The paper presents a novel method for rendering high dynamic range (HDR) images on conventional displays. The method is conceptually simple, computationally efficient, robust, and easy to use. It manipulates the gradient field of the luminance image by attenuating the magnitudes of large gradients, and then reconstructs a low dynamic range (LDR) image by solving a Poisson equation on the modified gradient field. This approach effectively compresses the dynamic range while preserving fine details and avoiding common artifacts such as halos, gradient reversals, or loss of local contrast. The method is also capable of enhancing ordinary images by bringing out detail in dark regions. The authors compare their method with previous techniques, demonstrating its advantages in preserving local contrasts and reducing visible artifacts. The paper includes a detailed review of previous work and discusses the implementation and results of their method, showing its effectiveness in various applications, including HDR radiance maps, panoramic video mosaics, and image enhancement.The paper presents a novel method for rendering high dynamic range (HDR) images on conventional displays. The method is conceptually simple, computationally efficient, robust, and easy to use. It manipulates the gradient field of the luminance image by attenuating the magnitudes of large gradients, and then reconstructs a low dynamic range (LDR) image by solving a Poisson equation on the modified gradient field. This approach effectively compresses the dynamic range while preserving fine details and avoiding common artifacts such as halos, gradient reversals, or loss of local contrast. The method is also capable of enhancing ordinary images by bringing out detail in dark regions. The authors compare their method with previous techniques, demonstrating its advantages in preserving local contrasts and reducing visible artifacts. The paper includes a detailed review of previous work and discusses the implementation and results of their method, showing its effectiveness in various applications, including HDR radiance maps, panoramic video mosaics, and image enhancement.