Is this overcooked? Cinque Terre after/before

[u/level1807]

My brain loves it but can it be improved? Also I just discovered how much better edited photos can look in HDR, but idk if Reddit supports it. I tried to make the SDR preview as good as I could, but please forgive the slight flattening of the details in the highlights.

[u/[deleted]]

So, so bad now.

Once you let the eyes settle, original was far better.