Luminance Masking for Contrast Control

http://www.cookseytalbottgallery.com/photo_blog_article.php?blRecordNumber=38

Seems like a good article. Any comments??

I wonder how this would compare in practice to NIK Color Efex in combination with several basic NIK adjustments, which can be nicely localized and are intuitive and either free or cheap depending on where it was downloaded.

I do question the author's color sense (evidence in his website) but maybe that's just a matter of taste: habitually want "proper" color, ie per Ektachrome.

Eric, are you using this?