[Archimedes the Dog]

Still not satisfied with the massaging in post. All modifications done from RAW in Lightroom, also have Photoshop. Seeking suggestions.

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[Bruce Clark]

A tough scene. Very bright area and very dark areas.

Most lightroom exponents recommend setting the Whites first followed by the blacks, shadows and highlights in order.

I recently came across a lightroom tutorial on youtube which detailed an unusual but sometimes effective method of setting levels. Basically this chap operated in the basic module and first off, set exposure and contrast to look the best it can. Not too fussy on this point. Next he moves the highlight slider all the way to the left. Then he moves the shadow slider all the way to the right.

Highlights minimum, shadows maximum The photo is looking pretty poor at this point.

Third step is to adjust the Whites slider by holding down the alt/option key until the whites disappear. Similarly with the blacks slider. The photo is coming back into shape about here. Some clarity adjustment just about completes the picture.

Some fine tuning in problem areas using the brush tools, gradients, HSL and other tools and he is done.

Good you are using raw as shadow detail can really be recovered.

Using similar technique on your jpeg using Camera RAW in photoshop elements, revealed the attached. A lot of shadow detail has been recovered even from the small jpeg. You should do a lot better from the original RAW file

[desertscape]

It is just not a beautiful scene. Post won't change that enough to make it right.

[Archimedes the Dog]

It is just not a beautiful scene. Post won't change that enough to make it right.

Go home.