Sign outside of a dry cleaning shop in Peekskill, NY "Drop your pants here"

I'm a fan of Open Source software. Darktable and Gimp are the primary raw development and photo editing software I use. As for learning curve, don't try to boil the ocean. Pick a topic or two, learn how to use the tools you need then move on to the next topic or two.

I completely agree with IOBPhoto. Actually, you can look at all post processing software as tool boxes with many tools. The Nikon software can get you started, it has fewer tools but may be all you need. I started working with digital post processing in December. I've tried GIMP in the past and was overwhelmed. Then I started taking the tutorials in December, and have become proficient at a number of basic and a couple of more advanced tasks. GIMP is an analog to Photoshop. It operates on the JPEG or TIFF file and is a destructive editor (alters the file you are working on), so you should create a copy to edit.

When I started shooting RAW in January I did a comparison on the internet, including this site, and decided to use and learn darktable. Again, another toolbox, but there are some excellent tutorials out there on YouTube. The nice thing about darktable (they spell it with a lowercase "d") is that is a non-destructive RAW development tool like Lightroom. This means that it does not alter your original file in any way. You can try things, undo them, and there is no impact on your RAW file (NEF for Nikon). Your edits only actually happen when you export the image to JPEG or TIFF or something like that.

If you choose to use GIMP for Photo Editing, I recommend getting the latest version and using the tutorials listed in www.gimp.org/tutorials, specifically those listed under photo editing. I also recommend the excellent series by Pat David https://patdavid.net/getting-around-in-gimp/.

If you choose to use darktable for RAW (NEF) file processign, I recommend the excellent series by Robert Hutton on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmvlUro_Up1NBX7VK8UUuyWo1B468zEA0

Just work on the things you want to do and ignore the rest until you are comfortable then add to your skillset.

Best of luck!
JC

I've been running old laptops on Linux for over 10 years (Ubuntu) and dual boot all of my Windows computers so I have access to both. Boot up time and overall speed are much better on Linux. Back when I started using Ubuntu I had to fuss with a number of things to get everything to work as expected, but now almost all of the fussy things have been taken care of.

As for photo processing, I'm fairly new to post processing, but I have been learning Gimp, darktable, Hugin, and other open source software. There are multiple options for each post processing stage from organizing, to raw development, to all the fun things you can do with Gimp.

Unless your Win10 installation is completely hosed, I would recommend the dual boot option so you don't have to boil the ocean and learn everything new at once. That way you can migrate at your own pace.

Cheers!
JC

Two things may be contributing to the grain in the B&W Conversion. The first contributor is the high ISO noise in the original color picture. The second potential contributor may be the method used to do the conversion.

The ISO based on the EXIF data in the color is 6400 which is moderately high and the noise is noticeable if you zoom in on the download. You should be able to remedy this to some extent in post using a tool like darktable or lightroom.

How did you perform the B&W conversion? Did you convert from the RAW file or JPEG? What tool and method did you use? Some conversion filters add grain, others do not.

Hope this helps

The GIMP learning curve is only steep if you try to learn everything at once. There are many excellent tutorials available online including the tutorials and manual at www.gimp.org and from Pat David https://patdavid.net/getting-around-in-gimp/.

The trick is to ask yourself, "what do i want to learn to do" and find a tutorial or YouTube video that teaches you how to do it. Practice the technique a few times and move on to the next topic. Many common tasks like crop, rotate, change brightness, contrast or saturation are simple commands or filters that you can apply and adjust. No learning curve at all.

You will eventually find plug-in and scripts that automate some more complex tasks, but those things can wait until you are ready for them. Just don't try to boil the ocean and you'll be fine. And if you forget how to do something, go back to the tutorial.

Enjoy,
JC

Thank you to all for the great advice. My vacation in Wisconsin is coming to a close but all of the excellent advice and examples will be very helpful as I begin my retirement in the Dominican Republic next month.

Many thanks to all!
JC

Agillot, unfortunately my opportunity for Osprey is coming to a close, but now that I am beginning my retirement, I hope to put the excellent advice to good use in my soon to be new home in the Dominican Republic.

Cheers,
JC

Thank you for the advice a examples!

JC

Great advice BassmanBruce!

Thanks,
JC

Thank you for the advice!

I didn't notice the fringing until I saw your comment. It is less pronounced in the download, but I'll work on it. I'm pretty sure darktable can handle it, but I've got GIMP if not.

Thanks!

Thank you, Drip Dry McFleye. My brother-in-law and I were out for a drive and we got lucky. That said, still may shots deleted.

Thank you, Trainspotter!

I've been reading this site for about 5 or 6 months and have learned a lot from the commentary on how to improve photos from all aspects. This is my first attempt at posting photo's for your review and comment, and I would appreciate any recommendations for improvement.

I took the attached pictures the other day while visiting family in Fremont, WI and developed them with darktable. Both are of ospreys, probably a mating pair, The first was sitting on the nest and the second was in a tree and spooked when I tried to get closer. Both are pretty heavily cropped.

Details
Nikon 3400
Nikkor AF-P 70-300mm 4.5-6.3G ED kit lens
Other details should be in the EXIF data

Thanks!
JC

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