Photography: Grain and the Blue Trees

Blue Trees and Mist
Originally uploaded by
peter bowers.

Hey pete - cool picture. I was 'pleased' in a schadenfreude sortof way to see some grain in the sky in the largest version. Is that in the original as well? Or is it a product of posting a smaller file? How does one ensure a solid, grainless sky, assuming that is what one wants? (I think in the old film days, a certain grainyness was expected or even desired?)

For example:

Digital photography has changed not only the magazine's workflow but also its visual aesthetic, says Geoff Michaud [of Sports Illustrated]"There's a different quality expectation with digital vs. film. With film, grain was accepted and tolerated. It was a by-product of sharpness. When we moved to digital we found that the expectation changed. I'm not 100% sure why. Now a softer feel image [is considered good], and when noise becomes apparent it's a negative thing, where it wasn't with film.

Source: Geoff Michaud.