Post Processing - 2020

Post processing seems to be a never ending journey.  Over time software gets better, hardware gets faster.  And there are more choices and options.  And the training videos.
Shooting over 600 shots last weekend and processing all within a few hours was doable only with decent software practice enough to understand my flaws when shooting.
The blanket statement is that noting that comes out of my camera is "show" ready.  Every shot needs some 'help'.
I have a tendency to shoot off level.  I have an in view level.  Neat toy but useless, I usually don't have enough time to process that information.  At the very least, 99% of my shots need to be leveled.
Cropping:  Every shot is cropped.  My cameras are set up to shoot DX and FX.  Any other format will leave something behind.  My finished product usually comes out in 16:9 format, with 1920 x 1080 for current display monitors.  I don't do a lot of printing any more.  If I need an odd size, usually I can get it from the DX or FX original format.
Even if I wanted to shoot JPG, I still have to make these changes.  Multiple changes on a JPG file isn't a good practice.
So RAW it is and I'm committed to the process.  Even if there are a few hundred shots to process.
This is the process I use most of the time.
First, my software center is Photoshop.  Most of the work is done in Adobe Camera Raw.  I grew up on Elements and I suspect most of the terms and processes will translate to Elements easily.  I use other software where necessary.  Photoshop is all around good, but other niche software can be easier to use.

When opening a RAW file in PS, ACR (Adobe Camera RAW) opens automatically.  I like to make the ACR edits within PS as a filter.  This will be explained later.  However, there are two edits I like to make that are not available with ACR as a filter.  These edits have to be made at the Open.  One of the issues with PS is that the interfaces will change frequently.  The process names are generally consistent, but will sometimes be 'moved'.  Off the soapbox.  The two edits I like to make at the file open are found in the Optics tab.  Remove chromatic aberrations and Use profile corrections.  Chromatic Aberrations are inherent in a zoom lens, so if using a prime lens this edit is not necessary.  After selecting these two edits, open the image into PS.

After the photo is opened, the first thing I do is create a new layer to work with.  The easiest way is to use the short cut keys clt+j.  I will right click on this layer and select Convert to Smart Object.  Creating to a smart object is a very powerful tool.  This works for global changes and can limit some other edits.  But overall I use this.  What this allows is after edits are completed and saved, the layer can be edited again.  If this is not a smart object, once the edits are completed and saved, the layer is fixed.  So, I'll go through a number of edits on this layer.  If I forget one or need to remove some blue, on a regular layer I'd have to do everything all over again.  With a smart object, I can reopen the layer and make the changes to the edits.  This is such a time and process saver.

Working on my smart object, I select Filter on the top menu and select Camera Raw Filter (Shift + Ctl+ A).  This opens up the ACR module again this time as a filter.  Because I'm working on this as a smart object, all changes can be re-edited if necessary.  Had I made the changes on the file open, those changes are locked in.

Now the flow begins:

White Balance:  There are many ways to balance colors.  The easiest way I found is to use the white balance dropper to find a neutral spot in the photo.  Hover the dropper over a neutral area, read the RGB values on the histogram.  When the values are as close to even as can be, click the spot.  You will see the temperature and tint values change.  With some practice, neutral spots can be found relatively easily.

Color:  In the Edit area, find the Auto button.  This will set the Exposure, Contrast, Highlights, ect.  For my tastes, this works well.  On occasion, I will need to edit exposure or contrast.  Then I set Texture, Clarity and Dehaze.  Usually with a D500 photo I will set these to 20, 20 and 10.  With the D780, I set to 10, 10 and 5.  Vibrance and Saturation I set to 15 and 5.  Yes, these can be set as a profile that doesn't need to be entered all the time.  For color, this is where I start.

Curve:  Curve can be used for a lot of edits, but I use it mostly to 'deaden' shadows.  If I need to, I will move the Shadow slider to the right.  Once that is set, I use the rest to recover as necessary.  Yes, there is a shadow recovery penalty, but with the rest of the sliders the penalty can be quickly neutralized.

Detail:  This is where sharpening and noise reduction can be done.  ACR does a great job, but.  I use other applications for these jobs.  Absent of other applications, use these edits.

Color Mixer:  If I have a targeted color in an image, I'll select it here.  Usually I like a yellow or green pop in an image.  Sometimes a really deep blue sky will cast an overall blue haze that can be corrected here.  I won't correct a blue tint of the sky here, that will be done with a gradient later.

Geometry:  This is a biggie for me.  As I mentioned before, I am level challenged.  Usually this is a one button edit, both horizontal and vertical.  On occasion, this won't do the trick, not even close.  When it doesn't work, I just use the horizontal button.  And there are a few times, I have to do this on my own.  There is a grid feature to help out.  But 90% of the time, it is a one button click and move on.

Heal:  This is an underrated powerful tool.  On a day out at the airfield, eventually there will be some form of blemish on the shots from either dust, water or a small sunspot.  The blemish is easily seen in nice blue skies.  These are easily remedied here, using the Visualize Spots option.  One click, blemish gone.  Serious image saver.

At this point, the basic global edits are done.  Sometimes I use a more targeted edit methodology such as if an Eagle's white hood isn't exactly right, I spot edit the hood and add a small amount of exposure.  Or if a sky isn't the right shade of blue, I'll use the gradient tool to either lessen the exposure or add some blue.

At this point the ACR filter can be closed.  

To finish, I'll create another layer.  I don't have to.  Because this layer is a smart object, I could just move on to the next filter.  One of the down falls of using a smart object is if I add another filter to this layer and then go back to the ACR to make a change, it will take FOREVER to finish the layer.  So I just create a new layer.  

Depending on the image I'll use the following Topaz products.

If the image needs a lot of help, and it happens more than you'd think, I'll use Topaz AI Sharpen.  This usually happens when I'm shooting prop driven aircraft.  I have to use a slow shutter speed on a fast moving aircraft.  Sometimes I pan just right, sometimes I miss it entirely (delete) and sometimes I get it close.  I usually get it close.  AI Sharpen has three different algorithms to solve an image.  Usually the defaults on one of the three will do the job.  If the image is not salvageable, I will know at this time.  (Yes, I will often use this product first to see if i can work with the image before I sink any time into it.)

If the image needs noise reduction, I will use AI Denoise.  Easy, intuitive product to remove noise.  And with the latest version, you can target noise reduction.  For example, you can clean up the sky without touching below the horizon.  Very powerful.

And, if the image is close I'll use AI Denoise Clear option.  Usually the the process will add just enough sharpening to really clean up the image.  Best finishing product I've ever used.

At this point, the image is done.

I'll crop the finished product as necessary.

Move on to the next.

Yes, most of this can be used in a batch process.

It sounds like a lot, takes less than two minutes per shot.  Yes, practice helps.

RAW Processing in Elements

In Saturday's trip to a farm for the Horse Eventing, I had a few conversations about shooting a RAW image as opposed to JPG.  One of the points of the discussion was centered around time and knowledge to process the image file.
I'm going to go through a very basic process to process a RAW file into an image in Elements.  This is Elements 14 and ACR 9.5.   Sorry, but that is the last version I have.  The current version should be similar.
By default, when a RAW file is opened in Elements, the Adobe Camera RAW plugin should open.
This image was shot with a -1 EV compensation because there will be areas of blown pixels.  If there was no compensation, the dark horse saddle pad would be blown white  where I know it was green.  The histogram is left which indicates the image is dark overall and we'd like to correct it.
What follows is Kurt's quick edit.
First select AUTO.  That selection will get is to what Adobe thinks are 'balanced' light levels.

When that is done, there are two real changes made.  The histogram shows that light levels are moving to a more even level.  And the saddle pad is beginning  to show blown (Red) levels.  The pad is now white instead of a shade of light green.
Leave it alone for now, there are other edits that are still to come.

Next step is to set Clarity, Vibrance and Saturation.  RAW file are somewhat bland by nature.  I have my starting points.

