Moonrise Over Cook's Meadow 2

Don, I prefer tthis image.

The result using photomatix seems to be unreal but some people do like it. I prefer a picture like this one which looks natural (may be a little more contrast?). You could try also to blend those 2 pictures and lower the opacity of the upper layer to see how it turns.

Don -
I like this version better. Personally I think that with HDR images Photomatix has to be used as the beginning of post processing, and then you go to Photoshop to fix the areas of the image that Photomatix messed up, which happens quite a bit when you're taking night exposures or there is too much contrast. It's also good to use Photoshop to blend in parts of the image that look unreal when taken through Photomatix. I am still a bit hesitant about hallos around the mountains, and trees, but they're unnoticable if the eye is not looking for them. Overall I think you've done that well here and what I like particularly is that trees and Half Dome regained their natural look back.

I prefer this image but do like both. The HDR version has more WOW impact and a surreal quality. It comes down to personal preference -- and sometime today's mood! I am an HDR fan, but it does not work for all images. To me it seems to work better with man-made objects and city-scapes than it does with landscapes.

Hey, Don-Nice Yosemite work. I'm torn on the images. The first one has much more pop and is more fun to look at but definitely less natural. The second image, while more natural seems bland. I guess it depends on whether you are shooting a cover for the new Enya CD or an outdoor photography mag.