Tuesday Tips & Pics - Polarizing Filter for Landscapes

Sorry again that this post is late! I was sadly without my computer last night and couldn't even write this post, let alone post it!

So my tip today is going to be quick, and it's to talk a little bit about Polarizing Filters.  A polarizer screws onto your lens and is designed to rotate while mounted to achieve maximum affect for what you're shooting.  A polarizer can reduce glare and reflections, reduce haze, and make skies more vibrant and detailed.  Have you ever shot outside somewhere and got home to realize all the skies were a bit too blown out or washed out? A polarizer can bring back that detail.

This shot below is one example taken with a polarizer, during my trip to Peru.
 

Normally, in order to properly expose for the building on the right, I would end up with a blown out sky, as the sun was in front of me to my left.  And normally, if I had exposed for the sky, the building would've been a silhouette.  But by rotating the polarizer to the sky, proper exposure for building and sky were achieved.  I didn't need to do any editing on the sky to bring color or detail back.

Here is another example, taken at the Salineras in Maras--the ancient Incan Salt Mines, that are still mined for salt today.  If you look carefully in the middle you can see a Peruvian hauling in a giant block of salt on his back.

Here I'm shooting directly into the sun. The sun is partially blocked by the hill, and partially shining straight into my camera. The polarizer however eliminates the sun flare and brings back saturation and detail to the sky while still being able to bring proper exposure to the foreground. Now, you may WANT sun flare, in which case the polarzier would not be for you in this case. But it's nice having the option to eliminate it if you chose. Also it's good to know that the polarizer also blocks a bit of light from hitting the lens, so I definitely needed to take it off for indoor and late evening/low light shots.

 I've read that polarizers can also reduce glare and reflections in glass, though I haven't tried it this way yet. I wonder if it would help to shoot people with glasses, to reduce the glare in the glasses. Has anyone tried on in this way? For the shots above, a HOYA 72mm Circular Polarizing Filter was used.

Link up what you've been shooting below!

OH, and btw, I'm guest judging Branson and Stephanie's Edit Me challenge this week.  Please check their blog tomorrow to see a picture of mine that you can download and edit for the challenge!