Looks like it should be an album cover...

You're right, there is something in the composition which is great! I like it.
But the HDR treatment removes all contrast and depth in this picture, imo.
What about an intermediate state between original & hdr image ? :)

Suri: I did try an intermediate version, but couldn't get that to work either.

I like it. One thing I appreciate about your work is that it's creating a whole separate world, similar to our own but mixed with your own vision. It's a bit like what a film director does- shoots our world but then turns it into something more, or at least different and interesting- a place that exists in their mind that we can now see as well.

I'm more of a straight-ahead shot guy myself, but your stuff is really outstanding and memorable, and this image is a case in point.

Looks a bit like an aquatint print.

The composition is interesting enough, with the energy moving to the right and suddenly halting at the shovel. I also like the grime that the tonemapping pulled out. But I agree with Suri that the contrast and depth is lost here - the three dimensional scene looks smashed onto a flat plane (more than an ordinary photograph) - but looking at the original and its lack of shadows to begin with, it's tough to avoid. There's also haloing around the trash can and shovel.

(BTW, of course don't mean to be overly negative, but uncritical praise never helped anyone either! ;-)

I know exactly what you mean about compositions that just seem 'right' and this is certainly one of those. Everything seems to have been arranged just so, and the yellow '5' is perfect.
The fact that the HDR treatment removes all depth and reduces it to more of a graphic illustration is, in my view, part of its strength.

I like your cmposition here, but it´s a little too overprocessed I think.

I like the graphic interpretation of this picture.

A simple thing made into something special and interesting to look at, great job!

Thanks all.

As for whether this is 'something special' or 'overprocessed' is, I think, an aesthetic call. Personally, I think it works, but I do understand that this style isn't to everyone's taste.

I like how you have turned everyday objects in to a very interesting graphic image. The HDR treatment really suits this picture.

Your post-processing is brilliant here! I am not a fan of HDR, but what you have done here had enhanced the over all feeling to what I feel you may be trying to convey. Naturally it's all subjective, I understand. I really how you have made this scene become a fossil of sorts. An imprint for those in the future decades after us, a memory of what life became all those years ago. The #5 is perhaps like a stall number, a designated parking stall for these items.

I like the mood overall and the subjects in the perspective but the HDR i think is too aggressive.