The finished product is all that counts in my eyes... if this is what you saw and what you wanted to capture, then I think you've done a great job of getting the image to what you wanted... who cares what the process!
OK, I'm glad you all like it, but my I have to fess up... This was taken late in the day, with the sun left, and behind the trees.
The sky out in the lake area was kinda harsh and washed out, and the trees were dark due to the sun angle. Duplicate layers in PS created, contrast adjusted, dodge and burn, and saturation was tweaked to get this variation.
Incredible. Perfect exposure. The cloud really enhances the shot. I might loose the very bottom blurry rail. A bit distracting to this otherwise perfect shot.
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