Highlights Problem

[photofinish]

How can I make this picture better?
http://www.photozo.com/album/showphoto.php?photo=29033&password=&sort=2&cat=507 &page=1
Seems like I always get myself into this jam where there is a lot of contrast in the scene.

I even tried using fill flash but it made the picture worse. I wanted to create a sense of mystery with the holes without revealing too much of the interior. :?

[Scottes]

You could try two exposures, one correct for the image as a hole and one overexpose that shows the inside, then merge the good parts of both. (If you shoot RAW you can just process the same image twice, but it's not as good IMHO).

If you have Photoshop CS you can try the Highlights/Shadows command and bring down the brights and bring up the shadows. Too much can be a bad thing, so don't go overboard. If you have to adjust significantly, first do a Select... Color Range and select something black and move the slider up. Select Feather by a couple/few pixels. Now you can run Shadows/Highlights on just the dark portions.

[photofinish]

Maybe this would be better. Here's the pic:
http://www.photozo.com/album/data/507/3744tunxis_trail_0347.jpg

Sorry, I'm still trying to 'feel my way around'... :oops: