HDR Before and After...

[3Wheels]

You might need to light two fires, because I'm with Mark on this one!

To my eye, what comes out the end of the ultra tone mapping process is more "surreal art" than it is a "photograph". Not saying that there's anything wrong with that per se, but I don't find anything realistic about them. In my opinion they may well do well in an art competition, but personally, I don't think they should have any place in a photography competition. Just my opinion -- hope I didn't offend anyone!

Hi Colin, you could use the same argument from Black & White/Monochrome to barrel distortion as they do not represent the natural image we see with our eyes.

[Sonic4Spuds]

I like both of the versions, but have to say that overall the first is the more realistic in color. But I would be interested to see what could be achieved by a combination of the two.

-Sonic