I set my Clairity and Vibrance values to 20 and Saturation to 10.  When that happens, the saddle pad increases the blown area.  
At this point my basic edits are done.  Other edits if necessary can be done depending on what I what to do with the image.  
But for this image, I would want to work on the saddle pad.  And in this case the edit is simple, use the Whites slider.

I moved the Whites slider from 10 to 17 and the saddle pad color has returned.
From here, click on the Open Copy button and that will open the file in Elements.  From there, accomplish your edits or save the image as .
For the most part after a few times through, this doesn't take that long.  I usually don't like to spend more than a minute or two on basic edits.  And it think it is worth it over that a camera will do.
This is the camera JPG.

I think my process is overall a better image.  The saddle pad is still problematic, but with a little extra effort I cold get more green out of it.  And since it is a RAW file, the information is there, just need to unlock it.
That's the quick process.

Williamsburg Governor's Palace - North Side

At last night's photo club meeting I volunteered to do a demo on Adobe Camera Raw (ACR).  We have some new members who don't understand what it does, other than it annoys them.  We have members who use PS and Elements, so this 'discussion' will be beneficial to both groups.  My 'discussion' will be in essentially five weeks.  Unlike my school days, I will try to prepare more than a day out.
Since any chat about ACR on its own might take 20-30 minutes, I'll have to do some demoing.  That can fill up the other 90 minutes.
Tonight I was looking for RAW file images to use.  My criteria was to have some dynamic range, but not outrageous.  For the club, I want to use a somewhat realistic image not one that was deliberately taken to prove a point.
This is a photograph of the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg, Virginia.  Most people approach the Palace from the south side, main entrance.  Apparently I got lost and found my way to the lesser known north side.
I like this landscape shot.  Nice carpet of grass, bricks for detail, a not very common gold seal on the doorway and most importantly a sky that I won't have to replace.  There is a landscape dude that will have to be dealt with by some form of removal or crop.  We'll go for removal because I like a challenge, plus for the club I have cred that needs a bolster every now and then.
Here is the original image.

May 19, 2016 - I did have the D7200 at that time.  The lens is my 18-200.  ISO 400, f/11, 1/250 sec, 38 mm.

First step - open RAW image file in ACR.

There are two settings in ACR that I know of that are not available once the image is imported to PS.  I need to make my selections here.  I also do my initial light level sets.

First I will set the profile to Adobe Landscape.  For my light levels, I just hit the Auto setting.  First pass, I'll detail it later.

In this image, that is not so necessary, but is some other darker images this step will at least let me see what is there.  

The options that are not available later are the lens corrections.  I need to set them now.

I want to use this options to remove chromatic aberrations and enable profile corrections.  (It will change the image!)

From here I will take the corrections and open PS.

PS will open with the image as the Background layer.  As practice, I never work on the background layer, so I make a copy layer using the shortcut Ctrl+J.  Layer 1 is created.  Again as practice, I make Layer 1 a Smart Object.  This will allow me to make changes at a later time if necessary.

At this time I will open the RAW Editor Filter.  This is ACR inside PS, except for the two parameters I've already changed in Lens Correction.  I'll use the shortcut Shift+Ctrl+A to open the editor.

From here, I'll set the temperature and tint levels.  For this shot, I'll bump the temperature a bit, to give the illusion of some sun light.

I'll also move the other light levels as necessary.  I want a good photograph with a good sky.  No blown pixels, some (small) black areas are OK.  I'll also set my Clarity, Dehaze, Vibrance and Saturation.

When the colors and light levels are set, I move to sharpening.  For this, I generally use the heavy preset.

From here, I'll move to the Transform section.  Because I've already it the image with Lens Correction, there won't be much change unless the level is off.  I start off with the 'waffle' selection.  Unless I'm off at an extreme angle this will do the trick.

Nothing can ruin a good photo like spots.  Dirty lens, dust on the sensor, even a small flying critter will subconsciously catch an eye.  I always check for spots in the sky.  ACR makes this really easy to do with the spot removal tool and the Visualize Spots option checked.

