Steps in Thira

It's another photo processed with Photomatix Pro 5 Contrast Optimizer (which is one of my favorite features available in beta). This scene required doing HDR for several reasons:

• shadows near steps in foreground were rather darks,
• sky was very bright,
• there were a lot of bright highlights like white tables, houses walls that were reflecting sun light.

However, I wanted a very natural look that wouldn't scream HDR. In Photomatix 4.2.x I often used Details Enhancer. It required using specific settings and also meant some post-processing work as output needed to be low-contrast. But with Contrast Optimizer in Photomatix Pro 5 beta it's so much easier to get natural results. I mainly use default settings which produce very natural and nicely looking result.

Technical details:
Camera: Canon 5D MK III
Lens: Canon 24-105 f/4 L IS USM
Focal length: 28 mm
Aperture: f/11.0
Exposure time: 1/250 s ("middle" exposure)
ISO: 200
Number of exposures: 5
E.V. Step: 1
Flash used: no
Tripod: no
Filters: circular polarizing filter
Technique: HDR, tone-mapping, luminosity masks
Software: Magic Lantern 2.3, Photomatix Pro 5 beta (Contrast Optimizer), Lightroom 5.0, Photoshop CC