Dumb sky colour question

Gary Coyle

Gary Coyle

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Ok im a sports tog and have no idea regarding shooting other styles ie, landscapes, i am getting an interest in landscapes and other general photography but i wanted to know how you guys acheive the vivid blue skies, is this some sort of filter or something.

i currently use a ef 17-40mm f/4.0 for said stuff if thats any use

TIA

Gary
 
It's generally a polarising filter.. either a circular one screwed onto the end of the lens... or a Filter holder which hold 1 polariser and some square filters.

Polarisers let you see through some water, brighten the colours, cut the haze, to varying degrees.

Best used when the sun is at right-angles to you.
 
Hi, Gary,
As just mentioned by Janice polarising filters do enhance skies. The only (very slight) drawback is that they also cut out some of the light! If this becomes a problem you could try fiddling with the blue channel (or red for sunsets) in post prod. (By the way I'm not referring to smutty tv)!
Good luck with the landscapes.
Andy.
 
Android said:
If this becomes a problem you could try fiddling with the blue channel . (By the way I'm not referring to smutty tv)!
Click to expand...


Now then, no-one ever thought that... so now you've brought it up...methinks the man doth protest too much!! ;) :naughty:
 
Filter prices cover a huge range and I guess you get what you pay for. I wouldnt go diving in at the deep end if you are just starting on landscapes in case you dont like it.

There are hoya and cokin cheapo's. Hoya midrange and hi-tech. There are expensive Lee filters. Take your pic!!

This will give you a start


:thumbs:
 
I've used grads for varying exposures with success. Are they mostly supposed to be for long exposures? I hadn't heard that but it could very well be the case.
 
Gary Coyle said:
arent they for quite long exposures, or longer than i would be looking to expose at. ( i think )
Click to expand...

Not necessarily, but you will need a tripod set up.
You adjust the filter so the gradation is around the horizon. The sky gets under exposed by the ND part of the filter and the foreground is at normal exposure. The under exposed sky then has more colour to play with in post processing.

The other trick is to under expose the whole scene slightly the create a layer for the foreground and a layer for the background in post processing. Lighten the foreground layer and darken the sky layer until the scene looks "right".

Lots of clever effects here - time consuming but a lot of fun!
 
I was hating having the same issue as you until recently.
I just bought a 77mm Kood polarizer for my 17-40 and my 24-105.

Cant recommend it enough, you'll notice the very rich blue in the sky even when your framing your shot.
 
Sounds what i need coldn8w, point me to a link you bought it from please.

Any pics online taken with the 17-40 and filter i can look at

Cheers
 
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