No odd images in the sky.

Last stop in ACR is the Adjustment brush.  I didn't make any spot changes.  Usually when I do, it will be to over or under expose a small area.  There are some dark areas in the image, but non that I want to tackle.

At this point the image is basically done.

For the final touch, I need to remove the lawn service dude.  It would easy to crop the image and remove him.  But the Content Aware Fill option worked really well.  I did some touch up cloning along the brick wall just for fun and practice.  I also removed the top of the lightning rod that extends out of the picture.  Personal preference, not real fond of items that extend out of the photo if I can avoid it.  I'll finish by cropping it to 1920x1080 and adding the frame.

Fun image to work on.  Little bits of everything.

Aired Out Barn

While driving the back roads....  I may not be able to find this barn again.   I will look for it, I like what time has done to this.  You get to see the interior and the weathering of the wood.  And the roof.  And the roof.

This is a RAW image with a few default touch ups from PS.  My additional changes would be:  First the flat sky has to go.  Also the sky descends too low on the left.  Sort of distracts when I'm looking at the exposed hay in the barn.  And the contrast has to be just right to bring out the wood grain and whatever is left of the roof.  I'll also want to show some detail of the hay, lighten up that whole interior area.
For the sky I don't want a true blue, I just need something with some lighter definition that what is shown here.  Usually I try to get a image of sky from the area (if I remember and I think I'll need it) but I do have some stock images for emergencies.  Fortunately I won't need much area.  I'll go with this one.

I added some exposure to try to match the barn.  I used On One to merge the two images.  The masking tools in On One made this easy and quick.  When I added the sky, the area on the left of the barn really didn't do me any favors.  I thought that filling the area with some green-age would do the trick.  But where to get it so it didn't look imported, or copied in.  So, I just flipped a copy of the image.  Filled in great.  Same size, same colors.  I just needed what is in the red.

First time I've ever done a three layer mask.  

Worked out great.  So my post merge looked like this.

Getting closer.  Now I need to get some accent on the hay.  For this I'll use Photomatix to process some HDR - but only for the hay.  I'm not going to use it for the wood - although you could.  I wound up using the  Interior 3 pre-set, with some additional micro-smoothing.  

I also added a bit of exposure because the next and final edit will dark the overall image a bit.  To get my final touch I use NIK's HDR Efex.  Over the lat few months I've learned to use just a touch of it - not the 100%.  So, here's the final image.

It's not too overdone.  Interesting to see how my tastes have evolved over time.

Walking Shoes II

Had a really good photo related day on Saturday.  I started with a few hours at ProCam in Livonia for their Demo Days event.  I had a few subjects to address while I was there - and all were taken care of.
First, I had the sensors cleaned on the D90 and D7200.  Pretty reasonable price and they did it while I was there.
Next I wanted to see what the Nikon 200-500 lens really looked and felt like.  I did.  Yea, I could have bugged the store people about it at any other time, but on Saturday I could bug the Nikon Rep.  It's bigger and heavier than I thought.  What I found out is I need to include in that purchase price a mono-pod.  The lens is coming in at around 5 pounds, its not a real mobile thing.  Good information.  Still in the running.
I'll get to the walking shoes.
I also needed to chat with someone about lighting for the downstairs studio, aka Grandpa's (Munster) laboratory or dungeon.  In the first effort with the walking shoes (Walking Shoes) I thought the subject was OK, but the environment was not.  I was mostly concerned with correcting the shadows cast on the backdrop.  The first thing I could correct was moving the backdrop back a bit, and that's easy to do.  But that might not be enough, I needed to get to the light source.  So I needed to chat with someone about the dungeon lighting.
Seriously, I'll get to the walking shoes.
I found a sales rep for Westcott, a seller of studio lighting materials.  Condensing the story, he said I had everything pretty much all wrong.  (I take things like this well, as I hear it a lot.)  I had used two table lamps on the previous walking shoes photo.  The light was OK - but I did get unwanted shadows.
The sales rep's suggestion was to use the modeling light on one of my White Lightnings into an umbrella to expand the light source and see what that does.  Go down to one light?  Less is better, right?
I was all for that - I already have the stuff.  No extra $$$s necessary.
Now to the walking shoes.
I set up the environment so the backdrop was more relaxed and back off the subject.  I used one overhead light with the full power of the modeling light into an umbrella.
I used a nine shot photostack.  I changed the defaults on the Helicon program to take two shots per focus step instead of one.  More is better, right?
And one other teenie weenie change, I returned to processing RAW files.  (I was playing with JPGs earlier because in the stacking learning curve, I didn't want to confuse any issues.)
On the previous project, the light temperature from the table top lamps came out pretty close to what I would want.  In this new set up, not even close.

