>>1253867learn2multipleconversion
>>1253858Basically, what I did was opened the JPG as a RAW file and used ACR to fine tune some color settings. You could also do that in PSD, but it's longer. Also, "Jacob's Ladder" could do it, but I find it easier to do it in ACR.
After which, once I felt the sky was dramatic enough, I applied a multiply mask to intensify the color and contrast in the blues to get a better feel. I repeated that again for the foreground in a different fake RAW conversion.
As for the curves, they were only slight and selective to bring out the contrast on the barn. After, I burned and dodged selected areas.
Also, masking helps with the multiply layers...and a tablet. Generally, you only want to intensify certain areas to get that HDR or dramatic feel to it. In this, I only applied it to the blue sky, some of the clouds, a bit of the burn (more like burning), and some of the foreground. Also, I dodged that rock in the corner because I felt sorry for it.