Yellow Bwells, a slowly falling down bamboo fence + a pineapple plant bg

[JBW]

The new tripod is much stabler. Now I can do bracketing auto shots.
Yellow Bells scream for a dark green background.
ISO 100 ~ Shutter Speed 0.8s. ~ F/16 ~ Auto Bracket Exposure Mode ~ Sony Alpha a58 ~ Tamron 90mm 272E

[Mike Buckley]

Nice exposure!

If I hadn't read the text, I wouldn't know what the subject is. Consider filling the frame much, much more with your subject.

Considering all the money you're spending on gear, I wonder when I'll be able to convince you to buy a polarizer filter. Using one in shots like this one will take your photography to another level. You mention the dark green background, but all I see is about half to two-thirds of it in dark green and the rest in bright glare.

[JBW]

Nice exposure!

If I hadn't read the text, I wouldn't know what the subject is. Consider filling the frame much, much more with your subject.

Considering all the money you're spending on gear, I wonder when I'll be able to convince you to buy a polarizer filter. Using one in shots like this one will take your photography to another level. You mention the dark green background, but all I see is about half to two-thirds of it in dark green and the rest in bright glare.

Not to argue but remember I have great ignorance. How would a polarizing filter help. And maybe even go back a step... what is a polarizing filter. I will be buying more gear in 3 or 4 months and it could well include filters.

I'm just exploring looser compositions. I think they will tighten up again.

[Mike Buckley]

A polarizer will reduce or eliminate the glare. As in the example of your image, there is lots of glare on the leaves. The glare disguises color, texture and shape. The resulting overall look to the image will be increased saturation because more of the image will have a natural saturation.

If you have polarized sunglasses, view the same scene with and without them. The effect of using them will be similar to using a polarizing filter.

To save money, buy a polarizing filter that fits your largest lens. Buy step down rings, which are much less expensive, to put the same filter on your smaller lenses, thus saving the expense of having to buy multiple polarizing filters.

Be very certain to buy a circular polarizing filter. If it doesn't say that it's a circular filter, it will not be one. Using a non-circular polarizer may cause problems with your camera's autofocus and perhaps exposure meter.

For more information, google circular polarizer. There's lots and lots of information including threads here at CiC that have discussed them.

[Geoff F]

A polarizer will give a darker overall scene, Brian, but won't do anything for strong highlights from reflective surfaces. The effect is much the same as using some negative exposure compensation.

It would be wonderful if there was a way of correcting over exposed hot spots without also darkening the shadows. I often try to add a bit of shadow to a scene by partially blocking the strong sunlight, but it still produces those light differences although with a darker overall appearance. If you see over exposed bright areas when you look through your viewfinder, that is what you will get when you press the shutter

Back in the old film camera days a polarizer was useful for changing the overall ambient tints between yellow and blue but that effect can now be achieved with colour balancing.

[Mike Buckley]

A polarizer will give a darker overall scene, Brian, but won't do anything for strong highlights from reflective surfaces.

If those highlights are glare (also called direct reflections) a polarizer will most definitely eliminate some, most or all of them, depending on the scene and the rotated position of the polarizer.

[Geoff F]

OK then, it looks like I will have to turn out one of my old polarizers and take a few shots to prove the point about shiny surfaces not working.

[Mike Buckley]

Please start a new thread devoted to using a polarizer, Geoff, so Brian's thread doesn't become hijacked and so the information in the new thread has a better chance of attracting viewers and participants who aren't noticing this thread.

By the way, I'm aware that a polarizer won't have much or any effect on material that conducts electricity including metal surfaces, any surface that looks like a mirror including shiny metal, and any material that is producing a direct reflection at an angle that renders it unpolarized. I didn't mention these factors because that information is not the context of the discussion or of Brian's typical photography subjects.

[Geoff F]

I had intended to start a new thread once I had done my tests.

The results are here

Polarizers or not - Test Images

[JBW]

I had intended to start a new thread once I had done my tests.

The results are here

Polarizers or not - Test Images

and I'm heading over to the new thread.