These days most filter effects can be created using software, but David Bigwood explains how judicious use of graduated ND filters on your camera lens can really improve your landscape images.
In the old days of film “BD” (before digital) no self-respecting landscape photographer would leave home without an armoury of filters. Then came digital technology and Photoshop and it seemed the days of filters for every occasion were numbered. My expensive collection of Lee filters was consigned to my spare camera bag!
But, as I’m a keen reader of photography books, I noted that filters were still getting mentioned by many professional landscape shooters. The final straw was when I was browsing through a book by one of my favourite photographers, David Noton, who mentioned time and again the use of his polariser, as well as graduated neutral density (GND) and full neutral density filters. If they were good enough for a brilliant shooter like him, who was I to forego them? So a scramble through my spare bag ensued and I went forth once again.
Not, I hasten to add, with the full arsenal of filters that I carried in my film days, but with those that are proving useful in these digital days to improve the results out of the camera, so less time has to be spent on processing in front of a computer...
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: How to capture a lightning scene; Mastering the technicalities of shooting portraits; Shooting Turkey; Shooting wildlife in zoos; Good Gear Guide; Locations - Shoalhaven Coast, NSW; Samsung NEX7
