Wagon Wheel

This was a wheel inside the JB Baker Blacksmith Shop. I liked the look of it leaning against the wall with nothing else around it.  I have no idea where it came from or what the story is behind it.  It could have been there since the early 1900s or someone else owned it and added it to the blacksmith shop later when it became a historical site.  

I tried experimenting with HDR (high dynamic range) processing. I think you're suppose to use it mostly for very high contrast scenes but it can probably work with any image.  Basically, you take various exposures of the same image, from underexposed to overexposed (to capture as much of the shadows and highlights of the image).  I used a single image but saved it at 3 different exposures (under exposed, normal & overexposed). The HDR image records all the information between the various exposures and makes it into a single high dynamic range image.  The HDR image contains a much higher level of detail than the computer can display so, you then have to save it at a lower bit rate and use tone mapping to adjust the image.  At least that's how I understand it so far.  For this photo, I added a subtle HDR effect that helped to pull out the dirt/grit on the floor below the wheel.  Also, the grain in the wood on the wall seems to pop out more to the eye than it does in the original.