Filters
Filters are one of the important tools any photographer carries in their bag. There are a lot of different types of filters which are used for different things and depending on the situation can really enhance the photo that you capture.
At present, in my bag I have a CP or Circular poplarising Filter and a Graduated ND neutral density filter. I also have an ND filter that I don't use as it does not fit the lenses I currently use.
I only recently purchased the Graduated ND filter - I got it just before I spent a week in New Zealand after my Brother told me that he makes extensive use of his.
A graduated ND filter is a rectangular piece of glass that is clear for about 1/2 and the other half is a neutral grey that lest only a % of the light thru, with a soft transition from clear to grey in the middle. The filter I purchased was a 2-stop filter.
I had only ever used a CP filter before my trip and it was everything that I had ever needed, but the trip and the difference in the lighting in NZ opened my eyes somewhat. A GND filter is used to block light from part of the scene, and leave the rest unchanged.
Some of my early photos in NZ were really dissapointing - I was not using the GND filter. I was blowing all the detail in the sky or, if I metered for the sky, the foreground was very dark and lacked detail. The light in NZ was far brighter than what I am used to here in Adelaide. So, I put the filter onto the Camera and tried it out.
The GND filter allowed me to take pictures and maintain the detail in the sky and still have foreground detail as well. What I noted was that at times the filter was still only partially effective and I would have liked a 3-stop filter!
The GND is pretty easy to use - you simply screw the adaptor to the front of your lens and then slide in the filter. You can slide it up and down and rotate it to easilt position it so that it blocks the light where you need to.
