I really like the final space image, it would be interesting to see it before PP
Ok, here they are.
Photos were taken hand held, using the auto HDR function on the d5100 set to +/-2eV. I then used the Photomatix HDR plugin to combine them. I tried my hardest to take a low-touch with the HDR....
This is the intermediary result, directly out of Photomatix:
I then went to work with it using the standard Aperture adjustments. I did the following:
1. increased definition
2. increased saturation
3. increased vibrancy ever so slightly
4. increased highlight and mid-point contrast
5. added some vignette
It resulted in the final image:
When I HDRd it, I really did try to be conservative, as I really don't like the overly HDRd photos. Here is a reject:
I actually quite like the sky (apart from the halo around the dish), but the dish is waaay over-done. I would have to photoshop in another dish in, and not only did I not have the time for it, I don't really like going that far with PP.
I really am just learning with PP (as well as photography in general) so I was really worried I over-did it. Thanks all for the positive feedback - here is hoping that I haven't turned people against this image, now that I have revealed it is HDR (I get the impression that many people seem to object on principle to HDR?).