Looks like a bizarre autumn warming filter was used.  There's some heavy tungsten temps.  Maybe some white reflection from the umbrella as well.  For reference, the backdrop is black.  Seriously.
Maybe I've lived under a rock for most my photographic journey, but I've never really had to play with white balance before.  I remember trying to find a neutral spot on photographs and identifying it to Lightroom in hopes of making a difference I couldn't see.  But in this case, I need to do something.  So in PS raw editor, moved the WB from AS SHOT to AUTO.  Bingo!  I was in the ball park.  It was that easy.
After I hit it with the WB change, I applied a custom color profile file I created for the studio.
So, here are the vitals:  I used the D90 with a 50mm prime lens.  ISO was set to 200, Aperture was f/2.8, speed was 1/6 second.  I used Helicon Remote to calculate and manage the shots.  I used Helicon Focus to merge the nine shots.  

I hit it with a bit of NIK's HDR filters and Glow.  (Hey, it's still me.)  On the original file, you can increases to 100% and it is tack sharp everywhere, even in the color transition areas.  I attribute that improvement over the previous version of Walking Shoes to doubling the number of shots per focus step in Helicon Remote.
The walking shoes set up was a fun learning experience.  This project is closed.  Time to move on.

The White Barn

This is a barn in the Saginaw area.  I was out driving around and the sunlight and sky seem to be calling me.  This barn is photographed often by our Club, so it is not entirely unknown to me.  I've seen many shots at different times of year.  I think this has many possibilities.
First, I've started taking both RAW and JPG files.  I quit taking JPGs a few years ago, but now I have plenty of disk in the camera.  More information, even if it is not used ain't all that bad.

The RAW image:

The white siding is very close to being blown out.  On the histogram, that is represented by indications on the right and the warning symbol.  There just isn't a whole lot to deal with and the side is white so I'm expecting just a bit.

The Original Nikon JPG

By the histogram, it looks like the RGBs were reduced pretty evenly and added some dark blue.
Its OK, but not to my tastes.  First the golden vegetation has real possibilities.  I like yellows.  But I need more definition and a touch of saturation.  I think the real center of the picture is the white siding of the barn.  Again, more definition of the weathering.  And to finish up, the green on the tree and silo ivy is just plain boring, just some saturation.  Also, if I can do something with the sky in terms of clearing up the dull blue, that will be a bonus.

Now that I'm getting very comfortable Photoshop, I'm getting a solid workflow to 'prep' the image.  I start with the RAW filter.  In the RAW filter, I use the Transform tool to set the overall picture horizontal and vertical elements and correct for camera distortion.  Sounds busy, but I pretty much let PS do all the work.

In this case, there was some adjustment.

My next set of adjustments came from On One.  I tried the NIK adjustments and nothing suited me. In On One, I used Dynamic Contrast and Grunge filters.

On One Adjustments:

Now we're starting to get somewhere.  Starting at the top, the sky/clouds are starting to get some edge to them.  The tress and ivy have a lighter color and you can see much more definition.The flat white on the barn side is disappearing.  Not yet where I want it, but it is a start.  And as a bonus, I'm seeing some definition in the roof and silo.  The histogram is showing the image darkened a bit so I'll want to recover some overall light.  I used the RAW filter again to bump up the yellows and greens just a bit.

