Technique help.

[Foundbyfate]

Hey guys. Free at forum. First post here. Hope y'all had a great Christmas.

Just wondering how these guys achieved these effects.

I've been trying for a couple of month, yet I am no closer as to finding out their secrets. I've contacted the artists directly too, alas no joy.
I hope this isn't a Lightroom kinda question (is the L word even allowed around here?!)

Hope you guys can help

 

[IamSam]

Hello and welcome.

This is an old HDR type of effect.

 

[Foundbyfate]

Hello and welcome.

This is an old HDR type of effect.

Hey, thanks for the welcome.

Which one are you talking about specifically? Or all?

Yeah, I've been through these hdr tutorials many times and none get close to what's in the examples. I've combined this with desaturation and masks, as well as split toning and colour lookup adjustments but still nothing hits the spot.

Its quite frustrating.