My iMac died. It was almost 10 years old. I'm stuck on a laptop today. I want a new desk top. I'm not married to Apple or Windows (the laptop). I'd like to be all-in under $2500, but I'm flexible if the marginal cost above 2.5k adds significant value. As of this minute, I'm looking at getting a 4k display, but I've noticed that QHD is also available in a $500 or so monitor. My questions: 1) is there a resolution limit that above that limit will not be noticeable? 2) Is there a monitor size/aspect ratio limitation in PP software (I have a bunch on top of PS/LR). 3) Do I go iMac just to get the Retina display even if the memory limitations and graphic cards are not as "turbo" as the Windows? (for the same money)

I have let technology run off and leave me and I'd appreciate any opinions or recommendations anyone might offer. Thanks.

I realize that the practice of photography means different things to different people. This site seems to be quite heavily involved with bird photography and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that if that provides enjoyment to those practitioners.

There is another aspect of photography that is heavily involved in photography for "art" sake. The photography of Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and Brett Weston were such photographers. The F64 Group founded during that era was almost a rebellious affront to the earlier pictorialists. Everything in focus, no soft focus, stunning tonal gradation marked the photographs of that era. Michael Smith and his wife Paula Chamlee produced stunning imagery with film contact printed on silver chloride emulsion papers like Kodak's Azo.

I have noticed a return to a pictorialist output recently. Soft focus is again in vogue. Ancient processes like Platinum/Paladium printing, wet and dry plate collodian, bromoil to name a few. We can look upon the photographs of Sally Mann as an example of this resurgeance.

Having photographed for over 35 years with cameras that produced as large as 12X20 inch film negatives, I know what a fine photograph looks like. I find the recent resurgeance of pictorialism by some as quite appealing.

I sometimes think that we are too caught up in illustration at the expense of art. If one examines the early photographs of Steiglitz, Leonard Missone and Josef Sudek we do not find the ultimate in sharpness. We find instead that these photographs are often dark, soft focused and exuding a beautiful sense of light. After all are we not involved in depicting light and shadow. A photograph that tells too much, for me, does not invite the viewer to engage in the process. Questions asked, for me, are more effective than stories told.