The Final Image:

I think I got what I wanted.  The sky has some definition, without looking too altered.  The tree and ivy have more color and definition.  The white barn siding isn't so bright, looks more weathered and detailed.  And the gold sea looks a lot more detailed.

Playing with NIK Software

I spent time today talking with two of my fellow photo-club members and as usual we wound up on the subject of workflow processes.
We started talking about the software we used.  We all had NIK software mostly because it is now free to use.  Thank you Google.  The software also works well with Photoshop and Lightroom.
In using NIK, one of the tips I picked up was to use a bleach filter early on in the process.  A bleach filter will do what bleach does - remove a lot of color.  Clean up the stains.  The filter will also sharpen and tone compress a lot of the photo.  In my limited experience (this afternoon) the filter seems to do a much cleaner job of sharpening and compression.  In the process, you can add color back  - and the color stays where you want it - that is no compression halos.
For my testing purposes, I'm using a photo of a church door I shot earlier this year in Flint.  Nothing reacts better to tonal compression that rock/stone and wood.  
This is the original RAW image.

The image is about as sharp as it will get naturally, I used a tripod.  As with RAW images, this is a bit flat and dull.  This is what the camera sees before going through some Nikon processing to make it a bit more pleasing to the eye.  This is the starting point.
My first step is to use the RAW editor to use the camera correction to straighten the image and lighten it up a bit.

In the next step or layer, I will add the bleach filter.

As with bleach, it has removed what looks like a layer of color.  Looking at the door in the center, you can now see wood grain definition.  The masonry looks like a sharpening effect was used, but was much easier than trying to find that right amount.
Next step will be to add some color back in with the Brilliance/Warming filter.

I like the way the color of the door has started to return.  When the new door lays is compared to the pre-bleach layer - you can tell the difference.

With a lot of work, I might be able to get the same result using multiple filters.  With this flow, there is no halo and the wood grain and masonry grain really pop.
I usually don't use - or haven't thought much of using this next filter, but for this photo it works.  The filter adds a bit lo light to the center.  it is basically the same as a vignette, but more of a circular pattern.  And in this case, I just want to accentuate the doors and this does the trick nicely.

So I now have the door where I want it color-wise and relatively speaking.  I'm on the final stretch here.  And because it is me, I need to add an HDR effect.

Now I've got the HDR effect I like.  The color is really close but going to give it just a little warm boost.

Clearly that last add of a warm is personal.
This is the final product up against the original.

If I was going to do more, I'd clean up the snow.  The HDR processing doesn't really do snow any favors, I like the pure white that is in the original.  I'd use masking to fix the snow.  That's about it for this image.
For this purpose, I like using the bleach filter.  That allows me to keep the sharpness of the photo through other adjustment layers.

Williamsburg: The Boathouse

When one thinks of Williamsburg, VA - one tends to think colonial.  And in most cases, one would be correct.  But not this one time.
Just outside of the colonial village, there is Bassett Hall Nature Trail.  It's a 2 mile walk between two golf courses.  Being that it splits two golf courses, there is a lake/reservoir between the two golf courses, and the walk goes along the water for some time.  Along the walk, and in this body of water there is what looks to be a boat house.  It has all the qualifying marks, basically in the water and a larger enough door on the water to let a water vehicle transit.
This scene has all my favorite elements, water, wood, reflections and a story.
The particulars:  3 Shot HDR, 400 ISO, Aperture Priority, Focal length 50 mm, f/11, speeds 1/200, 1/1600, 1/25.
I used Photomatix to get my base image.  I was planning to just set the colors, but it turns out I really liked one of the preset effects.  Wow - I didn't have to go too much further on this one.  This is my base image.

