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Author Topic: Polarizers  (Read 6391 times)

dreed

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Polarizers
« on: August 30, 2015, 05:17:55 am »

On facebook, a LuLa post referred back to an older essay on polarizers - https://luminous-landscape.com/polarizers/

There is one aspect of shooting with polarizers that a lot of people seem to miss: when the sun is high in the sky (around midday), most of the horizon (all 360 degrees of it) is at 90 degrees to the sun. This is unlike at either dawn or dusk when only specific portions of the sky are affected. Of course the specifics of when this works (and/or how well) will depend on time of year, as well as lattitude and longitude. It does however change the dynamics of shooting in the middle of the day in summer.

As for sunglasses, if they ain't polarized, I don't wear them. Thus if all I've got is a point-and-shoot or a phone with me, I can take them off and put them in front of the PS/phone camera lens to polarize the light :)
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Rob C

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Re: Polarizers
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2015, 08:58:22 am »

On facebook, a LuLa post referred back to an older essay on polarizers - https://luminous-landscape.com/polarizers/

There is one aspect of shooting with polarizers that a lot of people seem to miss: when the sun is high in the sky (around midday), most of the horizon (all 360 degrees of it) is at 90 degrees to the sun. This is unlike at either dawn or dusk when only specific portions of the sky are affected. Of course the specifics of when this works (and/or how well) will depend on time of year, as well as lattitude and longitude. It does however change the dynamics of shooting in the middle of the day in summer.

As for sunglasses, if they ain't polarized, I don't wear them. Thus if all I've got is a point-and-shoot or a phone with me, I can take them off and put them in front of the PS/phone camera lens to polarize the light :)

I've done that with my cellphone, but wouldn't think of doing it to a camera proper!

Again, as with you, I don't own non-pola sunglasses. However, when I lived in Britain, I got into the habit of using them if I had to drive in rain: it really did seem to help vision.

I also discovered, after my first model shoot abroad, that polarizing filters and tanned skin don't make for happy chemistry. In conjunction with Kodachrome, at least, skin turned into red rick. But skies looked impressive if not using wides!

I've used these same filters with digital to shoot clouds, and then turn them into black/whites. It works very well, but as I don't double up (with clouds?) I can't say whether the filter is superfluous or not... but shooting through water etc. it must work with digital: after all, it's the signal that's reaching the lens that counts.

Rob C

drmike

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Re: Polarizers
« Reply #2 on: August 30, 2015, 09:06:34 am »

Interesting comment about skin and polarisers. I would have expected it to simply take off the sheen of reflected light. Were the models slathered in sun block or something that might react badly?
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Rob C

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Re: Polarizers
« Reply #3 on: August 30, 2015, 11:17:13 am »

Interesting comment about skin and polarisers. I would have expected it to simply take off the sheen of reflected light. Were the models slathered in sun block or something that might react badly?


Mostly just as it comes, but often wet and/or in the sea. By the time we'd moved the learning curve along and started using oil etc. for highlights, there was no point in killing it again with filters.

I also found that shots with girls at about waist-level in the water didn't always look too good because of the casts from the sea itself; well, not if they were almost directly front-lit, but anything else didn't seem to look that hot. Trouble was, most of the time I shot 35mm and so fill flash wasn't an option at a 500th or so. The Kodachrome I used had a 64 ASA speed, which roughly works out at 1/125 at just smaller than f11 in good light; raising the shutter to stop movement quickly took one out of the synch. ability of focal plane shutters of the day. Anyway, I hated direct flash, and using umbrellas meant crew etc. the thought of which was worse than the fight with the light! Sometimes my wife helped with reflectors and a spray bottle.

All that's left of my work in that period/genre you can pick up on in the first gallery in the website - the only one with pro stuff in it.

Ciao-

Rob

drmike

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Re: Polarizers
« Reply #4 on: August 30, 2015, 11:21:03 am »

Thanks Rob.
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