Week 5 may be one of those situations where creating a merge, with layers and masks, from two conversions of one raw image with different settings might be worth trying.
Sometimes, with this sort of scene, I attempt to shoot with bracketed exposures then merge images together with careful masking of the layers. Normally, shooting with 'standard HDR' auto conversion doesn't work with moving scenes like this situation. But carefully editing some masking by gently brushing with a soft edged low opacity brush will often produce an acceptable merge between larger areas such as the foreground from one shot and the sky from another shot.
Even if it doesn't work, you haven't lost anything.
Sometimes, it is better to leave the darker shadows slightly clipped if lightening them during editing produces a muddy dark brown mess instead of pure black.
Nice effort on the surf shot, it has potential as I like the low perspective into the waves.
Week 6--Urban Stairway--Seattle
Seattle is a city of hills, though some were flattened in the early 1900's so that horses and cars could more easily get up and down. Nonetheless, there are many places in Seattle where public stairways connect parts of the city. I have wanted to play with wider angle lenses and this seemed like a good place to start.
Urban Stairway--Seattle by urbanflyer, on Flickr
Nice WA and you've controlled the lines very well.
Re Week 6 Urban Stairway
Effective use of the lines and very good depth of field makes me feel like I could walk into the picture and climb the stairs. I couldn't find any EXIF data from your camera.
Thanks for looking:
EXIF available here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/844385...in/dateposted/
Nice image
I like this image. Upward climb to start an adventure. For a shallow DOF setting (f/3.7), it seems sharp over all! Interesting.
Week 7--Coming Soon
Saw these fields just waiting for warm weather. Near Chilliwack, British Columbia
Coming Soon by urbanflyer, on Flickr
Well focused foreground and good sense of perspective. Several items which were at risk from over exposure have been constrained.
Nicely composed for week 7.
Very nice DOF.
Very interesting picture. May I ask what 'crop' is on that field ?
Week 8--Snow Last Night
We do not usually get snow in town but this year has been an exception.
Snow last night! by urbanflyer, on Flickr
Week 9--Oil and Water
This is what greeted me in the kitchen sink this morning--husband had popcorn last night!
Oil and Water by urbanflyer, on Flickr