Just Fred wrote:
It looks like I may have to open my wallet one more time... ;-)
The first shot is the original, the second my dabbling with Lightroom 5.
This was taken in Zion National Park. There are a lot of extreme colors here; lots of red sandstone, greenery, and the sun has to make its way past the canyon walls. So, the sun is pretty blown out (I haven't found a way to correct that, yet), and I'm still trying to get the right balance in the colors.
You may try the graduated filter. When you darken the sky the mountains will darken as well but move your shadow slider up while in the filter. May work.