One from a couple of years back when I was on the way back from Grove Rake mine. If memory serves me correctly, this was the road down from Alston into the Eden Valley, and as I drive down the winding road, I was treated to some spectacular views. Unfortunately, there are precious few places to stop and take in the view, and I ended up pulling onto a grass verge, and then running back up the road.

This was a bugger to expose for, and as it was a side of the road snapshot I’d left my tripod in the car before sprinting up the road. Even with exposure compensation, it was a struggle due to the number of stops difference between the lightest and darkest areas. I’ve managed to recover some of the detail in the shadows in the foreground, although I’ve chosen to keep them slightly too dark to give a layered arrangement to the tones as you go back through the picture.

I can see why filters and HDR are so popular with landscapers. That said, HDR, or more specifically tone mapping,  is so badly applied by the majority of photographers that it’s given the technique a bad name. Although I own a copy of Photomatix, I prefer to blend and mask by hand as I have far more control. Filters are probably the best way of getting the effect if you can afford them and don’t mind the bulk they add to your lens.