[Larne]

I agree about the trees but as an Elements user I don't get the joys of layer masks (unless I have seriously misunderstood something) so that's for the future.

Regarding the shooting of multiple images, while I agree that would produce a better HDR picture I have a personal problem with it. I go out to take photographs, not to generate raw data for input to a tool that will generate the photograph for me. I know it is fairly semantic but what I did above I see as using Photomatix to improve my original photograph whereas if I had shot a load of images I would have been using Photomatix to create the image for me.

Does that make sense?

Its a creative thing really and I know on one level I am limiting myself but I don't want to lose the 'buzz' of shooting and turn it into a mechanical exercise. Layer masks on Photoshop (when I can afford it) will just be another part of improving my original image (by combining elements of it with the HDR image) so I'm okay with that as well.