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A couple of photo questions...

 
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YH
Hooli Wants to be just like me!




Joined: 29 Mar 2007
Posts: 387
Location: Portland, OR and Yosemite on a good day.

PostPosted: 5/26/2007, 9:16 pm    Post subject: A couple of photo questions... Reply to topic Reply with quote

A couple of questions…Do any of you fine photographers use filters with your digital cameras? If so which ones and why?

Also, I’m having a problem with my photo stitch for panorama shots. Sometimes the sky is slightly darker at a seam (not always). Is there a trick to this? I would think the program would smooth that out. What do you use? (mine is Canon)

Thanks for your input!
YH
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evenstar





Joined: 03 Jan 2003
Posts: 5548
Location: SCW by way of CA

PostPosted: 5/26/2007, 9:45 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

I use a UV filter on my Fujifilm 5000S......I've compared photos of the same objects taken with and without it and seem to get a little better contrast with it, especially shooting sunsets with sun lighting up clouds from beneath, but those type scenes change so rapidly it might just be my imagination; keep it on primarily to keep the lens protected. I'm mainly a pointer and shooter (with the camera!...with the camera!) so can't help on your other question.
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Digital Sherpa





Joined: 05 Aug 2005
Posts: 66
Location: Mesa, AZ

PostPosted: 5/27/2007, 10:52 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

A circular polarizer is still a nice tool to carry for a variety of reasons, most notably to remove reflections and to boost certain colors when the camera is pointed at a 90 degree angle from the sun. If I'm hiking into areas with waterfalls I'll also carry a 2 stop neutral density filter as it allows the ability to slow the shutter speed while keeping the brightness of the water within the exposure range (instead of causing it to go pure white).

As for panoramas, if you're comfortable using manual exposure mode then use it. That way the exposures remain consistent throughout the series. The downfall to using "Program" or some variation of auto exposure point-and-shoot mode is that the camera determines what it thinks is the right exposure and depending on the number of individual shots you take, your exposure values can noticeabley change from frame to frame. Also, make sure you don't have any filters on the camera (especially a polarizer) when you shoot panoramas since filters will definitely shift the color balance as you move the camera from left to right. Lastly, for best results always use a solid tripod and overlap your photos by about 25%.
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YH
Hooli Wants to be just like me!




Joined: 29 Mar 2007
Posts: 387
Location: Portland, OR and Yosemite on a good day.

PostPosted: 5/28/2007, 5:44 am    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Thanks for the input! I've seen some before and after pictures using a polarizer and it seemed pretty remarkable how it brought out the colors.
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BoyNhisDog
The dangerous place where the winds meet




Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1375
Location: Tucson

PostPosted: 5/28/2007, 1:08 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

No filters anymore 99% of the time or more. A polarizer does not translate well to the superwide lens I carry now. One side of the sky will be very affected while the other will be not at all. The lens does have a very good set of coatings that lessen glare and do very well with water and sky as is compared to some of my older lenses.

With the superwide I don't do panos, don't need to with 10mm focal length so I don't know the good software. I am a big believer in third party plugins for Photoshop and I suspect there are better programs for stitching than PS has. I do know that the best pano stitchers level not only their cameras but their tripods as well so they pan correctly. You need a pan feature on your head as well.
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Daryl





Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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Location: Everett, Washington

PostPosted: 5/29/2007, 9:49 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

In AZ with the sun the circ polarizer (CP) adds a lot of pop to your photos. If you are doing shots with those great puffy cumulus clouds the CP is a must (check out the difference with and without). Just spin it until the photo looks the best. Note that it also cuts reflections off water!

For landscapes on sunny days, a graduated neutral density filter will help eliminate that expose for the sky of the ground problem. It solves the sky looks nice, ground too dark and ground looks nice, sky is blown out problems. They take some practice to use just right.

If your camera does not do macro well, or if you don't want to bring a macro lens, a close up filter is small, light, and performs well leaving a very shallow DOF.

UV/Haze filter is nice when going through bushes and trees. Filter is cheaper to replace then the lens!
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BoyNhisDog
The dangerous place where the winds meet




Joined: 05 Jan 2003
Posts: 1375
Location: Tucson

PostPosted: 5/30/2007, 12:17 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

I do carry a circular polarizer at times but rarely use it. It does take reflections off water if you really want them off (at times I do or a partial fade of the reflections and at times it works better with reflections). I think the most important thing when you get to the level where you start kicking these issues around is to put more energy into post processing the RAW data instead of letting the camera auto process it into a low bit file. The camera does not know what the scene is or what the solutions to the tonal curve or dynamic range need to be. It is just going to bang out the same very quick solution for everything thrown its way.

Your eyes see so much differently from a camera sensor that you will never get what you see but you can come close with a bit of effort. A recent image (below) was taken at a high sun angle, not particularly a good time of day. I would not want the sky to be darker which a polarizer would do to it.



At times the polarizer will make thing just look weird, at least to me. I have a very good polarizer but it changes the whole image even the portions with no reflections or sky. Again, I don’t like what it does to the sky many times either. I have used it as a simple density filter to drag the shutter at times but even then, I might turn it so the water reflections are left in, just depends.

Here is one with cumulous and no filter used, again a very recent image.



In the film days, I had my own color and B&W darkroom because that was the only way to bring out the various aspects of a negative to paper. Filters may help at times and should be experimented with but drawing your very own tonal curve and working up the various details is what finishes an image to acceptable levels. Like the car above, some journalistic images are not going to be possible in ideal conditions but they can still be usable and more to what you eye could see when you over ride the auto processor of the camera.
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YH
Hooli Wants to be just like me!




Joined: 29 Mar 2007
Posts: 387
Location: Portland, OR and Yosemite on a good day.

PostPosted: 5/30/2007, 12:47 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

Thanks again to all.
BoyNhisDog, those are beautiful shots.
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BoyNhisDog
The dangerous place where the winds meet




Joined: 05 Jan 2003
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Location: Tucson

PostPosted: 5/30/2007, 1:06 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

YH, I have seen your "I'm Not Lost" work and it is VERY good. I can understand the constant search for new, better and different techniques too. I am always looking to see what is available and what fits the style I am looking for. Landscape in particular as well as other outdoor images require a level of vigilance that studio photographers do not have to contend with. Variables are the standard out there.
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IGO





Joined: 08 Feb 2005
Posts: 4144
Location: Las Vegas

PostPosted: 5/30/2007, 6:31 pm    Post subject: Reply to topic Reply with quote

I use a polarizing filter often when I hike in the desert. They knock a lot of have out of the sky. Don't use them in the alpine country ass they over exagerate blue and green grossly. Be careful of polarizers on wide angle lenses and try to stay away from them when you plan to stitch a pan together.
In a pan, shoot manually. Get an average exposure or tend your exposure toward a brighter part of your field then stick with that exposure throughout your sweep. If the bright part of your pan is properly exposed, you can usually get away a little bit into a darkening exposure at another part of your pan.

http://thirdrockfrom.org/pan_3796-800.jpg

This is not the best pan I have as 3 of the 6 seems are visible but its still a favorite. Expand it all the way then side scroll slowly.
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