Interesting sky over the airport this morning. One of these days I'm going to have to get a polarizing filter to try.

[slowpez]

The polarizer would be worth it Tony. These are very nice but the polarizer would make them even nicer.

[Canada_Rockies]

The polarizing filter would allow you to fine tune the contrasts in the sky. It is an interesting sky, for sure.

[Sailor]

I like 'em Tony. I used to use polarizers back in my film days, and they certainly can add some pop to shots like these. However, after going to digital, I've found I can get similar results by fiddling with the various do-dads in my PP software.

Jer

[Canada_Rockies]

Sailor, that's not always true. It might be possible to enhance the blue, or the saturation, of the original image, it's a lot more trouble. I prefer to fix in camera first. I did not particularly enjoy dark room work, and I still take light room work as a pain, but necessary.

By removing certain polarized light, things do happen with polarizers you cannot do afterward. Not for skies, but for reflections. If a reflection hides the underlying colours, they just will not be found again.

[TonyTurley]

Thanks for the replies and advice, folks. It might be a pain to use a polarizer on this lens, because the front filter turns as it focuses, but aren't there polarizers that turn independent of the lens? I imagine a 77mm one would be pricey.

[Sailor]

Sailor, that's not always true. It might be possible to enhance the blue, or the saturation, of the original image, it's a lot more trouble. I prefer to fix in camera first. I did not particularly enjoy dark room work, and I still take light room work as a pain, but necessary.

By removing certain polarized light, things do happen with polarizers you cannot do afterward. Not for skies, but for reflections. If a reflection hides the underlying colours, they just will not be found again.

Tony - I have to apologize - CR is absolutely right: some fiddling in PP won't substitute for an applicable filter. What I should have said was that I prefer not to carry around a bunch of filters and simply get as close as I can by tweaking some stuff in PP (which, unlike CR, I enjoy). Sometimes, my tweaking ain't close enough, so I just dump the photo - I truly enjoy photography as a hobby (one of many), but I'll confess that I don't take it as seriously as some folks.

I have a phobia about carrying a bunch of stuff in a gadget bag. I started "serious" photography in 1978 with the wonderful Pentax MX and the then classic trio of an M28/3.5, M50/1.7 and M135/3.5 and had a ball. Over the years I added bodies (for B&W and color), lenses of various description, filters for everything under the sun (NPI) and other stuff resulting in a bulging heavy bag and a bunch of needless choices (in my view) that screwed up what little creativity I had. By the early nineties, I began to find the whole thing to be tedious and a bore, bought a P&S and shoved all the stuff (and it was a lot) into the closet.

When I became enamored with digital photography after buying a little digital P&S (I don't remember what), I decided to get back into "serious" stuff with digital and bought a DS2. I vowed to never carry more than three lenses at a time and limit filters to UV/haze ones that would go on a lens and stay there. I don't mind owning a bunch of lenses, but I only want two or three with me on an outing. Frankly, it wouldn't hurt me (and probably help me) to carry a couple of polarizers to fit the lenses I'm using at the moment, but I live in fear of the gadget trap . . . . . . . . so it's nothing else in the bag but three (at most) lenses, one body, an extra battery and a Rocket Blower.

Susan and CR are telling you how to do it right while I'm telling you how to do it light.

Jer

---

Last edited by Sailor; 03-20-2014 at 08:00 PM.

[eaglem]

Nice rays coming through the clouds...........

[TonyTurley]

Susan and CR are telling you how to do it right while I'm telling you how to do it light.

Jer

I tend to take the minimalist approach myself, Jer. I have a box full of lenses, but usually carry two at most.

Nice rays coming through the clouds...........

They were indeed nice. Thanks for the comment.