Attached Link: http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/index.php?image_id=881825

**Wild thread...I have learned a ton just reading. As a 3D guy, all my previous contact with HDRI has been from an ImageBasedLighting perspective, and in that regard it works wonderfully....if you have an app that will use it. Tried it a bit i the Vue5 demo but that ran out, but an Imagine3D user created a script for using the info with the lightgen plugin that comes free[extra dl as i recall] with the  HDR Shop V1, to create a light sphere or hemisphere for lighting your scenes, and that does really approximate the lighting I was getting in Vue5 demo, but with a much greater rendertime expense. That I feel is the true beauty of true HDRI/IBL lit scenes...massively decreased render times.**

Thanx guys/gals for all the great info, and now it seems I may just have to take up actual Photography as some of these images have just blown my mind.

As a sample the link shows a scene lit with HDR extrapolation as described above. The HRDI used was also used in .jpg form as the sky/forest background.

 

Once in a while I look around,
I see a sound
and try to write it down
Sometimes they come out very soft
Tinkling light sound
The Sun comes up again