Well done Mike. Good to see you back on the straight and narrow.
After a combine function, always stretch the data hard. This allows you to ascertain the quality of the data and where the image will need work. A hard stretch will show noisy areas in which you can come back to address later in the routine. Once you've validated what needs to be done, start the process again, but don't stretch too hard initially. Progressively work the image over with levels, curves, log stretch, digital development or a non-linear tool of your choice. Be careful with automated non-linear stretch functions as they don't always take into consideration midpoints of multiple objects in a frame i.e. where the curve should tapper off. A DDP midpoint for one feature of an object may not stretch the other object hard enough if the dynamic range is vastly different. In these conditions, you can crop each object and DDP them separately to then later recombine them back into the final image. There is no right or wrong. With image processing, you are only limited by your imagination.
Keep up the good work. Look forward to seeing more. I think as you mentioned - "Less is more".
