Above are two images, on the left we have the image as is was when it came off the sensor, untouched, on the right is the same image, preprocessed in CameraRAW, postprocessed in Photoshop and then Tone Mapped with a photoshop plugin from Photomatrix. You can see the wonderful colors that are brought out and the detail that is preserved and reclaimed from the Tone Mapping.

Below are the preprocessed (left) and the postprocessed (right) images so you can see the progress the image took from sensor to it's Final state. At the time I write this entry it has been about 8 months since I originally captured this image, I originally discarded this image to the archives because I thought the best result I could get is my postprocessed image below (albeit a nice image, it just lacks the what makes an image special). After learning of Tone Mapping and revisiting some of my old shots, I found that this among many other images are truly beautiful when Tone Mapped to display their true value.

As you can see the greatest enhancement came when the Tone Mapping filter was applied. Tone mapping is a technique used in image processing and computer graphics to map a set of colours to another; often to approximate the appearance of high dynamic range images in media with a more limited dynamic range. Print-outs, CRT or LCD monitors, and projectors all have a limited dynamic range which is inadequate to reproduce the full range of light intensities present in natural scenes. Essentially, tone mapping addresses the problem of strong contrast reduction from the scene values (radiance) to the displayable range while preserving the image details and color appearance important to appreciate the original scene content. Below is another example of one of my revisited photos and it's tone mapped results.

Image as best I could acheive with postprocessing alone:

Image after Tone Mapping:

Now these examples are certianly not to say that Tone Mapping is the ultimate and must use/have filter when it comes to working with digital photography. Many photos can and do take on a certian cartoony effect when Tone Mapped and some purists would say that using Tone Mapping takes away from the photogrphy part of photography. I say that Tone Mapping is just another tool to include in one's "photography quiver" and would say to experiment with it, have fun, and enjoy this beautiful world we live in.