Recently went to a presentation in Chicago by Adam Jones(Canon Explorer of Light). Some of the gear he discussed was SW called Viveza and the ExpoDisc. While I have heard of both, have never used them. Wondering about peoples thoughts on both sides. Trying to move from "Fooling around" stage to "Serious" with Skills, although some may say seriously demented.......... Just ordered my new PC, so serious or demented is open to debate at the moment. Got myself an AlienWare.
BTW, If you get a chance to see Adam, I would do so. Very good presenter,easy to talk to and very open to silly questions.
Viveza is really useful for adjustments in localized areas. For example, if a portion of a bird is well lighted, but there is a shadow on one side or under a wing-- then you can brighten up only the shadowed portion easily.
It provides an equivalent of highlight/shadow that is masked smoothly and easily. There are multiple adjustments of saturation, hue, etc. available, but the the brightness control is particularly useful.