[hatmatrix]

Funny you mention this as an example. I find ggplot2 good for exploratory analysis on a data frame with many categorical variables that can be used for faceting/conditioning or grouping. When trying to make any modifications to its appearance, I usually return to base graphics.

[haddr]

Same here. ggplot is nice, but whenever I need to do something more complex i suddenly find myself on stackoverflow. Base graph is super easy and usually get things done, even lattice is somehow more intuitive. ggplot when comes to details, seems awkward to me.

[mastratton3]

Agreed, I almost use base r exclusively during exploratory work and move to ggplot only when I want to present a finding... I guess you could say its in-efficient but it seems to work.