Jungle Scapes.....Avoiding leaf reflection?

[Ganoderma]

One of the main things i take photos of is nature. Usually plants and animals. One thing i am having constant difficulty with is forests and plants. Be sunny, overcast or basically any lighting situation other than dark, the leaves reflect light a lot and look like they are being flashed.

Anyone have any tips for avoiding this? i have tried with different f stops/shutter speeds in various combos but doesn't seem to help a whole lot. changing the lighting is not very possible as often the subjects being photographed are in the field and quite large (not movable).

any pointers would be GREAT!:mrgreen:

 

[rmh159]

A polarizing filter should fix this problem for you.

 

[B Kennedy]

^ definitely agree. I always use a polarizer when shooting *almost* any nature/landscape/anything outdoors. And bring a tripod as well because when your under the tree canopy you'll prolly end up slowing down that shutter speed.

 

[Ganoderma]

GREAT Thanks guys! i have looked around a bit. not sure if i am allowed to post links to stores/auctions so i wont but does this description sound right?

58mm Circular Polarizer.
Polarizing filter enhances picture quality by blocking harmful reflected light. Use it to reduce polarized light reflections from glass and water surfaces or to improve color saturation. Simple to use, circular polarizing filters (such as Canon's PL-C) polarize light circularly, rather than linearly, so it does not interfere with autofocus or TTL light metering. TYPE: Screw-in

 

[marcpro]

Yup, that's the one!
Make sure you get the right dimension for your lens.

 

[rmh159]

Yup, that's the one!
Make sure you get the right dimension for your lens.

I'd also recommend buying the filter for your biggest lens and use stop-down rings to adapt it to the smaller ones.

 

[Ganoderma]

great thanks guys! looking around i see a WIDE range in price.

obviously quality will be different but i find "58mm Circular Polarizer" from brand A at $8 and brand B at $250...

i am looking at these: Tiffen 58mm Close Up Lens Set and HOYA 58CIR 58mm Circular Polarized Filter

you guys have anything wrong with those? i am looking for this and macro style covers.

 

[marcpro]

When I bought mine at the pro shop in Calgary, where I live, the tech said it wouldn't be worth it to buy a top of the line filter for a kit lens. Made sense to me, so I bought the midrange priced filter. Not the cheapest, but not the most expensive one either.

I do plan on getting better lenses, but guess what, the filter size is different on those anyways.

Cheers,

 

[Garbz]

i am looking at these: Tiffen 58mm Close Up Lens Set and HOYA 58CIR 58mm Circular Polarized Filter

you guys have anything wrong with those? i am looking for this and macro style covers.

Yep they are cheap. Now this isn't a eww cheap avoid I'm a yuppie type comment, but the Hoya especially is worth spending nearly double the money to get the Hoya SHMC filter range. It's not just antiglare coatings in this case. One of my Hoya CIR-PL actually bled red colours and had a somewhat average evenness across it's surface.

 

[yogibear]

Yup, that's the one!
Make sure you get the right dimension for your lens.

I'd also recommend buying the filter for your biggest lens and use stop-down rings to adapt it to the smaller ones.

Id wish id thought of this before i bought 4 different polorizers. Things are fricken expensive -.-