Polarizing results
Posted by boombadeus on March 19th, 2008 in architecture, hobbies, photography
Ahh, filters. Apparently, it’s a slightly controversial topic among photographers (touched on somewhat in this thread). The con side seems to view them as gimmicky and something that gets in the way of capturing an image. Essentially, more junk for hobbyists to buy and distract them. The pro side views them as a tool for creating the image they are looking to get; that they can add some artistry or interest to some otherwise flat shots.
Put me in the pro-filter camp, I suppose; with an appreciation of what the anti-filter camp is getting at. I actively avoid the temptation to become a boring equipment collector, but to actually use the stuff I’ve got and try to improve how I use it. So, I’ve limited my filter purchases to: a circular polarizer filter for our 35mm F/2 Canon lens; and a yellow (K2) and red (25A) filter for B&W photography on the Pentax K1000. The color filters were pretty inexpensive, so this doesn’t need to be a big deal to mess around with.
(Oh, and a “UV haze filter” for the ultra wide angle lens, but that’s just there to protect the front glass element on a moderately expensive lens. I’m not kidding myself into thinking that it’s had any effect on the images the lens creates.)
This brings me to a few shots I took on my walk around with my first roll of B&W film in 20 years and with our Canon. It’s easy enough to search around for instructions on how, when and why to use filters, so I’m not going to get into that much. The intent to show some direct comparisons of what the effect of the filters is.
First up, a pair of B&W images from the Pentax. The first is with the yellow K2 filter; and the second without. The EXIF data I recorded shows that they were the exact same exposure (F/8, 1/1000sec). You can definitely see a difference in the clouds; with the yellow filter, they have more contrast. It’s not a dramatic difference, but I definitely prefer the result with the filter than without. The red filter would have had a significantly different result (but I didn’t have the red filter when I snapped these shots).
Next, a pair of shots from our Rebel XTi with the circular polarizing filter. Actually, they both are with the filter attached, but with it rotated to give different effects. I’d say that there’s no better or worse between these two; it’s a matter of what you’re after. (Maybe the reflection is what you’re looking for. But if you’re trying to get a person inside the building, you’d set it differently.)
Basically, you have to experiment with them. I haven’t even bothered trying neutral density graduated filters yet. Maybe some day I will, but I’m not in any hurry…
2 Responses to “Polarizing results”
By albert on Mar 20, 2008
the polarizer is a particularly interesting filter because it’s more/less effective depending on the position of the sun in relation to you and the things you’re filtering.
By boombadeus on Mar 20, 2008
Yep. It has the most dramatic effect if you’re pointing the camera 90 degrees from the sun. (That is, no effect if you’re facing the sun, or have your back to the sun.)
A fact I didn’t know at first, and wondered why sometimes it worked great, and sometimes it didn’t.