Processing: Since I shoot in RAW format, the first step required back in the studio is conversion to a generic linear file format such as TIFF. I use Capture One Pro, from the Danish company Phase One, for RAW conversion. In Capture One I set the black and white points, which maps the dynamic range (brightness and contrast range) of each unique photo to the standard dynamic range of the monitor and printer. I re-adjust white balance for correct neutral (black, gray and white) tones and proper color balance if the actual scene lighting was different from my camera white balance setting, which is usually daylight since most of my work is outdoors under natural light. I may crop the image in Capture One. I may adjust the "curves" control to improve contrast in some parts of the scene (at the loss of contrast in other parts of the scene). If the scene was extremely high dynamic range, I may process the RAW file twice in Capture One, once for optimum shadow detail and again to hold detail and contrast in bright areas (typically the sky), then will combine those two files in Photoshop.

In Adobe Photoshop I sometimes increase the saturation (especially of the yellows) with a Hue and Saturation adjustment layer in Photoshop. I always attempt to make all tonal, contrast, color, and saturation corrections globally, affecting the entire image. Sometimes, however, I must make corrections of specific portions of the image. In these cases, I typically use an adjustment layer (Curves, most often) to get a specific problem area as I want it, then paint on a layer mask so that this adjustment affects only the region needing change. If the dynamic range of the original scene was so difficult that I did two RAW conversions at different settings, I place one version as a layer on top of the other and then use various Photoshop tools to combine the best portions of the two images. I may do additional cropping in Photoshop. If the image started life as a slide and was scanned, I use the clone or Healing Brush tool of Photoshop, with the image typically at 200% size, to obliterate dust spots (normally unnecessary or a quick job with digital capture unless the sensor has accumulated dust while changing lenses). If I have kept the slide very clean, I may be able to do this spotting in five minutes. At the other extreme, I have old slides from the 1950s so dirty that I have spent more than four hours spotting one slide. I finally flatten the file back to a single 8-bit layer.

Until late 2003, I archived files 12 at a time onto CD-ROM (as Photoshop PSD files) with no sharpening. I made two identical copies of the CD, keeping one copy at home and another at a different location for security. Since this CD-R process was quite time consuming and the cost of high-quality blank CD-Rs ($1.25 for Mitsui Gold) is now much higher (per megabyte) that hard disks, I shifted in about 2005 to buying large, external stand-alone hard drives and archive to them, keeping one copy of each file on one drive and another copy on another drive, for redundancy.