A Polarised Success

I was taking a series of photographs for another purpose using the lens that had a polarising filter fitted. I was not particularly thinking about the effects but when I came to work on the image in Photoshop I found this result:

Clearly I had stumbled across just the right conditions for getting such an image. The sun was low in the sky and at right angles to the shot I was taking. Bingo!!

Getting Ready for Assessment

Spent yesterday trying to get organised for a November Assessment. Had contacted my tutor for suggestions and he pointed me in the right direction. There is a video in OCA Resources where Jose Navarro provides a series of does and don't does particularly relevant to how to submit images. Fortunately I had kept my submissions for assignments separate and not put the images into separate folders the latter method seems a good way to pee off your assessor. I also seem to have been fortunate in preparing my images (I have used hard copies to send to my Tutor throughout the Course) all at the same size and ensuring there is sufficient white space to allow them to be handled without putting fingerprints all over them.

As always there are no set rules but I think the underlying premiss is to think about the assessor and how to make his/her life as easy as possible. To look at two alternatives there is the scenario where all material is in a box but in no particular order and the one where there is a logical progression from top to bottom and all related material is contained in a sub folder. Which, as an assessor, would you prefer?

I have to confess that I am not the most organised of people so I am usually panicking because I can't find a particular piece of work that I know is there amongst the pile of work but cannot bring it to hand. Each time (I am now on my fourth Course) I promise myself that I will be much more organised but that resolution flies out the window as I rummage through my 'filing system' and stuff goes in all directions. I least I have learnt to start early in the process in getting the relevant work all together, putting it in order as far as possible and keeping it separate from everything else.

I suppose the over-arching lesson is to read what is required for Assessment at the very beginning of the Course  and plan your work accordingly.

Who knows by the time I am on my final bit of work for the Degree I may be the epitome of the organised student!

Polarising Filter

Without polariser

With Polariser

These images were taken within seconds of each other so that there was very little change in the light nor in the position of the sun which was almost at right angles to the lens. The angle was, as far as I could judge about 30 deg. Enhancement in Lightroom and Photoshop were the same.There is a noticeable difference in the two with the polarised version offering a much clearer image with little reflection off the water and more of the bottom of the river can be seen.

In pursuing this exercise I have probably taken over 50 different images polarised and unpolarised. Some worked better than others and as expected this depended largely on where the sun was in relation to the camera lens. In the best conditions there is a noticeable improvement in the image although immediately noticeable differences require a combination of factors that are not always there.