Well hi there, glad you could make it :)

My name is Greg Zaal and, as I'm sure you know, I create HDRIs.

But not just any HDRIs. I create free, unclipped HDRIs.

"Unclipped" means they're true HDRIs: they contain the full dynamic range of the scene they were captured in. Most HDRIs you come across online, even the paid ones, are "clipped", which means the highest part of the dynamic range is missing, leaving your 3D scene looking fake or just bland. This is not always an easy problem to solve, but I've made it my mission to do it so that you can have the best and most realistic lighting possible right off the bat.

Oh and they're not just free either, they're CC0 - basically public domain. "Public domain" means they belong to the public, the public owns them; you own them. It doesn't get any more free than that, you can literally use them for anything, anywhere, however you like. You can modify them, abuse them and even share them around, all without requiring credit or even mention of where you got them.

This is what freedom is, but it needs your help.

Creating HDRIs is an expensive task - camera equipment and travel costs are notoriously high, often thousands of dollars each, but there are also the day-to-day costs of running a website that makes these massive HDR files available for free.

This is where you come in. With your support, not only can we keep HDRI Haven alive and running, but we can improve it. Higher resolution HDRIs, more of them, more often, and in more interesting places.

How it works

I'm new to Liberapay, so I'm not 100% sure how it works yet. It's like Patreon, but apparently without fees (other than the unavoidable transaction fees) and donations are anonymous.

I suggest you read about it on their homepage to get a better idea.

Where your money goes

All donations will be used first and foremost for HDRI Haven itself. After the expenses are covered and most of the remainder kept for travel and equipment savings, a small portion will be used for my own personal expenses (food, rent, medical, etc.). The more time I spend on HDRIs, the less time I spend on freelance work (yay!), which means I need to draw more from donations for my personal expenses. All the details are publically available in the finance reports :)