Jim,
like everything else, digital can be overdone but the type of thing that both George and Dave have done is to use digital processing to capture the "vision" they had when they took the original shot. Sometimes the camera can't have the same "cerebral dynamic range" that the brain has.

Roman Johnston does similar things with his HDR approach to landscapes. He manages to pull the detail out of the highlights and shadows that you could never do with film. And his HDR approach is very well-managed. Some folks over-do it and the images look unnatural. But these guys use it in moderation and what you see tends to match the minds eye.

Welcome back to photography. You're going to enjoy digital. If you ever need any advice, there are lots of folks here who are very good and very willing to share.

Jim


Jim Garvie
www.jagphoto.biz