What is a polarizer? I'm sure there's an incredibly detailed explanation a quick Google search away, but in layman's terms it's a filter that screws on the end of your lens that cancels some of the light going to the sensor.
The result can be spectacular in ideal circumstances, and the effect is something Photoshop can't yet copy. Similar to polarized sunglasses, a polarizer can make skies seem a richer blue, clouds seem more white, and cuts the reflections from most surfaces, like shiny plant leaves, creating a more vivid photo.
The polarizer used on digital cameras are of the Circular type (opposed to Linear) so they work with autofocus, and most can rotate on the end of your lens, allowing you to 'dial up' or down the polarizing effect.
The tricky part about using a polarizer is that the effect only manifests when the sun is 90 degrees to your left or right when shooting. It fades rather abruptly if you change facing.
Here we have a photo with the polarizer on the lens but the effect dialed to minimum. Notice there's some vignetting in the top left and right of the image. This is caused by me having to use a step-up ring on my 72mm diameter lens. The step up ring is like an adapter. The polarizer I bought is a 77mm diameter filter; most lenses I will own will be 77mm diameter so I went cheap and got one I can use on multiple lenses when I get them. Also, notice how the leaves look dull.
And here is a photo with the polarizer set to maximum effect. Fantastic! Sure, the trees are blurry, but who'd look at the trees with a sky like that? And the leaves! No longer dull.
Love the polarizer. Can't wait to try it somewhere other than my front yard. The other filters I have are UV/Haze filters, to be used as protection against lens scratches.
© Jeremy Buehler and Bug Noir (www.bugnoir.com), 2010.
No comments:
Post a Comment