What Do You use A Circular Polarizer For?

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Most (or I should say a lot of photographers) know that a circular polarizer is used to help darken (i.e. saturate) a blue sky on a sunny day when the sun is at a 90deg angle to you. Fewer seem to understand (or know) that it can also be used to reduce/remove glare/reflections in windows and water even when the sun is at your back. Look at the 2 photos below;

 

 

 

 

 

Notice the glare and the water color difference between the 2 images. The 1 on the left is essentially unpolarized. The 1 on the right is using the polarizer and you can see that not only is the water clearer, it is also more true to the actual color. The sun was directly at my back for the shots. The polarizer was turned until the greatest amount of glare/reflection was removed. This also works with building windows.

So the next time you are out, remember, just because the sun is at your back does not mean you can’t use a circular polarizer (well not for the sky anyway). Give it a try on your architectural shots/water shots and see if it doesnt make a difference.

Technical Specs:

Canon EOS 50D fitted with the 24-70, Exposure – 1/125, ISO – 100, Aperture – F/4,  Focal Length – 70 mm, Exposure – Auto, White Balance – Manual

What do you do, when you think you have shot everyting (worth shooting) in a given area?

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So, you have shot a given area many times, and now find yourself struggling to get the motivation to keep going out. What do you do, do you give up for a bit, do you force yourself to keep going anyway. Well, it’s a dilemma I currently face. Having worked downtown going on 5 years now, and going out at least twice a week on my lunch hour to shoot the city, I struggle now to find something different to shoot, to gather the motivation to keep going out. To find that shot I might have missed before. It’s not easy, and sometimes I may only take 1 image now, and still might delete that once I get back and look at it again. Where I can, I work a different perspective (i.e. getting higher), walk around to another side, look up more. I still find the occasional shot I missed before, which helps, gives me more incentive to keep going out, but my downtown (Richmond VA) is not as large as some other cities, so I dont have as many buildings (occupied or otherwise) to shoot. And there is only so far one can walk and get back on time anyway. I know, some will suggest details, and in any city there is a plethora of such shots, and occasionaly I do that. Having gone out with other photographers on occasion, I know that details are not my strong point. I’m more of the overall scene kind of photographer.

So what else would you suggest to keep motivated, what other techniques do you employ when you think you have shot an area to death?

Just Some Clouds

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"Just Some Clouds"You know, I love reflections, either in the water, or on buildings that have glass facades. I love capturing what shows up when the sunlight hits it. Single exposure, the blue sky was saturated in LR, to ensure it turned black when it was converted to b&w to contrast with the clouds and the white building face.

Technical Data:

Model – Canon EOS 50D fitted with the 24-70, Exposure – 1/800, ISO – 200, Aperture – F /11, Focal Length – 48.00 mm

Through The Glass

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This is one of those shots were its sometimes easier to ask forgivness than to get permission to shoot. A hand-held 3 shot bracketed HDR toned in Silver EFEX Pro. The architecture really lends itself to some wonderful composition (if you have the time to shoot) Again, another example of looking up, when you think there is nothing there to shoot

 Technical Specs:

Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi fitted with the 18-55, Exposure – 1/160 seconds, Shutter Speed – 1/160 seconds,  Aperture – F/ 9, Focal Length – 18.00 mm

 

 

A Weekend in Chincoteague

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A weekend on Chincoteague Island with not so great weather. The wife and I spent a couple of days around the island, (you can drive from one end to the other in less then 1/2 hour), battling no sun, cold temperatures and very windy conditions on the last day when the sun actually made an appearance. For those of you unfamiliar with Chincoteague/Assateague, there are wild ponies (approx. 300) on Assateague island that are decendents of horses from a wrecked Spanish Galleon that was found just off the coast of the island in 1997. Every year, the volunteer fire dept. of Chincoteague island, rounds up a number of the horses and swims them across the channel for an auction, with the proceeds going to the fire dept. We used to go see the swim as kids, before it became the much larger event that it is today. Going back for the first time in decades, really shows how much I forgot as a kid. Seeing the wild ponies without huge crowds was a real bonus.

Smiling At You

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Yep, another HDR image, (I go through stages with HDR). This one is actually a composite as well. The cloudy sky was added after the fact, since the originial sky was not doing much for the mood of the shot. Yes the smiley face was already there, I brought it back once I converted to B&W, and figured it would be a good way to draw your eyes onto the scene. Folks seem to love it that have seen it. Yes, I know people keep saying that selective coloring went out years ago, but hey, in some instances it works. And I dont listen to the photo style police…I do what I like

Technical Specs:

Model – Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XTi fitted with the 18-55mm kit lens

A Little Bit of Staunton VA

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A little bit of Staunton VA. in HDR and regular exposures. I chose HDR, as we were dealing with an overcast day (rain was coming) which was washing out the colors, and there was enough contrast between the almost white sky and what I was photographing to necessitate using HDR. I will say I have never seen so many churches so close to each other as I saw in Staunton. At one point I saw 3 churches with the same block. Now, none of these are new, the youngest I believe was at least 50years old.

Technical Specs:

Canon 50d fitted with both the Tokina 11-16, & Canon 24-70. ISO & Exposure varied for most images. HDR’s are 3 bracketed exposures put together in photomatix Pro and finished off in PSE 10

Historic St. Pauls Episcopal Church

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Historic St. Pauls Episcopal Church in downtown Richmond, founded over 150 years ago. Used as a hospital during the Civil War, Gen. Robert E. Lee would attend services there whenever he was in the area.

The sanctuary shots are 4 exposures combined in Efex HDR, and finished up in PSE with Topaz Adjust.

Technical Specs:

Model – Canon EOS 50D fitted with both the Tokina 11-16 and Canon 24-70

Exposure – Aperture priority,  ISO – 100, Aperture – F 11.00, Shutter Speed – Varied

 

 

Malvern Hill Battlefield

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This HDR was taken a few years ago on one of the numerous civil war battlefields (Malvern Hill), that are maintained by the National Park Service. I noticed it was going to be a decent sunset, so my daughter and I hopped into the car and sped to get here before we missed it. This is a tripod mounted shot of 3 exposures, pulled together in Photomatix Pro, and finished off in PSE. Cropped using the rule of thirds, the saturation of the grass was toned down, as it was a bit unrealistic when seen in print.

Technical Specs:

Model – Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XT fitted with the 18-55mm kit lens, Exposure  - 1/19.9 seconds,  ISO – 100,  Focal Length – 18.00 mm.

Criss-Cross

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What first attracted me to this was the optical illusion created by the reflections at the building corner. If you look closely at the middle, you will see what appears to be the building lines continuing on past where they should stop.

Processing consisted of saturating the blue sky so that when I converted it to B&W with Nik’s Silver Exef Pro, it would give me a nice black sky to contrast with the white lines of the building. The building in the reflection was an added bonus.

Technical Specs:

Model – Canon EOS 50D fitted with the Tokina 11-16 lens,  Shutter Speed – 1/800 seconds,  Exposure Program – Aperture priority,  ISO – 100,  Aperture – F 11.00, Focal Length – 11.00 mm