HDR virgin on a Cloudy Sydney Day

[natskis]

Hi All,
I'm quite new to the photography world and this is my first post so feel free to Critique, I do have a thick skin!
I've only started to really take pics with the new(ish) 400d I've got.
It started to become very overcast down here in Redfern, I decided to get out and take a few pics and test out what I had read up on HDR image processing.

First off From my rooftop looking out towards Sydney:
(Click to be linked to a larger picture)



This is one looking out towards Anzac Bridge. Mucking around with Photomatix allowed me to get the clouds to really stand out but it might be a little too OTT in regards to the buildings looking painted. Opinions?



This is the lavender Garden on the Roof. Also trying to frame some of the dark clouds in the background.



I looked down the corridor and thought I could frame an uninviting picture and found that HDR really brought out an interesting look in this pic.

[surenj]

Save the halo effect I like the first one especially...

[Killakoala]

Personally, I prefer an HDR to not actually look like it was an HDR image, but a perfect exposure. But that's my preference. These are all over-done in my opinion.

But now that you have ventured down the path of HDR, practise more and more. It is a fun way to get something of of an otherwise difficult subject.

[Tiberius]

These pics look a little overcooked. other than that, they are quite nice. try not to use such wildly different exposures and you should get much nicer results.