blue tint on the shadow part on the right was removed by simply reducing the blue saturation in Lightroom
   

Would it have been possible to make the same edits to an 8-bit JPEG that came straight out of the camera? I don't think so. I do regret that some of the shots from my earliest days with the D70 were made only as JPEGs. But I also remember how confusing and bothersome the development of raw files seemed in the beginning.

I want to add a final note about post processing: maybe neither of the two photos above is "real" and "true". I can't remember what the scene looked like in Octobre 2007. But I do know that I found the early morning light, the fog and the warm colours of the leaves the most important part of the scene, and I think that I have been able to carve out that quality in the new edit much better.