A polariser experience
I was out and about the other day, and spotted something from the top of the Gateway Bridge that I wanted to photograph, so I looked for a spot to take the photo I wanted. Needless to say, I couldn’t find a way to frame it, but discovered that the bridge looked pretty interesting against the sky. The new bridge is being built on the other side of the one you can see here….20 years later…
The whole point of this ramble is the differences noticeable in my images shot with the polariser I had on my lens. I bought a Singh Ray warming polariser last year, but haven’t used it much because I don’t like being out in the middle of the day. Too hot, and tooooo sunny here in Qld. I used the polariser for this first image, but not turned to it’s correct position.
When I checked the image on the back of the camera, I thought it looked dull and lifeless, so I rotated the circular polariser until the sky looked better, and I noticed that the white across the top of the bridge stood out a lot brighter too.
Here’s the second shot. Much more vibrant! Doesn’t a polariser make a difference!
Polarisers can also be useful for hiding and or enhancing reflections, in water and glass, however they can do nasty things to the sky when used with ultra-wide lenses. They generally work best with skies when you are 90degrees to the sun, I believe.
Here’s the final image after some tweaking
micklyn
Fantastic mini-tutorial there, Mel. Love that you put that before and answer. I don’t have a polariser… will have to look into getting one. ( :
Mel Brackstone replied
They make a huge difference when shooting in bright daylight :)
micklyn
LOL, I meant, before and after! sorry!
Maxoperandi
A very useful tip Mel…I find it hard sometimes to get it in the right position.
Mel Brackstone replied
I’ve never seen such a huge difference in the images till I shot these!
John Conway
I’m still in disbelief you were out in the middle of the day Mel :))
Polarisers are quite handy filters to have in the bag
Mel Brackstone replied
Same here buddy, outside at midday is NOT my idea of fun in Qld….
Steven Lippis
I keep forgetting to take mine with me, really could have used it on the weekend!
drec
I went from landscape to portrait and forgot to spin the filter around, very interesting effect I got there.
Ann Rodriquez
Wow! Quite the illustration of what a polarizer will do. VERY interesting timing, as I’ve been researching these filters over the past several days and am really really excited to get one! : )
woof
thanks for the info Mel!! i have one of those used it once on my film camera, not yet on my digital.
Melinda Kerr
Massive difference…wow. I’m heading off to Colorado today and i have a polarizer in my bag. this is a reminder to actually use it in that mid west sun. Mind you mine isn’t singh ray :)
Mel Brackstone replied
The Singh Ray adds a warmer tone rather than the standard bluish cast you get with a Hoya. I’ve destroyed so many Hoya’s from using the cokin filter holder on top of them….so decided to try a diff brand, with no external thread, so nothing can be added to the top. If I want to use the Lees with the polariser I have to hand hold them.
Melinda Kerr
PS what was your tweaking? Enhancing the yellow??
Mel Brackstone replied
I’m still on the macbook, heading into week 5 without my computer, so I bought Topaz adjust to do a similar sort of thing as Redynamix does on the IBM. This was choosing mild colour pop and messing with sliders….as I do. They call me “Hit and Miss”
Margaret Whyte
Thanks for this Mel, very helpful
Chanel2
Thanks Mel :)
Paul Vanzella
great stuff mel!
Jo O'Brien
this journal has been featured in today’s RedBubble Daily Wrap :)
Wendi Donaldson
How many times have I taken a shot without rotating that filter!!! ...... super to see the effect…thanks Mel! Love the info you share with us!
dinghysailor1
cheers – had not spotted the difference on a sunny day… so this is really helpful!! cheers
maggie
:)
BYRON
My polariser filters are permanently attached to all my lenses. (as well as a UV/Skylight filter for protection). They really enhance colour saturations too, which is good since I don’t have any Neutral Density (ND) filters yet.
I love the tweeking you did on the final image. How did you get it to look so warm?
BYRON
oops… just read the other posts, and found out how you did it.
It looks like you added a healthy dolop of Paul Vanzella Yellow.