A good tool for learning photoshop is a free video by Sean Bagshaw. He is a teacher turned pro photographer and has many videos explaining Tony Kuyper’s luminosity masking tools. But his ‘intro’ to PS is free and well organized. Google Sean’s name and go to his website. I think it can also be found on Tony Kuyper’s website.

Look at Capture One Express -

Mac Sales has sales on external drives now. Also, G Tech has good drives

The best equipment and processing technique will not make a poorly composed, dull subject an interesting image.

Find Jose Rodriquez on YouTube. Also as jtoolman. He has hundreds of videos on printers, techniques and issues.

I have an a6500 that usually has a Sony 18-135 on it. I use a sigma 16mm f1.4 for Astro. Am considering sigma 30mm for street / walk around for the faster aperture. (Sigma 56mm to long for my preference).

Suggest you review Topaz AI products (Gigapixel, etc). They all require and run better with high memory graphics cards. I think AI is the trending processing software. My 2015 MacBook Pro barely has 2GB graphics and is almost obsolete. I love macs but my next machine for photography will probably be windows desktop that is upgradeable.

A simple high level answer is that exposure begins its adjustment at the high end or low end of the histogram. Brightness adjustments begin in the mid-range of the histogram. Levels can adjust all three, as does curves. Curves is distinguished from levels because adjust can be made more precisely via the diagonal line. Allot any of them can be used together. Suggest playing with them on an ill exposed image. Hope this helps.

I found Back Blaze to be the easiest to use.

I create a folder by date 2019 08 17 plus a one word general topic. I include the date with the camera assigned image number. I then assign keywords to each image that identify who, what where when why with as much detail as I choose. The keyword library is organized like folders and easily filtered and searched. I import to and use capture one as “Sessions” and rate my keepers and move the to the “Select” folder and use the “Output” folders for images posted, printed etc. when finished the session is imported into a Catalog. You can use a similar approach with lightroom and many others. The core answer to your question would be to use catalogs and keywords for each image.

Those to fields are limiting parameters on auto iso. — not lower than x and not higher than y.

And also, apparently a beautiful yard! Nice captures!

I use 12.1 on a MacBook Pro and have no problems. I cull it the undesirable images with one star and then filter to one star and shift select and move to Session Trash.

I use Wetransfer which provides them a link for a download. Up to 2GB free per transfer.

I googled for perfect resize and it seems now it maybe a separate purchase from On1