Nice tree. IMHO I concerned it is not well enough isolated to really bring out its unique features. Of course I'm wasn't there to see the surrounding topography. The tree isolated against the ground and sky might have been more dramatic with a larger impact.

Agree with the assessments of Topaz. Just for fun I ran Nik Define2 and it worked equally well. I was somewhat disappointed with the denoise/sharpen fx of Topaz. I'll need more testing.

Very nice set of well taken photos. Does the sun ever shine in Scotland?

B/W photos continue to hold popularity due to the value of texture lines and contrast, plus an element of drama mystique and a retro look. I'm no expert, but I think the mono jpeg is a great way to help visualize the scene and help chose and create the look you are trying to capture. When if comes to fully utilizing the tones of the scene, clearly many just use the b/w film/sensor capture and go from there, "Leica bw digital camera $8,000." If you want to take a full depth plunge into the world of b/w pp, I would suggest a visit to f64 academy, by Blake Rudis. He offers many free youtube videos of b/w pp using all of the colors to enhance the tones to fully exploit potentials. You can find them on his website under tutorials, its down the page some, Jan 2021. In this workflow, the b/w conversion is the last step.

Soft proofing creates a preview of how the image should look pending your choice of papers, develop setting and color gamut, so that you can make the changes you want prior to print.

My experience is with Lightroom only. You didn't state which program you were using for your print. In LR its in the Develop module at the bottom of the screen: check Soft Proofing.

Are you soft proofing prior to printing?

I have also been on an extensive photo tour with an experienced host, up and down the coast, to the "blue city" and over the Atlas mountains into the desert just before covid. The photography was great. The food is bland for sure. My main advice is to stay away from the leather/dye factories. Don't buy any thing you might want to return. Don't order anything to be delivered. Return shipping is at least $250. The factory sent the wrong coat and the wrong size. Returned it and never heard from them again. Our guide made a fortune in commissions!!!

I think many of us are in the same position. Underneath all of this is a complicated set of factors. I'm 76, into photography late, starting with the D300, up the chain to the 850, now owning D500, 810 and D850. Went to Nikons intro Z9 dog and pony show this week. There is no way to not pay attention to the quantum leap this new camera represents, even if it is catch up to the Cannon and Sony. Color so great, people are shooting JPEG, not worrying about color correction etc. The video advances are significant and spill over to still photography improving image quality and FPS. I was going to ignore it and just be happy with my current line, but, now, probably not. Its larger than the D850, smaller than the D4,5 etc and lighter. I'd like to think Nikon will come out with the rumored Z8 in the form of a really advanced mirrorless D850 with all the new goodies of the Z9. All reports support the use of older lenses producing a sharper image due to sensor based focus. That would work for me, I'm in.

I have the Tameron 24-105 f4 Artistic lens shooting on the Nikon 810/850. It is very sharp. It is heavy, but I feel well worth the extra effort. Just say'n its my sharpest of my Nikon stable.

As a long time Nikoner, I've given up on the Nikon, unless the product is covered by warranty. I use

Photo Tech, located at: 360 W 36th St, Ground Fl, NY,NY 10018.

It was recommended a number of years ago by B&H and I have found them very prompt and easy to deal with. They have all the special equipment for lens rebuilding and repair. Call them, they'll give you instructions, send the article and they will call you with a specific estimate for the repair and get it done within the specified time.

No offense meant, but why is this posted on this site???

Nice print for a library or quiet place. Nice comp, light, scene and story.

All well stated points on Lr/Ps/Topaz. What I find interesting is that the new hype in the computer world in terms of photo software, is AI. All the way from the specific features of sharpening and de-noising to total photo management with both tones and color management. A lot of hype to sell, sell, sell. No software is going to replace the hard work of learning and using the potential of your chosen software and bringing your photo to tell your personal story. Just how much sharpening to we really need for a great print? Can you really even see modest noise on your print? Maybe if we are pixel peepers, but mostly not. I think we are all vulnerable to getting sucked into the market vortex. Yes I use these tools on my really noisy/soft images to make them at least printable, but not too often.

I think these are very artistic, particularly the first, except I would remove the partial reflection the lower Rt corner. The yellow and lines bring me to Japanese like art. Any of them would be a nice print. Thanks for sharing.