Yet more HDR (but am I getting any better?)

After experimenting with four different HDR programs (Photoshop, Dynamic Photo HDR, Photomatix and Nik HDR Efex Pro) I keep coming back to the last one.  The user interface is so much more intuitive than the others, and - just as with Silver Efex Pro - is designed to be used by photographers in very much the same way as things used to work in the darkroom.

The following images were all processed in HDR Efex Pro, and I was deliberately attempting to achieve as natural a look as possible (given the limitations of the medium).

I also couldn't resist going for a surreal interpretation of some work taking place in the Triforium.  I'm not normally a fan of OTT processing, but this image really seems to work.

Before the 14 day trial runs out on Monday (sob) I've also been experimenting with some other examples of HDR work.  The first is a three picture set, two stops apart, which was hand held.  The auto-align feature of HDR Efex Pro is pretty astonishing (Photoshop made a complete dog's breakfast of the job).

I also tried a couple of "single image" HDR examples, starting from a single RAW file rather than a bracketed set.  Both a bit surreal, but certainly more interesting than the originals (not saying much).

The final example is a bracketed sequence from my Infra Red camera, just to se what the result would look like.

I now need to break the world record when it comes to learning and HDR processing before my trial period runs out.  Either that or break open the piggy bank...