The photograph above was taken in Shamrock, TX while I was following Route 66.

Processing Notes: I did so much to this image that it will be almost impossible to describe it. I literally spent an entire day working on this image. I just couldn’t stop refining areas. I started by combining a three-shot High Dynamic Range shot and processed it a total of three times saving each result before applying another processing to the image. I then opened each of the image through Adobe Camera Raw and stacked them on top of each other in Photoshop. I used the 3x version for most of the image and masked in the 2x version for the driveway since it looked to have too much detail. I used the 1x version for the sky. I retouched out all the telephone poles and cars in the scene and smoothed out the sky. I then applied a few actions (soft contrast and antique color) and masked them so they only applied to isolated areas. I then added at least 10 Hue/Saturation adjustment layers to control the color of particular areas. I also added a few curves adjustment layers to modify the contrast and brightness of areas. I also applied a Black and White adjustment layer with a yellow/orange tint and lowered the opacity of the layer and then painted on the mask to prevent it from affecting the pumps and other areas. I then applied a different Black and White adjustment layer for the sky. Many of these concepts are described in my new on-line Mastering HDR class. I liked the end result enough that I think it might end up being a poster at some point. Below is a single shot processed using default settings in Adobe Camera Raw: