03.23
Evening light on Watchman Peak above the Virgin River, Zion National Park, Utah
Back in the days when I shot film filters were an indispensable part of my technique that enabled me to control the light, balance dynamic range, and give a little extra snap to every image. Well guess what? Fast forward to the digital age and the same still holds true.
It’s easy get caught in the trap of saying “I’ll just fix it in Lightroom or Photoshop”, but the truth is filters are every bit as important in the digital age as they were in the days of film. Photography after all is about shaping and controlling light and whether your image is preserved in celluloid or pixels there is still no substitute for capturing the best possible image up front.
Two filters that I consider essential are the graduated neutral density (GND) and the polarizer. The GND is available in several densities with both hard and soft transitions allowing you to ideally balance the contrast in the scene. This magical filter works best for landscapes where the foreground is in shadow and the background has direct light. Through the viewfinder washed out clouds suddenly become more defined and foreground subjects emerge from the shadows and retain their natural color. Positioning the filter takes a little practice so that the transition seamlessly blends into the horizon and is not obvious in the final image.
The polarizing filter blocks scattered light rays to remove reflections from water and foliage and definitely spends more time on the front of my lens than any other. By turning the filter you can control the amount of polarized light reaching the lens, which has the added benefit of saturating colors, darkening skies and increasing overall contrast. In addition, the polarizer works like a neutral density filter to slow exposure times allowing for a silky effect when shooting flowing water.
There are many other excellent filters available, but these two are a great starting point for creating more dynamic images and saving considerable time at the computer.
Same here Russ. I prefer the results from getting it in-camera first rather than assembling images in Photoshop. It’s also more satisfying to know you can use a camera the way it was intended.
Thanks for the comment Richard. With all the digital tools at our disposal these days , it is still refreshing to return from a shoot with images that need very little processing.
[...] The Value of Filters [...]
What a great image of the Watchman, Russ. Love the warm and cool colors in the same capture – I have never seen it in such dramatic light.
I utilize both filters and blending – the latter mostly because I am still working on getting the full Lee SW150 setup for my 14-24mm f/2.8.
Thank you Alex. It is nice when you can come away with something really special from such a popular spot. You have been making some wonderul images lately as well and I agree that using both filters and exposure blending is an ideal technique.
I sometimes use those old A blue filters when shooting for mono. Gotta get creative sometimes!
Just learning about Filters, thanks for this interesting article. Will have to try some filters out of a friend (as soon as possible..
Great tips to go with your stunning image Russ!
Thanks Anne, Armin and Aaron – I appreciate your comments. I’m glad you found this helpful.
Russ – Thank you for sharing this on Google Plus, I find using filters myself a really enjoyable part of the process of making creative images in the field. I have a better vision of what I want an image to look like and am able to see instant feedback either through the finder or live view.
Thanks for your comment Ed. I think most photographers would agree that it is much more rewarding to work creativity in the field than after the fact in front of the computer, and filters play a big part in this.
Gorgeous image Russ! Nice post too!
Thanks Patricia! I appreciate your comment.
I agree 100% with polarisers as an “at the time” essential – GND’s I prefer to assess the conditions at the time and the composition. If there is a tree, sea stack or some other element that crosses the horizon and makes the use of a grad impractical, I will fall in favour of bracketing images and blend them manually in processing.
Another filter I recommend very much are ND’s for blurring the water or clouds – again, an effect that is impossible to replicate in processing.
Thanks for the comment Alister. The regular NDs are another great filter for slowing the shutter speed to create results that can’t be created in post.