Hello 
Tom K. wrote in post #4253716
I use Lee Graduated Neutral Density filters when shooting landscapes quite a bit. I rely on the histogram for feedback as to whether I nailed the exposure or not. Many times the exposure is perfect. Other times it is a bit off either some blown highlights or lost shadows. I was wondering if anyone here who uses GND filters also incorporates bracketing into their technique.....and if so......does this method work well? Any GND tips at getting perfect exposures every time would be most appreciated. Thank you. Hi Tom, I presume from your statement that you are not talking about the whole of the foreground (ground and what is in it) or the whole of background (sky and what is in it) but you are talking about a smallish area WITHIN either the foreground or the background? If not then I'll discuss both anyway 
Lets talk quickly about the metering, the link that Don has graciously posted explains it more. You want to be metering the lightest area of the area that will not be covered by GND to keep the highlights. Then you pick the best GND to cover the lighter area, such as the sky. To check how many stops the lightest area that will have the GND is, from the rest of the scene, use spot or partial metering against the darker area to calculate the stop difference. I think a statement goes "expose for the highlights and let the shadows take care of themselves", or something like that.
Ok so, lets now look at foreground vs background. What I try and do is keep the shutter speed up as fast as I can if taking a shot handheld. So I will expose for the lightest part of the foreground (with the sky being covered by the calculated GND). If I have a tripod with me then shutter is not that important. I will still expose for the highlights in the are that will not be covered BUT if the highlights are off to one side OR the highlights are in an area near the edge of the scene, then I will look for the next darkest light part and expose from that. Then I will use a second GND on the foreground (usually a soft edge one) and cover the lightest highlights. Make sense?
Now, what if the lightest highlight in the area that is not covered by the GND is not near the edge and it is an object or some obscure area. Well then I'll expose for that lightest part and I will then do a digital GND blend. Or I'll try and capture the lightest area and do some EC and make sure I am not clipping it. Alternatively, like you one could do a bracketed shot but only if you have a tripod. I have done this before.
So, I have an example to show (Do you have an example we can talk through?). Look at this image I took in Italy. See how the church on background AND the vase in the foreground are the lightest parts? This was shot with high sun on a contrasty day so it's not the best of shots but it can be difficult to work.
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So the idea is to try and keep as much of the scene within the histogram without blowing the highlights and without clipping the shadows. Save this image and check the dynamic range in the historgram, you should see that there is no clipping.
I exposed for the vase and then added some EC compensation enough so that I would not clip the vase. I didn't care about the church or the sky, the GND would take care of that. I think I had a CP on here too. See how dark the sky is, it was bright blue as I saw it. But I had to compromise.
Because I shot RAW, I reckon I could try and balance the shadows here, the sky and some other parts as nothing is blowen but then it would not be representative of the scene, it would be fake.
Either you compromise, control the highligts that you can and take the shot or bracket your shots or do a digital blend. Up to you really
Checked out your gallery, you have some really cool shots there.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for posting the link Don 
I'll try and add a section to it that also discusses selective filtering.
