I like challenging myself with my photos sometimes. Contrasty scenes can be especially difficult with nighttime photos. Any time you have a brightly lit sign with a darker background, it spells trouble. The Smith Fountain was one of those. It’s a pretty fountain, but it wasn’t lit, though the sign was. Add a little lens flare in the wrong spots and it can be a challenging prospect to edit.

Part of learning HDR photography is learning Photoshop and a photo like this can help improve your photoshop skills or simply give you high blood pressure. With this image, I think I gain a little of both. Check out the first photo of the Smith Fountain. Which do you like better?