First of all: These particular photos were all shot as large jpeg photos as I was having problems with my RAW converter at the time. I have since started using a different RAW converter. All the photos were tweaked a little in PhotoShop 7. Often this includes brightness and contrast, color saturation and sharpening. There are times when more is involved. On this competition, there was no restriction related to tweaking the photos. If I had to hazard a guess, I'd say most of the digital imagery that you see today, is adjusted some. It's really stupid not to take advantage of the technology available. We are looking for the best image that we can achieve. I purposely under-expose some shots so that I can get the brightness and contrast just as I like it. An over exposed shot is difficult if not mostly impossible to correct since much data is lost in the shot. It's always better to get it right the first time, but it is the end result that is most important. Keep in mind, that for years, the use of filters was doing the same thing with film. On top of that, you selected a particular film, such as daylight, Kodachrome for warm tones and Ektachrome for a bluer effect. In the darkroom, the photos were dodged and burned, cropped, double exposed, blurred, etc.. We just do it with a computer now. Oh yes, on the subject of f-stops, etc.. I shoot most of my images with manual settings for landscapes. I shoot automatic for snap shots and action shots. Sometimes, when I want a specific depth of field, I will take the route of setting the aperture and let the camera auto the shutter speed.