Qtpfsgui (2nd attempt / third take - sharper)

The original file must look much better than this, too much PS here!

best regards,

Janis

Ha-ha, cheers for your comment, Janis  :)
Believe it or not, there was *very* little Photoshop involved here; the effect has been created via tonemapping in Qtpfsgui a.k.a. Luminance HDR, and, as the caption indicates, that was only my second attempt at using this freeware, so I was experimenting with various settings.  I'm not saying it's pretty, but what I kind of like about this result is that it looks to me like a faded painting on a piece of weathered cardboard, but I agree with you, it's not the best.  I like the other two effects much better -- please check out the first take and the second take -- I'd be curious to learn what think about them (?)

As for the original, hmm, which one? -- I've merged 10 images, each shot at a different exposure (varying by 2/3 EV; constant ISO 100 and f/5.6, and shutter speeds ranging from 0.4 to 30s), and none by itself looks good due to scene's dynamic range far exceeding what could be recorded in a single shot.  Manual tone blend version would be the most natural-looking; ironically, that's the one with the most Photoshop involved  :P

Hi Tomek,

I'm not much in those HDR things, I personally like more natural look of photos, although I agree sometimes HDR is needed to show more details in contrasty lightning. From the 3 versions I think I like "the 2nd take" most as it's the cleanest one:)

Take care