I've been messing around recently with HDR on my iPhone. I found a forum post by a photographer that contains more information and is more thorough than probably any article on the net regarding HDR on the iPhone specifically: http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1376616 He really took his time and dove in on some of the different HDR options on the phone, and how they stack up, taking care to use a tripod and re-shoot scenes with each piece of software. It is an interesting read imho.I think some phones now have in camera HDR which will change photography quite a bit when the camera phones get to about 15mpx average
I was fortunate to live in the American Rocky Mountains for 5 years in Montana and I saw many beautiful things. That said, I also lived in Michigan and saw many beautiful things. Like you say, it's about "really opening your eyes". Sometimes I forget that, but a camera certainly reminds me. Even if I just take photos inside my home, I see things that normally go unnoticed. Photography is a wonderful art form.