Crab Apple Blossoms - Graphic Pen - With and Without HDR

Today's image is a comparison of an image that is tonemapped for HDR and... one that hasn't been processed for HDR, both passed through the Graphic Pen filtration system. Here is the original:

This is the no-HDR version:

This is the HDR version:

I am a little surprised that the HDR version came out lighter than the non-HDR image, but not every HDR image is the same. If this HDR image was a little bit lighter, maybe the filter does a better job with darker images?

Thanks for stopping by!