I just bought Photomatix and am in the process of experimenting, trying to understand what it does, how best to use it, and so on. For me, learning tends to be a hands-on, screw-around-with-it process. Push buttons, play with sliders, sample all the templates and presets (even the silly ones). Over time I learn how to make it work for me, and in the meantime I have a lot of fun. Like today.

Last week I spent a couple of days in Glenwood Springs on a video shoot for a client. We stayed at the (awesome) historic Hotel Colorado,  and everywhere I looked I saw yet another shot that I’m not yet good enough to get. But I pointed and clicked anyway. Also, I tried to figure out my HDR.

I took the following in the courtyard around midnight and dumped a couple of bracketed exposures into Photomatix and began investigating the possibilities. The first shot is the one where I was sort of playing it straight (although not entirely).

Now the goofing commences. This began with one of the “Creative” presets.

Look! I’m Thomas Kinkade!

Finally, some ridiculously high-contrast black and white silliness.

No, I won’t be winning any prizes here, but I had a lot of fun learning some lessons this afternoon. Can’t beat that, can you?