Point Lookout

We needed to replace a geocache at Point Lookout today. It was a fun location to try out my new ND filter. It is a 3 stop, soft edge. 
When I ordered the ND I also bought a polarizing filter. My extra is a view using that filter.
Using these filters required a lot of post to lift the shadows. The sooc photos  included the rim of the lens in the photo (extra 2.) The camera's metering showed a correct setting, but the results were very dark. This looks to be an intimidating learning issue.