The Benefits of Using a Polarizing Filter

If you want to significantly darken a blue sky, remove reflections and glare, and you want to saturate color -- there is only one filter choice:  The polarizing filter.  In this article, I'll be discussing the pros of using a circular polarizing filter.

Light polarization happens occurs in open blue sky and from shiny surface reflections.  When you rotate the filter, you can incrementally prevent the polarized light from passing through to the camera.  The effect is removal or reduction of reflections and darkening the sky and increasing contrast of clouds. (thereby darkening the sky or removing the reflections), while at the same time allowing normal light to pass through.

There are two types of polarizing filters: circular and linear.  Circular polarizers are the most common and will be the preferred to most amateur photographers.  

If you're not already using a polarizer, you need to get one today.  These will have a remarkable impact on the quality of your outdoor shots, particularly if you shoot scenic/landscape photos.

Four Quick Tips on Travel Photography

In this post I wanted to talk about travel photography.  There are many things to consider when you are travelling or vacationing in a place where you know you will be taking a lot of pictures.

1.  Invest in a good digital camera.  Digital SLRs are preferred, but the smaller point-and-shoot cameras are acceptable at a 5+ mega pixels.  The portability factor is a consideration for most.

2.  Make sure you have plenty of spare batteries.  If your camera uses a proprietary rechargeable battery, get a spare.  If your camera uses standard AAA or AA batteries, buy some good lithium rechargeable and a charger.  

3.  Take a memory card with enough capacity to allow for the shooting you will be doing.   I recommend taking an extra card just in case the first one fails.

4.  In your spare time, review your pictures and delete the undesirables.  This will save memory and will make the sorting later a lot easier.

Taking travel photos is a lot of fun and made much easier and cheaper with today's digital cameras (no more developing/prints).  Use these few tips to make it more productive.