I bet if you lowered the gamma a bit it would look a bit better. That's just my opinion though. I really like the composition, although I do wish those cars and light post weren't there.
Yeah...I agree lacking something...let me see if it can be brought down a notch in Photomatix. I'll post a new version tomorrow...see how it goes. Thanks for the feedback.
I tried B& W...it was ok. I'll get it again in the spring...I'll be back in SF...bringing my tripod this time. =) Time of day and available light is most important.
As for the pic... the colors and stuff don't work for me, personally. They look kinda weird. Picture looks a bit fuzzy, too. There's also something up with the sky to either side of the needle-like building thingy.
Sorry, not trying to tear it apart. Good idea, I just think the execution needs some more work.
Personally I liked the first one, it had more of the colors and looked "hand painted" like the title.
The second was too toned down....
I dont know, whenever I see a HDR topic or I try to create an HDR pic, I expect/create something "picturesque" - something for different than a photograph...