Have you tried HDR (high dynamic range) imaging? I tried it just this past weekend because of an assignment I had for my photography class. It was actually really fun.

What you do is set your camera on your tripod, and take pictures of the same scenery but with different exposures each time. Then you generate a HDR image through programs such as Photomatix Pro 3.0, which is what I use, and then just adjust the image via tone mapping. The results are absolutely breathtaking.

You can see some of my photos below. Just click the image to view it larger.

Also, if you want to see more examples of HDR photographs, just search it on Flickr.com. There are some really amazing stuff there as well!!