I tried my hand at HDR or High Dynamic Range photos recently and really liked the results. Using this method brings out more detail in the highlights and shadows, details that don't show up in a single photo. These images were created by shooting 7 shots and bracketing the exposure by .7 fstop for each one. NIK Effects Pro stitched them together. You'll need a tripod as it's really hard to shoot 7 or nine exposures all perfectly aligned (trust me on this one). I used Aperture preferred mode letting the camera choose the shutter. that way everything stays in focus. You can shoot just 3 exposures, normal, under and over exposed, but the more exposures you shoot the better the results.

 

 

 

The NIK software allows you to make HDR images from a single photos. Pretty nifty.

It takes more time to do create this effect but the results are worth it. I think I'll be shooting some HDR in the future.