In the age of digital photography, the use of creative filters has somewhat diminished as many of the desired effects can now be duplicated in photoshop. However one filter that has not been made redundant by the digital darkroom is the polarizing filter.

A polarizer is often the first filter recommended to a new photographer who is interested in taking up landscape photography. It’s a versatile tool that can add punch to almost any landscape scene, and some professional photographers even leave them permanently attached to their lenses.

There are quite a few articles around describing the effect on an image that polarizers may have, however the best way to make effective use of your photographic tools is to have a grasp on how they work. Hopefully this guide will give some insight into the optics and application of this filter. By the end of this tutorial you’ll understand why this is one of the few photographic filters that cannot be duplicated in photoshop. [Read more…]