I was just having fun with effects and not trying at all to add realism. HDR can be used to great effect if used to the proper degree and on a photo that has the "bones" to begin with.I'm not a fan of over done HDR and photos that are processed just a little to much that they just look unnatural, but when they are way over processed such as these, then it's more like art. I like them both.
Funny you should mention IR. I just recently picked up an IR filter and am about to begin experimenting with it. When I saw the result of this photo, it reminded me of the same thing.A look of IR in the second one