Barking Up The Wrong Tree?

For the past week or so I have been 'experimenting' with my camera.

My Nikon D90 has a setting called 'Raw'.

I am just learning about it and have discovered that the 

end results, the photos taken, are pretty close to what 

one sees when taking the photos.

Most people with cameras like this set them on what is called

JPEG......which allows the camera to slightly change

the image to make it 'fuller' with colour saturation,

and I am sure much more.

I am finding, especially with these images of the trunk

of a pine tree, that the results appear sharper and cleaner

and the colours seem thinner, not as saturated.

I have also learned that most professional photographers

use 'raw' initially and then edit afterwards as needed, if at all.

So far I like the results I am getting in that if I feel they need

any editing to enhance or exaggerate what I am looking for,

I will do so. If not they stay as they are like these ones.

So much to learn!