One of the things I’ve been doing recently is to try and work on my post processing and to work out a system for photography on Linux. A fundamental part of this is to use a tool capable of taking raw files and processing them, sometimes with various tweaks, to produce good looking jpeg files.

After playing with several systems I’ve found Darktable handles the raw output of my Nikon D5300 better than the other solutions and provides a massive raft of modules to fix any elements you see fitting.

Minimal Darktable work (colour correction/shadows and highlights):

1. Standard settings (Nikon Like Alternative colour profile, etc.)
2. Enhance shadows and highlights to bring the bird itself into colour (it was quite shadowed with a ligher area where the sun caught the edge). I used the default settings for highlights and 60 for shadows, any more would have made it look unrealistic.
3. Crop to a sensible size given the amount of sky on the original picture

As much as Darktable can do massive things to your image and make it very different to the original I try not to do this but to get it right when I press the shutter.

Camera: D5300
Lens: 55-300mm f/4.5-5.6
Focal length: 300mm
Aperture: f/8
Shutter: 1/1250
ISO: 400