First HDR attempts with CS2

[bsmotril]

My first attempt at doing an HDR with Photoshop CS2. Next time I'll have to remember to try it on a day without wind if I have trees in the background. Comments, criticism, and suggestions for improvement are welcomed.

First one used adaptive Tone Mapping conversion with a curves adjustment
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/160/415199977_ff0d84f0e0_o.jpg

Here's another using "Exposure and Gamma" conversion

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/188/415199773_924e232db2_b.jpg

[cocasana]

Hi Bsmotril,
the white halo bothers ma a tad in the first one. The second is better IMHO, I think it has a bit of yellow cast, was the loan that yellowish? In my HDR attempts, to avoid those color shifts,I always use a neutral gray reference card!

[Cerbera]

I much prefer the 2nd picture. The first one isnt as good imo, as the branches are clearly going to move and this is evident when you've combined them in HDR process, which spoils the overall picture. How about cropping the top half of the image (mainly where the blury branches are) and seeing how it looks?

[bsmotril]

The lawn really was that yellow, dormant St Augustine grass. In another 2 weeks, I'll be mowing it twice a week. I had a gray card in my bag, and did not think of using it at the time...but will next time. I like the crop idea for the first shot and will try that. Thank you all for the feedback.

[rowdyred94]

Not really a good subject for HDR, IMO. The breeze wrecked the first one, and the second one just doesn't have much going for it.