Image #1 of 4. This image was exposed for the Shadows (the canon & foreground). The exposure latitude (dynamic range) of the camera's sensor could not properly expose BOTH highlights (sky) and shadows at the same time. The solution? Shoot TWO SHOTS. Expose one properly for shadows (this one) and one for highlights (image #2). Combine the two by any of a variety of techniques. In this case I use a contrast mask (image #3) and Picture Window Pro's Composite transformation to make a composite final image (image #4) from #1 and #2.