subway bubway

[captain-spanky]

heydo... amature question imminent...
I've recently found some cool gaffiti in a subway near me and i wanna grab some shots before it all gets painted over by the local do-gooders...
I want to get all the colours to come out really nice and i was wondering if a polarizing filter/UV filter would help?
I'm probably gonna have to go for a longer exposure than usual, what with it being artificially lit and slightly dim yeah?

thanks in anticipation...

 

[Mitica100]

I want to get all the colours to come out really nice and i was wondering if a polarizing filter/UV filter would help?
I'm probably gonna have to go for a longer exposure than usual, what with it being artificially lit and slightly dim yeah?

First you have to know what kind of light you have down there. Then you need to 'adjust' to the lighting conditions. For example you need to use a FL-D filter if there's fluorescent light. If there's incandescent light then you need some 80A filter to take the orange look out. I do not believe a polarizer will help you much unless the subject is wet or has a shiny surface (non metal). The UV filter is of no help here.

Use a tripod and long exposure, bracket and hope to have some good shots.

Good luck.

 

[captain-spanky]

thanks for that... the polarising filter and UV one are the only filters i have so i'll just do without...
What do you mean by 'bracket'
i'm a bit of a tool when it comes to 'technical' terms...

 

[Big Mike]

Bracketing means that you take several shots, at least three, with different exposure values both above and below what you think might be right.

Lets say your camera is telling you to shoot at F/5.6 @ 1/60....OK take the shot then change only one of the values. (In this example I'll change the shutter speed.) F/5.6 @ 1/30...then F/5.6 @ 1/125. Now you have taken three shots at three different exposure values, each one stop different from the next. This greatly increased your chances of getting a photo that you are happy with.

You can bracket with more shots on either side or by more/less than one stop, what ever you want to do. Don't be afraid to use lots of film to get one good shot.

 

[captain-spanky]

cool. 8)
Thankski v muchly!

 

[Mr.ReDEyE]

hey captain....i do alot of graff photography and trust me....you're gonna want to use that polarizer of yours......polarizers do great at reducing glare on non-metallic subjects such as PAINT.....which you're gonna be focusing on.....reducing glare on the paint will saturate the colors and give you great shots.....use the polarizer....may the force be with you......

Mr.ReDEyE "the light molester"

 

[Cuervo79]

Depending on what kind of photo you want I would go with the lighting it has naturally with no filters to get that green or orangy ambience so it looks more urban

 

[Big Mike]

The polarizer filter will help with reflections...try some with and some without. Remember, it will cost you a stop of light. So if you are shooting hand held in a dimly lit place, you may want to go without.