There isn't too much to do for the color levels, although I might make it just a bit darker.  The sun was out full, but I see this as a bit darker.  i will crop it closer to the building to really see the wood and reflections.  I need to cop out the grass in the foreground and maybe remove a stray blade or two.  I'll work on some effect to age the building more than it is.  But the first thing I want to do is sharpen the image.  At the club meeting last night, we started talking about the Nik sharpening programs.  I applied the pre-sharpener to this image before I 'aged' the building - and then used the post sharpening at the end.  In the preview pane, you can see some action going on.
So in the end, after the effects, sharpening and a 5x7 crop, this is what I get.

I really like the end product doors.  I usually favor a deeper yellow - but this is right on.  I thought I'd be spending more time on this project but this fell right into place.  After the picture of the Inn (Williamsburg Inn Morning), this is more my speed.

Williamsburg: The Inn - Morning

Last week I spent a wonderful few days with the family.  Williamsburg, VA was the chosen location.  We had lots of time to visit (no kids).  We were there at the not quite tourist season and the weather was most comfortable.
On the photography side, I stayed mostly with HDR instead of focus stacking for my adventures.  I did try the stack on one outdoor flower and there was just too much movement in the air to get a good shot.  So I worked on my HDR technique.
One of the best changes I made was to utilize the camera timer.  I set it up to delay 1 second  after the shutter button was released to fire three shots with a half second in between each shot.  At first the one second delay was awkward - but I found after releasing the release, I could focus on steadying the camera.  Worked out quite nicely.
I also worked on my back button focus.  I like the configuration and have been using it for a few months.  I just have not used it enough to be second nature comfortable with the process.  I did work on this quite a bit and am getting much faster in getting to the picture.
I did get one photo request - that was to get a frontal picture of the Inn where we were staying.
I was able to get two shots of the Inn.  One at night and one early morning.
This is the early morning shot.  The particulars:  ISO 100, f/Stop f/8, focal length 18mm.  There were three shots: 1/60, 1/500 and 1/8.  Mode is Aperture priority.  Shots were taken hand held.
I put the three shots through Photomatix and chose one of the Smooth settings.  I did this to keep the halo between the roof of the building and the sky to a minimum.  For the most part, All i want is to set the colors and shadows.  i also upped the shadows a bit to bring out some of the red in the shutters.  This is what I came out with - and is my starting point.

I know from past experience when this gets to a 5x7 format I will lose quite a bit.  I'm not happy with the almost what area on the left in the trees.  I have options for removing that area, but I think it will be best to just make that part of the crop.  I will also do what I can to get most of the roadway out of the shot as well.  The light blue sky is not really what I like, needs to be deeper - and I can do that.  Last, being shot at 18mm there is a lot of camera distortion that needs to be corrected.
Working in Photoshop, I will be using the Smart Layer function with the RAW editor.
To darken out the sky a bit, I used the Adjustment brush to mask in a cooler color.  Very targeted cooler cast on the sky is just enough.  And I don't have to deal with a halo.

Didn't take much, just enough to get the haze look out.
All I need to do now is address the camera distortion before I do a final sizing adjustment.  To tackle the camera distortion, I will use the Camera Raw filter again - but this time on a separate layer.
Using the Camera Raw Filter, select the Lens Correction tab.  In this tab you will find the tool to correct level, horizontal and vertical perspective corrections.

When this filter is applied, the building with straighten out - and look like a building.

And you would be correct in saying that some of the photo is removed and unusable.  But I'm going to crop to a 5x7 format and I need to lose the sky issues on the left.  I'm looking at this as a win.
One of the issues I have not yet solved with Photoshop is when an image is re-sized, it re-sizes the entire process, not just the layer.  To bypass that problem I will save the layer as a TIFF and open it for editing in a new window.
On this file I will do my final crop/sizing and other final processing.

I think the crop worked out well.  I wanted to keep the barrel by the signpost.  And I wanted to get rid of the white sky.  The right side of the building is cut a bit close, but if that's all that is wrong - I'm good with the picture.

Since this was a request, I didn't go overboard on the effects - this may be the first 'conventional' photo I've every published.  Maybe I'll add my version later?

