Please critique my work - Looking east in black and white

[Timza]

Early in the morning. Canon G15. Handheld. Aperture priority f/5.6. Auto Exposure Bracketing, -1.0, 0, +1.0. Manual ISO200. Resultant shutter at 1/500. Lens at 44mm full frame equivalent. Evaluative metering. RAW. Three photographs exported from Lightroom to then be combined in Photomatix. Black and white vibrant preset. Then a little Photoshop transform perspective to get the building lines straight.

I liked clouds in the sky. I like how I show only part of the building. This is my first Photomatix image. I am kind of new to photography after years of point and shoot cameras and excited about being able to take multiple exposures and then combine them to get an image I would not have been able to get with my old point and shoot with one picture.

 

[xenskhe]

I like that you like what you like, so I liked it. Also that you're fluent with your camera's functions and knew what you wanted from the software.

For me the cloud is too dark generally and looks oppressive. The sort of 'dodged' area around the building looks a bit odd compared to the clouds to the left. The cloud tone merges too much with the building. It has a graphic novel look to it, I think the sky would look better if it were a bit lower contrast.

 

[Timza]

Are you saying maybe a little less Citizen Kane? More medium below without any cloning.

Is using Photomatix and/or Lightroom to get a black and white photo from a RAW file acceptable to you all? Should I be looking at DXO Flimpack or Alien Skin Exposure?

 

[xenskhe]

Good luck making an image that's acceptable to us all If you find out how to do that let me know.

The revision is now way too bright. I meant just a bit lighter than it was.