Yeah, I suppose some people think it's getting a bit old but I've been too busy doing other stuff like birds to try it out much and now making time to try all these things everyone else has done ! I've only just done water drops too !
Also, it may be old hat to us but to all the people I show my stuff to here they are blown away by it and have never seen HDR before. Maybe it just cos I live in sticksville !
Plus I think it's one of those techniques that people either really dig or hate, think hdr should only be for landscapes and even then should be subtle and I agree for landscapes but for stuff like this I think it really brings out the tones and details of the subject.
I use photomatix first which is often enough and then other actions etc. in CS4.
Andy, these are really nice. Some people just don't like HDR, old, new, whatever. You did a great job, plus you had the vision to pick out subjects that were perfect for this effect.
Very nicely done. The subjects lend themselves well to the "grunge" look of photomatix, landscapes would not do so well. There's a time and a place for everything, and artistic expression is at the liberty of the artist! The tools to create are there for each of us to use in our own way, and you've done a fine job using them. I especially like #4, just because there is so much in there to look at.
HDR definitely has its place. Sometimes, people will HDR just about anything. However, you have demonstrated how HDR processing can really make the image. These are all great. I really like the B&W a lot. Really adds to the effect.