The Updated Workflow (Thoughts)

As I've moved to new (to me) software, I'm working to find the best workflow.  The other sticky wicket is if I'm using stacking instead of HDR, I need to introduce some form of color to enhance the RAW images.  I don't want to stray from HDR - but it doesn't work so well with stacking.
Through working the photos of the DMRRC I've had plenty of time to try, delete and try again different paths from RAW image to publish.  About the only goal was to not retreat to Elements.
On the real positive side, I've watched hours of YouTube instructional videos.  Every package of software I use has multiple authors of videos, from software company sponsored productions to amateurs with interesting tips and tricks.  I have learned so much - and a lot I can't remember but have plenty of links for review.
What I've worked to is a two step process.  The first step takes the RAW images and either stacks them or follows a image merge for HDR with a default setting.  The second step takes that output and manipulates in a way I like.
If I'm doing HDR, I'm still working with Photomatix.  I continue to think Photomatix does the best job with the HDR merge.  At this stage I'm looking to mostly set the color.  There will be a little  HDR tone effect and that's OK.  At the end of this process all I'm trying to do is get a good tone mapped file.  The final file is a loss-less TIFF file.
If I'm doing a photo stack, I'm using Lightroom to add the photos as layers into Photoshop.  Lightroom is part of the software packing I'm using and this is Adobe's method for adding the photos into Photoshop as layers.  Once the photos have been added to Photoshop, the layers are aligned then merged/stacked.  Again, the final output file is a loss-less TIFF file.
From here, if there is any masking work to be done, I'll use On One.  I find their masking processes to be easy than Photoshop.
Once I have the photo from the first steps, I'm now comfortable with Photoshop.  In most cases, I take the photo and create a smart layer.  In this smart layer I'll do any camera corrections first followed by the Camera Raw filter.  In this step, I'll really work on the lighting and balances.  To finish, I'll add an effects layer to the smart layer.  I'm really liking the Nik HDR filters as a starting point.  if that hasn't worked, I'll use Photomatix.
Generally I don't do a lot of sharpening, if I do the Effects part right, it is not necessary.
My web presentation size is usually 5x7 at 150 PPI.  I usually save the JPG at around 60%.

DMRRC: Bullpen

I previously mentioned I had a total of 22 shots of which maybe 18 were OK and there were four really good ones.  I'm really down to one really good one (Loading Station) and maybe four second tier ones.  We'll see.  A lot of times playing with an image does something unique which will catch me by surprise.
This photo was one I called Bullpen.  Baseball analogy.  These trains are waiting to be called into action.  The Bullpen is located under the main platform and there is no real scenery around.  The light also stinks.  At the time, I could have made
some better environmental choices.  The subject is there for sure.  There are some great colors on these units.  But coulda, woulda, shoulda.  Next time.  But what I have here I can work with.
This is a seven stack shot.  Should have been 14 to 15.  If you know what to look for, there are small areas that are not as sharp as they should be.  Again, I learned something.
This is a great lesson for shooting RAW.  The original images are very dark.  Because I shot in RAW, I could bring out more light and colors.
This is the initial image after the stacking process and sending it through Photomatix to give it some color, just at the Default setting.

Again, there is a bean bag involved.  A lesson here is I should have taken more time in setting up the bean bag to gain elevation.  Yet another lesson.  But for stacking purposes, this is a great effect.  Even at f22 - I'm guessing you wouldn't get the focus in the track you get with the stacking.  And might be good experiment for the next visit.
The next question would be to the DMRRC would be, do you like this background?  They might like this, where I think it needs help.
So the plan is going to be mask out the area above the trains, and merge with the Hollywoods mural from previous shots.
I did the masking work in On One.

I won't show the Hollywoods mural again, it can be seen in the previous posts.
I tried many effects, but most took away from the yellows that I didn't like.  This would be a good photograph to play with specific colors - yet another rainy day project.  I also decided to go away from my usual 5x7 format.  I changed to a 3.5x7 format for this one.  Just too much track in the foreground for me.
So the final image for me comes to this.

I like this shot a lot.  It's growing on me.  But the real question is, would the DMRRC like this version, or the original?  Bet they'd take the original.