[footfootfoot]

'News,
I'm not sure what you are going for in the shot so my advice may not be in the right direction. To my eye, the top picture is better as in more shadow detail and a longer tonal range. The bottom picture seems contrasty, especially in the shadow area. The lighter values are brighter and a bit more open, but don't need to be at the expense of the shadows.


What version of photoshop are you using? I'm most familiar with 6.

Here is what I did with your image and a screen shot showing a few steps. This is how I would interpret the image. To get real detail in the blown out flood lights it would have to be in the negative in the first place. If it is a digital capture, it would help if you started out in raw format.