Digital BW, The Print

Alan,

>>>>
Some people build an image from countless layers that they diddle with
endlessly.  I call that digital illustration. Do you want to do that? 
>>>>

Isn't this a dangerous generalization?  How much diddling with layers
does it take to cross the line?

I have a 6x7 neg of the St. Marks lighthouse on the Florida panhandle
coast (taken in 1987) which I was never able to print because the sun
side of the lighthouse matched the background sky tone almost exactly
(didn't think to use a filter - duh).  I theoretically could have
masked it on the neg with magenta dye but it was too small and I never
seemed to have a knack for brush skills anyway, so I gave up on ever
getting a good print from it.

In PS I was able to zoom in on a pixel level and find that faint edge
of the lighthouse.  It took nearly 3 hours but I was able to
completely separate the background sky from the lighthouse, trees and
other foreground objects.  Putting it on a separate layer, I was able
to bring it down in value just below the lighthouse bright side, plus
add some gradients for edge and corner burning and so on.  After 15
years I finally got a good print from this neg I've always liked.  

Does this cross the line into digital illustration?  I really like the
print because it conveys the mood of the original scene.  To me it's a
miracle after a 15 year wait.  This is the sort of thing that thrills
me about digi printing.

Any other miracle stories?

Regards, - cj