BgDM in my post about getting my backgrounds to render finally (Elysiun Chat - Thanks S68 ect) asked to see some pictures. So a simple yafray hdr test with a platform and a chrome sphere.
click on thumbnail to see bigger picture.
Nothing original but a good test.
Paradox
Bloody oath a good test! No matter how many of those I see I am still amazed with the quality of the realism of the rendering, wicked! 
What’s HDRI ?
Al Capone - Something like High Dynamic Range Imaging. When a light probe is used to calculate the lighting in a scene. In this case hdr light probe was used to calculate the lighting in the scene. The only light is a hemi with the color turned off so yafray uses the hdr image to calculate how the light is rendered. Do a look around the forums here as this type has been posted several times recently and I’m sure someone has already explained what it is better than I did.
bgrav Thanks for the comment, I too am a fan of this type of lighting as it has a look I love. The chrome ball is a good test and really shows how blender and yafray can produce this effect so very nicely.
Paradox
I provided this response in another thread.
You can find detailed information on HDRI in Trinisca.com’s tutorialHDRI & Luminance space.
Be sure to check out the related links at the end of the article, and the website in general. Johan Thorngrens’ art is some of my favorite on the web. His site is a great resource.
hey paradox !
cool stuff you have got there 
!!
Nice render paradox. Looks great!
I can honestly say that I am hooked, (more like mental), about HDRI renders now. It just makes the image look bloody fantastic.
BgDM
This is my test with my last model and my own hdri
When i ended i post this model
Looks good. So you made your own HDR image, did you use HDR Shop?
paradox: Your background is out of focus, but the refelected image is in focus… I believe that’s not possible in reality, because the distance in the virtual image (reflected) is essentially the same in the ball as it is in the background (essentially infinity from a practical standpoint).
OK, I think I said it. I love it anyway , and I need to just be able to do the same before I formulate my crits 
That’s the kind of pics that took me to try yafray.
arnaud0 - yes, using light probes gives you nice lighting but the background is always blurred. I try to use the highest resolutions I can but you still get some blurryness. Someday maybe we’ll figure out a way to get more control overthe blurriness in the background then we’ll accomplish great pictures.
parfurijas - I was wondering how one of your cars would look and then posted and I must say it looks very good. Thanks for sharing.
BgDM - thanks, I’m hooked too. Now to create something nice to render with lighting. By the way I’ve discovered that if you change the camera angle like shoot from the side, then your background will be different. This is good to know in case the background you have is not to your liking, then change the view for a more pleasing look.
Thanks Stonzy - my friend
Paradox
Very nice
Actually I think there is a strange singularity in the reflection… which probe did you used?
Stefano
you are probabbly right, it is a garden probe I got from a Japan site,
http://radiosity.tripod.co.jp/hdri/lightprobe3.htm
I could probably change it by changing the camera angle. Just trying out different probes.
Paradox
Hehe the title page says it all
‘FAKE light-probes…’
I won’t use them if I were you, they are very bad. I mean, they are rectangular images mapped on a sphere, not real probes.
Stefano
Thanks S68, I didn’t notice that. Explains alot. He he.
Paradox
Can pathlight be used with hdri? I tried it, and seem to have the same results, even though it doesn’t say that it uses the probe’s colors.
Erufailon: I have seen this question, and a similar post at www.yafray.org
As far as I know, only the Hemi Light can use the HDRI. The Pathlight will use the BG for the reflection, but now the light. In YAFray, the Hemi Light acts as a light doem, which, when a HDRI file is used, is a true light dome. That is why the Hemi Light can only be used for the HDRI file.
Hope that helps!
BgDM