That's a really interesting post, and one that I think a lot of people could relate to in one way or another. I've enjoyed reading a lot of David duChemin's stuff recently and found it helpful, particularly around processing being an extension of your original vision for the image. I often find I'll process a raw file for some time in Lighroom, then compare it to the original and decide I've just spent ages making it look worse than it was right out of camera. I think the reason for that is that I was just hopelessly trying to make the photo "look better" rather than make the changes that make the photo closer to my original vision.

I had a similar moment a few days ago where I started to question everything, and decided everything I have done was absolute rubbish. Those moments are even harder to recover from when you've had precisely nothing published, and are at the very beginning of what will hopefully be a long and enjoyable photography journey!

Anyway, I've rambled enough. For what it's worth, I like the more 'natural' look and enjoy your work.

Cheers,
Pete