Hi Billy. There are quite a few comments here. I'll try to answer them the best I can one at a time. As for why I would chose to co- moderate this section? The simple answer is that I believe that this section can be entertaining and informational. It should be seen as a place where the novice as well as the seasoned pro can feel comfortable. I hope I can, in some small way, help to keep this forum such a place. The three of us have edited some of the "read me" documents. I would hope that sticking to constructive criticism will prevent people from resorting to the ignore button. I can remember several threads of photos that you and I both commented on. Neither of us cared for the photos very much. My comments were much more tempered than yours. We both said the same thing; but we voiced those opinions very differently. You and I both know that there is no point in having a discussion section where only positive opinions are permitted. That would serve no purpose. I tend not to pepper my comments here with statements that are sure to anger the person receiving the comment. I am also mindful that there are many here who are visiting for the first time. These people might also have very limited experience with photography and are here because the want to learn. Aggressive criticism does not help them. It intimidates and essentially drives them away. I also come to this forum with over thirty five years of classroom experience. Every mother (at least here in the Colonies) feels that their precious little snowflake is incapable of doing anything wrong ever. That snowflake might fail tests and refuse to turn in homework. If my comments to the student are: "Failure to turn in assignments will surely do harm to your average" I cannot be rebuffed by my principal. I'm stating that the errant child needs to be more diligent. If, on the other hand, my comments are: " Having taught your mother before you were even thought of, young man, leads me to the inescapable conclusion that genetics are surely not doing you any favors". I'm not helping the child with that comment, and while a rapier like whit is admired in some circles, it has no place in education. That is, of course, an extreme hypothetical example; but it illustrates the principle that I wish to put forth in this reply and will play a role in decisions I make as a co-moderator. The person is much more likely to leave the section or hit the ignore button if they are handled gruffly than if they are steered with a gentle touch. We should not feel like we have to say a photo is wonderful if we clearly don't think so. Neither should we be insensitive to an individual's feelings. Skillful discourse, like effective photography is often very subtle. Garish, heavy- handed processing is as distasteful as comments from a critic that are dismissive and pedantic. I don't consider myself an expert in photography; but I have some knowledge of the subject. Where I can, I will offer advice and attempt to guide. Where I am over my head, I'll bow to the expertise of the many here who are more skillful than I am. But no matter how I feel about the photos posted, I will always try to remain agreeable even when I see faults in a photo.
Erich

OK, everybody I added a bit more contrast and cropped as much as I could from the left without losing too much from the sky or the bottom. Also, I tried to pop the color some. To my eye, this is now closer to the image I saw with my eye as oposed to what the camera gave me.

Is this one better, worse, the same, or something else?

Billy, funny you should mention rain. Guess what it will be doing here most of the week? Yup - rain. Maybe I'll try to velcro or super glue my fat butt to the chair in front of the 'puter and see what develops. I am not sure if I shot the images during this trip in RAW plus JPEG or just JPEG. Lately, I've been shooting RAW on 1 card and JPEG on the other on my D7200.