Circular Polarizer Demo

If you remember at two years ago, I posted up a circular polarizer demo article. Today I will show you some more examples of why you should use a circular polarizer, but I most likely will be copying some text I wrote in the last article as there is no point typing the same content up twice. HAHA If you want to see the last post, you can do so here.

The sample photos with the polarizer shown today was taken using the B+W 82mm XS-Pro Kaesemann Circular Polarizer with Multi-Resistant Nano Coating. First off, let me tell you why a circular polarizer is good. First of all, if you love landscape photos, you have to get one, a circular polarizer helps contrast the colors and deepen the blue sky. Using a circular polarizer can also help get rid of glare from water, glass, leaves (what I'm showing you today), etc... A polarizer will also protect your lens from the elements like fingerprints, scratches, and water. It is a good idea to use a filter. I have also read online that a filter saved his L model lens from a fall! Definitely worth the investment because $100 < $5,000. LOL

If you are serious about photography like me, I recommend you not get the cheap ones because they cause unwanted glares in your photos and the polarizing effect isn't good. The ones I have are a B+W 58mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer and a B+W 82mm XS-Pro Kaesemann Circular Polarizer with Multi-Resistant Nano Coating. They are German made filters, and includes special nano-technology coating that causes water that collect on there to drip right off. There is also little vignetting at wider angles. However, this filter is pretty expensive, but most good ones are. The 58mm one cost me around $100 and the 82mm one cost me around $250 (still worth it for the great German optics).

If you don't know much about polarizers, you will find two types of polarizers. One type is the linear polarizer and one type is the circular polarizer. The linear polarizers will have a slightly better polarizing effect than circular polarizers, but will render your auto focus function useless as the polarizer will prevent the auto focus sensor from seeing light. Linear polarizers are usually cheaper than circular polarizers. Circular polarizers won't effect the auto focus sensor and is what most people use. Circular polarizers are more expensive.

The only down sides to using a circular polarizer (like with all filters) is that since filters is suppose to filter out the light, it will also slow down your shutter speed and the time of day it will work the test (due to the sun) is slightly limiting. If the shutter speed gets too slow, make sure you have your camera on a tripod.

Alright, let's move onto the sample photos I took. All these photos were taken on my road trip traveling from the SF Bay Area to Vancouver, BC, Canada. If you want to see my trip photos, you can do so here. Please note some of the "non-polarized" shots still had the polarizer on, but it was rotated to not have a polarizing effect on the image as taking off the filter is a bit of a hassle.

A non-polarized shot at Eureka, CA. 

Here is a polarized shot. As you can see some of the glare from the water has been removed. 

Here is a non-polarized shot from Wheeler, Oregon from the deck of the Wheeler On The Bay Lodge. 

Here is a polarized shot. As you can see the glare from the window is minimized. 

Here is a non-polarized shot from Government House in Victoria, BC, Canada. 

Here is a polarized shot. As you can see the reflection from the glass is minimized.

Also, the circular polarizer can help make your photos more saturated. This photo is shot at Reflection Lake inside Mount Rainier National Park in Washington. Without a polarizer, this photo would not be as colorful. 

This is all the sample photos I got. Remember the filters I have is a  B+W 58mm Kaesemann Circular Polarizer  and a B+W 82mm XS-Pro Kaesemann Circular Polarizer with Multi-Resistant Nano Coating. If you are going to buy it, please buy it through my link. :) I get referral money that way and you'll be supporting the costs of running this blog. Even if you don't, please click in to check it out. I understand this filter might be a bit expensive for a lot of people, there are cheaper filters out there, but I don't recommend those. Also, when purchasing, don't forget to check if you got the right size filter!

Thanks for looking at this demo. I hope you have enjoyed it. If you haven't seen my past sample photos taken with circular polarizers, you can do so here. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Instagram. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

Leggett, Piercy, Eureka, Arcata Bay - California's Coast

From 7/17/2013 to 8/2/2013, I took a road trip from the SF Bay Area to Vancouver, BC, Canada. Half of the trip was spent driving up the west coast. On my trip, I visited many famous places such as Seattle, Butchart Gardens, Mount Rainier, and much more. Obviously I got many coastal shots and many places that isn't as famous. The reason I am posting it now is because the high amount of photos I took equaled a high amount of processing time. I took a bit over 2000 photos on the trip. After stitching the panoramas, compositing the HDRs, and picking out photos from the repeats, I have a bit over 1000 photos to show you guys. The photos will be split into parts. I will link you to the previous and next parts on each post just like I did with my Death Valley National Park photos and my Yellowstone/Grand Teton National Park photos. Hope you enjoy viewing this chain of posts!

Full Resolution Photos and Prints: If you want to see full resolution photos or buy prints of any of the photos you see, they are up on my portfolio for viewing. To view my best California photos from this trip, use this link. To view all of my day 2 photos, use this link.

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Today I continue my trip up California's Coast. I have photos from Legget, Piercy, Eureka, and Arcata.

I start off with photos along SR-1 in Leggett, CA. This photo is of the South Fork Eel River.  

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 39 51 51 N 123 43 22 W

Here is a photo of the river on the other side of the bridge.  

As I have always recommended, get a photo of the sign! This way you'll never forget where you took the photo.  

 Here is the photo of the bridge over the South For Eel River. This is part of SR-1.

Here is a photo of Confusion Hill in Piercy, CA along SR-1. I didn't go in. Just got a few photos from the parking lot and left. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 39 55 09 N 123 45 53 W

Another photo of Confusion Hill.  

 Here is a photo of The Legend of Bigfoot, also located in Piercy, CA along SR-1. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 40 02 03 N 123 47 35 W

 Now I move onto Eureka, CA. Since this is a big city, I went down and explored a bit. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 40 48 11 N 124 10 38 W

A black and white process of the above image.  

 Now a few photos from the Eureka Boardwalk. 

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 40 48 21 N 124 10 08 W

 Another photo from the Eureka Boardwalk.

Another photo from the Eureka Boardwalk.  

After leaving Eureka, I decided to go for a scenic drive in Arcata, CA. Here is a photo from Arcata Bay on the side of SR-255. Not sure what that is on the ocean. Seems to be some sort of smoke or fog.  

Approximate GPS location (type into Google) according to the Canon GP-E2 GPS Receiver: 40 51 53 N 124 09 04 W

Another photo from Arcata Bay from the same location as above. 

These are all the photos for today. I hope you have enjoyed viewing them. Next time I have more photos from California's Coast. Please don't forget to share the blog post with your friends and family members! Also, if you want to get notifications when I post up more photos, "Like" us on Facebook or follow me on Twitter and Google+. These links can also be found on the top of the right sidebar.

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