I agree. I was sending mixed messages. And being honest, I do feel conflicted about the fact that, in general, I oppose defacing while at the same time I find that without the carvings the image would be less than what it is. What can I say? I have issues.

Your point is well taken. But in that same vein, I assume that you wouldn't mind if someone spray painted graffiti on your house with the expectation that in 1500 years somebody will call it art. Just sayin'.

Thank you. I appreciate the feedback.

Yes, I did know that bamboo was a grass. But thanks for pointing that out as I'm sure that many of our members did not.

Your picture quality is not affected by the card in any way. The only thing that affects PQ is the camera, to some extent, and the photographer to a greater extent.

Here is a link to an enclosure that should work for you.

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Tool-free-Enclosure-Optimized-EC-UASP/dp/B00OJ3UJ2S/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1522740348&sr=8-4&keywords=sata+hdd+enclosure+2.5

This enclosure requires no tools so installation should be quite easy. I'm making a couple of assumptions. 1) You have a 2.5" hard disk drive and 2) Your drive is a SATA drive. (I would be surprised if otherwise). Good luck.

I originally photographed these bamboo stalks in color but decided that a B&W image works best for me. I used ACR to convert the image from color to B&W. The things people find to deface amazes me. Although, I believe that the carvings actually add to the interest of this image. Having said that, I am strictly opposed to anyone defacing anything including trees, rocks, buildings, and walls to name a few.

(Download)

I totally agree.

That is not the case with my Hitachi and HGST enclosures. Each enclosure has a plastic band surrounding the edge of the enclosure and is chemically bonded to the enclosure. I'm only disputing your claim that the enclosures merely snap together in the event other UHH members are struggling to get their enclosures apart. I'm not trying to be argumentative.

I agree but a certain amount of care should be used in extracting the hard drive from the case. You should avoid shocking the hard drive so using a hammer and chisel would not be my first choice in splitting the case open. A gentler approach might be to use a rotary saw blade in a Dremel to split the case along its seams. I'm sure there are other safe ways of accomplishing this task. You may want to share your method with the UHH members.

While I agree that a new case would fix the problem, the first issue that the OP is going to face is getting the drive out of the existing case. Most external drives are encapsulated in a rather tough plastic case and it will be a challenge to remove the drive. It can be done with the proper tools.

I'm not saying that you don't have a bad card, but I will say this. In all the years that I've been shooting digital images and all the cards that I have used during those years, I've never had a card failure. CF and SD cards are extremely reliable.

I would also consider adding some circular blur to the props.

I find it interesting that much of the discussion regarding this topic has centered on the post-processing that Ansel Adams performed in the darkroom. And that his dodging and burning was a departure from reality. But I don't believe that I have read a single thread that said that most of his work was in B&W and that in itself was a total departure from reality. The world is in color and his prints are in B&W. So, if Ansel can warp reality to that degree and not be criticised for it, why can't I add more saturation to make a print more colorful without taking heat? Why can't I print a portrait as a high key or a low key image without taking heat? After all, these interpretations are certainly departures from reality. Why can't I add clouds to a cloudless sky? This my image and I can do as I please with it. You are welcome to like it or not like it. That is your choice and your privilege. You are even welcome to criticise it. What you can't do is to impose what you perceive to be your standards on me. And you can't tell me what is ethically right or wrong for me. It is up to me to determine my ethical boundaries. So, I will continue to use all the layers in PS that are at my disposal. I will continue to add clouds to my blank skies and I will continue to turn noontime photos into sunsets. And I will hang them on my wall for my enjoyment. And if anyone asks me about my post-processing, I will share my techniques with them. If they don't ask, I will be silent.

"For example, I have an image of a grizzly taken in the YT. The bear is standing on the side of the road with the shoulder of the road showing in the image. If I were to manipulate the foreground and background of that image to create an impression that I took it way out in the wilderness, rather than along side the road, without disclosing what I had done, then in my view I would have been unethical (or dishonest)."

Does it really matter where the bear was standing? On the road? Near the road? In the meadow? The subject is the bear and if you can enhance the bear by simplifying its surroundings, so much the better.