Black White Photography - UK (2019-11)

58
B+W

New York City, USA

Polarising filters are ideal for architectural

shots as they help to make buildings and other

structures stand out boldly against the sky

and also boost contrast and clarity.

Canon EOS 5Ds with 16-35mm zoom lens,

polariser, 1/100sec at f/8, ISO 200

9 UV AND SKYLIGHT FILTERS

8 MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR POLARISER

To use a polariser simply rotate it slowly

in its mount or holder on your lens while

looking through the viewfinder and you’ll

see the effect come and go. Stop rotating

when you like what you see. And fire away.

Sunny weather gives the best results and

the sun needs to be at 90° to the camera or

overhead (which is still at 90°, but vertically)

to show the biggest improvement in the sky.

If the sun’s behind you, or you shoot into the

sun, you won’t see much of a difference.

Polarisation is uneven across the sky, so

be careful with wideangle lenses that have

a focal length wider than 24mm (16mm on

Skylight and UV filters block out some ultra-

violet light, which is common on sunny days

and also at high altitude, so the clarity of

your images is improved. UV light can also

cause a slight blue cast. Skylight filters have

a weak pink tint that balances it out, though

the Auto White Balance (AWB) setting on

your camera will get rid of it.

The main use for these filters is as lens

protection – many photographers buy

screw-on UV filters for each lens and leave

them in place permanently. It’s safer to wipe

clean a filter than the front element of the

lens, and cheaper to replace a scratched

filter rather than to get a lens repaired.

If you do decide to use UV filters, make

sure you buy good quality ones from Hoya,

B+W or Tiffen, so the optical quality of your

lenses isn’t reduced, and buy slimline filters

so when you attach a filter holder to them,

vignetting with wideangle lenses is less likely.

Vik, Iceland

If you’re shooting in bad weather, especially

by the sea, it’s a good idea to protect the front

of your lens with a clear filter. Canon EOS 5Ds with

70-300mm zoom lens, 1/320sec at f/11, ISO 200

crop sensor cameras) as the sky may

end up darker on one side of the shot than

the other and the effect looks odd. This can

be corrected in Photoshop, but it’s tricky.

Glare is reduced on non-metallic

surfaces, which makes colours cleaner

and more deeply saturated – and which

gives you richer tones when you convert

to black & white. This again works well

in sunny conditions, but polarisers can

also be used in dull, overcast weather

too to remove glare.

You can use a polariser with both ND

grads and solid NDs as they all do different

jobs, so don’t be afraid to combine them.

That said, keep the number of filters you

use to a minimum, as they will degrade

image quality. You should also keep your

filters clean for the same reason, and

replace them if they become scratched,

cracked or scuffed.

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