Hiking and processing

A big part of being a photographer that often goes unrecognized in my opinion is the post-processing. When I was shooting most assignments in college I did not have the opportunity to process my images. Now I have no direction and a lot of experimentation to work with. The post-processing applied to a photo can control the feeling that it gives to the viewer. I went hiking the yesterday with my parents and my girlfriend. Here are several similar shots with some different processing done in Lightroom.

All of these were shot with a Canon 5D Mark II and the 24mm f/1.4. I am still testing the combination of this camera and lens out. I have been frustrated with the 5D Mark II lately because most if not all of my raw images are appearing soft. I’m not sure if its the camera or lens but I think I might have to get both checked/calibrated or something. Do these images look sharp to you? Because on my monitor at full res they definitely aren’t sharp. I just started to read about a lot of other people who have experienced this with their 5DMKII’s so I’m beginning to think that this might be a known issue…I just want a consistently sharp full frame camera with some good glass.

Also, what do you think of the 24mm focal length in the shots? I really like looking at these shots but when I am taking the photos I sometimes feel myself wanting a little more. I’ll be using the 24mm some more but might try out a 35mm soon.