HDR vs One RAW Image

I'm editing my images from my Ireland trip. Most of that trip was about really getting to know my camera and what I can do with it. I've mentioned before that the Canon 7d mark ii can be placed in "HDR mode" where it takes 3 images, almost simultaneously, with 3 different exposures. I wanted to know what the real difference is between taking 3 separate RAW images and using a single RAW image. Editing the random bottle out of both and keeping the rest of the edits pretty simple, here are the two images side-by-side:

Can you tell which is which? Ignoring the movement (fog/stream), it becomes pretty clear when looking at the sky. Background mountains and clouds are much more visible on the left.

Because it was taken in RAW format, I was able to bring back the green color and details of the terrain. If you don't have an opportunity to take multiple images (HERE is a great tutorial if you're new to HDR or want to know more about it), then one shot in RAW can still work.



Most often in Ireland, I didn't feel the need for different exposures, depending on the image as a whole. In this case, the sun was creating a backlight and the scene in the foreground contrasted so heavily, it was difficult for my camera to capture all that information in one image. So, combining images made more sense to me.

The fog/stream part of the editing process is a completely different topic. Which is it? Both. Looking at the rocks, you can see where the fog is. And looking at the midground, especially in the single RAW image, you can see a little bit of the water splashing between the rocks. That was just all about timing.

The final image is a combination of ALL the photos. I did have to finish this one in Photoshop.