Late afternoon overlooking Point Reyes National Seashore. Pentax ZX-5, FA* 85mm F1.4, Bogen 3221W/Manfrotto ProBall, Kodak Elite Chrome Extra Color 100, Cokin Blue/Yellow polarizing filter.

-- Mark Erickson (mark@westerickson.net), November 12, 2000

Answers

It's hard to tell because we're looking at a scan, obviously. That said, it looks pretty damned good to me. On the off chance you took a shot without the filter I would find it interesting to see a before and after shot.

-- Mark Meyer (mark@photo-mark.com), November 12, 2000.

In fact, I did take shots with and without the polarizer. I don't want to post another full-sized image, so here are thumbnails of the scene both ways.

-- Mark Erickson (mark@westerickson.net), November 12, 2000.

Actually I think I like the unfiltered version a lot better.

-- Karl Lehmann (outback@gte.net), November 13, 2000.

I agree, like the un-filtered version better. The filtered one has just a tad too much saturation, looks unreal.

-- Rose-Marie Burke (rmbehr@istar.ca), November 13, 2000.

Maybe you should have backed the filter off just a fraction. It has a tad to much blue-yellow but I use them all the time and so do travel brochure shots. To make a place look better than it actually is this filter is very good, you just have to get the aqmount right. Although I haven't said it my country sunset shot has a Blue- Yellow and a 81A filter. No one has picked it yet. And this isn't the only board I've posted it on. If you hadn't said you used a filter everyone would be going Oh Ah! at the shot. Not saying I think I like this one better. I usually keep what i do a secret until someone asks, "Did you use a filter". It a nice scene and well done on it. Just twist the fliter slightly less next time

-- Keith Anderson (redtags@optushome.com.au), November 13, 2000.

I ruined many unique photo ops with the P173 and/or enhancing filters. I really dislike the magenta cast on the white. I find that when I finally get the magenta out of the white the rest of the photo looks normal, so why bother. The same with the enhancing--it just looks strange. I'd rather work with hues and colors in scanner software that creating a photo that is a dickens to correct if you don't like the coloring. One thing I haven't tried with the P173 is fall leaves (gee I just thought of this now that autumn is past).

-- Warren Kato (wkato@aol.com), November 14, 2000.

You asked "love or hate" and I'm sorry but I'm in the latter camp. Is there any reason why you didn't use an ordinary polariser? The unfiltered thumbnail, whilst being preferable to the image you posted, is crying out for polarisation to saturate those colours, and maybe a 81a would have helped a little too, but there is no need to add so much unnatural colour. You've composed it nicely though.

-- David Henderson (hendersons@online.rednet.co.uk), November 16, 2000.