January 26, 2023

Don't Stare at the Sun!

You may not want to stare at these pictures. I felt eyestrain just getting them ready to post! But I did a little experiment today with filters.



It's been years since I used filters on my camera because Photoshop and other programs take care of so many photography problems. I've had a set of graduated filters for a while and finally got an adapter to fit them on my camera. I took the first two pictures a few seconds apart but I turned the filter just to see what difference it made. It really changed the look of the sunbeams as it cut out some of the light.

That's not what it's for though. If you shoot with the dark section of the filter at the top, it will darken the sky a little bit. Since an automatic camera setting tries to average the light to a middle gray, blocking light from the sky allows the camera to let in more light on the lower section of the photo. Here we see a result, with the church showing up as white instead of just a shadowy wall or a silhouette. 


I probably won't use the filters a lot. My cell phone does so much more than any of my cameras did back when I was studying photography, and it does most of it with no effort on my part. Digital photography has made it possible for everyone to get good shots. 


17 comments:

  1. Perhaps, I am too used to mobile cameras nowadays. I think mobile cameras have better dynamic range than actual cameras. But there are cases when DSLRs are inevitable

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  2. These are wonderful sky photos. Nowadays I mostly use mobile phone camera as it is convenient. But I like to take photos by DSLR occasionally.

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  3. Gorgeous skies and photos, well done! Take care, have a wonderful weekend.

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  4. Digital photography has been a boon for bird photographers when you usually don't have time to fiddle with settings.

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  5. ...bright sun bothers my eyes.

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  6. Der Baum ist ein sehr schönes Motiv !
    Toller Himmelsblick
    My sky
    https://kreativ-im-rentnerdasein.blogspot.com/2023/01/und-noch-immer-alles-grau-in-grau.html#comments

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  7. That's interesting. We have lots of bright skies so this is good to know! Enjoy your day.

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  8. I have only used iPhone cameras since 2012 but then again, I've never had any photography training. The one time I really got frustrated with my iPhone was in 2017 while trying to take pictures of the sky as it approached a total eclipse of the sun. Those automatic settings....aaargh! Alana ramblinwitham.blogspot.com

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  9. I love it when I can get the sun to do that in a photo. It happens far to seldom. Very pretty.

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  10. I've been wondering when they are going to make cameras as easy to operate and manipulate as our phones. I would love to get apps on a camera to do things. Many of the really good photographers I know use their phones and are still winning awards for their images.

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  11. These cell phones are amazing aren't they? Great photos!

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  12. What fun with filters. I especially like the last one, a real life saver when the sky wants to take over.

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  13. I can remember when filters used to be mandatory equipment in everyone's camera bag. Now with digital, that adjustment can easily edited in or out. I really like the church photo, and great example of what a graduated filter can do!

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  14. I really like the church photograph too. You nailed it.

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