Low light bar shots

[Village_Idiot]

These were all shot in a bar called the Mecklenberg Inn. There was very little light and I was using my 50mm f/1.8 All the raws were converted straight to .JPG and resized for forum constraints. Any comments on what should be done with the original raws to make them look better. All the photos are really warm, but that is from the lighting in the place.

1.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/147/407737362_3ba4024f0f_o.jpg

2.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/170/407737361_d85af0689a_o.jpg

3.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/171/407737368_d270f8fb69_o.jpg

4.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/151/407737371_0e9b2718d3_o.jpg

[knt3424]

I like the first pic... but the guy looks like he's just getting ready to do or say something.. or something... would be better if he were looking still and contemplative I think... would fit the mood of the lighting...

[rob1den]

Hey , strange handle (village idiot must be a story), DOF on the second one would be have come up better on the second one if you cropped a bit tighter on the bottles, though they are pretty sharp with not much noise. It is good fun without flash in low light. Cheers robert

[Robert_Lay]

Perhaps the warm tones from the incandescent lighting should have corrected during processing.

The first of the shots is the only one that gets your attention, because that's the one with a person. I would think that I would have processed the RAW to tone down the blown out highlights and let the mid tones go darker. It may have been possible in processing the RAW's to reduce the contrast and bring some detail in from both the highllights and the deep shadows. As it is, the lighting is just too contrasty. I could see the subject much darker in order to better show the mood of the bar.
The second shot seems to be rendered lighter than what is called for - the result being a little lighter overall than the way eye would perceive the scene.