Which one?

[Wazukie]

OK, I took these pics of Mt Adams today.  The first one is straight out of the camera.  The second has a little post processing done to it.

Which one do you like best?

[Tom Reichner]

A little post processing?  Looks like the saturation slider was torqued way, way up.

Over-saturating images is one of the most common over-editing mistakes.  This image would definitely benefit from some processing, but I would edit very gently.  You don't want it to look entirely unrealistic, do you?

[Wazukie]

actually I like them both and yes I was going for a unrealistic look, almost HDRish

[fair-chase]

Tough call Wazukie. Both look good to me but I am not a photographer or knowledgeable of these things. In this instance I would go for the processed mostly for the fact that the trees center left are not distinguishable in the original and leaves too much "gray area". Either way I like both of them. 

[Wazukie]

OK, so I need a monitor.  Tom they probably look totally different on your computer than mine because I have a TN display and it is not calibrated.  Guess its time to invest in the monitor now that I have the camera gear and the software to do the PP.

[Swannytheswan]

back off on the saturation and it will be nice...maybe no saturation at all but a polarizing filter

[Johnb317]

Get yourself a Syder or Huey.... they calibrate the colors on your monitor.

btw - I like the colors that God picked.

[boneaddict]

I don't like post processing much, so I love the first one.   SAW those clouds last night from my porch. Missed the lighting on them.  VERY COOL photo ops.  I was "wasting" my time on here when Lil Bone came running in...DAD come look.  I was tired, said nah, and she said get out here, so I did.   NEAT sky, way to capture it.

btw - I like the colors that God picked

Amen to that

[Alpinegus]

They are both processed; not? 
You select the camera set points or process to take the picture; then you select the process to view the picture. Settings on our screens are different, as are the end process of the printing.
The second processed one for me.
Awesome picture. 

[Wazukie]

Ok, this one is from the original.  All I did in Lightroom was adjust the exposure and the fill light on the trees.

[boneaddict]

according to my eye.....you might have over sharpened it a bit.   Color is great in the last one, but the blending was better in the original.  (of course ONLY according to my opinion) It gives it a taste of Not natural.....(for lack of better words) 

[Wazukie]

Interesting, I'm new at all this.  If I remember I didn't do any sharpening on it at all, just brought the fill light up a little.  Maybe its my monitor and what I am seeing on my end.  I have a new one on order.

[boneaddict]

If you auto did anything it might have done it for you.

[boneaddict]

Maybe it is only the fill light.  It looks like it added a bunch tot he timber and then some to the clouds.   When you look at stuff like grass and fur on an animal etc. Sharpening isn't too bad, where you have to watch is what it does to subjects like your clouds.   Clouds inherently aren't sharp and don't have edges. 

Again, I don't post process much at all so I'm just shooting from the hip.

[Wazukie]

OK, you guys won me over, I went with the original to enter in the fair.