Sun problem

[Comfy]

Hi I've been taking a few sunsets lately in HDR and getting some horrible effects on the sun and surrounding clouds in some but not all pictures.

This 'pinking' (not sure if theres a proper term for it) looks horrid and appears post processing. I'm in paint shop pro x2 photo using the HDR merge feature.
Also I'm using a cir-polarizing filter (for protecting the lens mainly) on my 17-85mm lens.

Is there anything I can do, possibly to one of the exposures, to stop this effect appearing? Or is it my set up or do I need to go buy myself photomatix for HDR merges?

Any help is very much appreciated, thanks

 

[del69]

It looks to high in the sky to be a sunset and this maybe the problem,maybe try when the sun is just about to go down and it wont be so bright....

 

[Comfy]

This pic was taken early in the evening and I used it because it showed off the effect quite well. It was happening all the time (on and off) including well after sunset (effect on clouds that is) and I'm not sure what I was doing wrong.
Would an ND filter help to bring down the brightness or does that open up another can of worms regarding aperture/shutter speed/iso balance.
FYI I'm a bit newb to be honest

 

[del69]

Have a read of this it may help..

 

[Comfy]

Ahh, thanks