Yikes.. What the Heck Did I Do Wrong??

[Kevin Gallagher]

  It's been awhile since I've shot wide angle stuff and I can see the vignetting was most likely caused by stacking the polarizer on top of the skylight filter but what the heck caused the vast difference in the sky color from right to left?




 Thanks guys!! Kevin in CT

"And on the brave and crazy wings of youth
They went flying around in the rain
And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered
And in the end they traded their tired wings
For the resignation that living brings'

"Before The Deluge" by Jackson Browne

[Telecaster]

I'd say the difference in sky tonality across the frame is due to the polarizer, maybe exacerbated by the skylight filter. This can happen with wide lenses.

-Dave-

[Ken Bennett]

+1, it's the polarizer. The strength of the effect varies across the sky, strongest at 90-degrees from the sun, weakest straight at or away from the sun. Wide angle lenses show enough sky to sometimes have issues like this. I find a 28mm eq is the widest I can generally go.

Stacking filters will cause the vignetting; you don't need the skylight filter when you're using the POL. Also, be careful that a petal-style lens hood doesn't get slightly turned, as this can cause the same thing.

[E.J. Peiker]

Definitely the polarizer.  Polarizers maximize the darkening of the sky 90 degrees from the sun falling off to no darkening at all a 0 degrees and 180 degrees from the sun.  The wider the lens, the more of the sky you take in and the more likely you are to get this gradient.  You can mitigate this to some extent and still get some of the effects of a polarizer by backing off the polarization a bit and not dialing in the darkest sky possible.

[E.J. Peiker]

Was typing while k_bennett posted - sorry for saying the same thing

[Ken Bennett]

Was typing while k_bennett posted - sorry for saying the same thing

LOL. Great minds think alike....

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I do most of my landscapes with a WA lens. Now you see why I almost never use my polarizer.

[Kevin Gallagher]

  Thanks to all for your thoughtful replies!! I've been shooting for many years (previously with Nikon DSLR's, now with am Olympus M1) and never had this experience before. It's funny, thinking back to the shots, I was seeing some of this behavior in the viewfinder but it didn't register with me. These also are my first shots from "out west" maybe I just never had that much sky in my shots before?

Thanks Guys, Kevin in CT

"And on the brave and crazy wings of youth
They went flying around in the rain
And their feathers, once so fine, grew torn and tattered
And in the end they traded their tired wings
For the resignation that living brings'

Before The Deluge by Jackson Browne

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I do most of my landscapes with a WA lens. Now you see why I almost never use my polarizer.

That is too bad. It is a wonderful tool, if used judiciously. For instance, if using it on a super-wide angle lens, i.e., wider than, say, 28mm, while including areas with naturally less polarization, it makes sense to find the point of maximum polarizing effect (by turning the polarizer) and then... back off a bit.