I've been a tortured amateur photographer since I set up my first darkroom in a 4x4' half-bathroom when I was in junior high. The advent of digital imagery has transformed the process, and I think really democratized it while doing so. High quality color imaging and printing is now possible for anyone with a camera and a computer. Back in the days of chemical processing most of the post-camera work was beyond the means of amateur photographers. Moreover, developments in image stitching software have enabled photographers working with inexpensive equipment to produce images rivaling those made with large format cameras.
These days my recreational photography is comprised mostly of multi-image panoramas. I use Autopano pro, several of Fred Miranda's programs, Adobe Photoshop and Bridge, Adobe Lightroom, Qimage, and lots of memory.
