Tips HDR and maybe some help?

OK, so as many of you may have guess I take lots of photos, but I rarely do any post-processing thats more than some exposure or contrast tweakage. Every once in a while though, I like to dable in some HDR, though I use it very rarely. Today I got an image that you will see below using HDR. I love what it does to the lover halp with the tires, but I HATE THE F-ing SKY!! What do you think, and what can I do to fix it? If anyone has any ideas, let me know not just what but maybe some tips, cuz I am not very advanced with PPing....

 

Get an entirely separate photo of a good sky and just photoshop it in with some masks and color replacement.

I like the bottom half though, as far as hyper-real HDRs go. Framing and subject are good

 

Did you ever read the HDR guide over at Vanilla Days? Some useful information there.

http://www.vanilladays.com/hdr-guide/

 

Thanks Silver51 for that link, very useful indeed!

 

Yeah, also not a fan of the sky/accompanying halo effects.
What software did you use to generate this? Consider maybe trying something new.

Apart from the sky, it's not bad.

 

Probably Photomatix, though you can do it in Photoshop, iir.
http://www.hdrsoft.com/

Otherwise, have a look here:
http://wiki.panotools.org/HDR_Software_overview

 

So I actually went back and captured an almost identical image with better sky and I think I like it. I mean its HDR so I go for the not quite realistic look, FYI!

 

The Halos kind of spoil it for me, but I do like the strong colours.

Are you using photomatrix? And if so did you note this bit of advice on the vanilla days tutorial?

Those those dark spots on the sky look like dust in your camera, do they show up on a plain test shot?

Dan

 

Try editing the sky and the ground separate, and then blending together in PS.

 

If you're using Photomatix, you could try one of these settings and tweak from there (taken from the vanilla days guide.)

Natrual Feel
Luminosity +8, Strength 25%, Colour Saturation 65%, White Clip 0.220, Black Clip 0.075

Natrual Feel 2
Luminosity -2, Strength 80%, Colour Saturation 65%, White Clip 2.230, Black Clip 0.490

Creative
Luminosity +5, Strength 75%, Colour Saturation 65%, White Clip 4.305, Black Clip 1.140