The Second Best Landscape Photography Accessory Part 2

Using a polarizing filter enhances the colors of your landscape photos, as I described in yesterday's post. An additional benefit of a polarizer is that it can remove reflections from wet surfaces, such as rocks and water, to reveal both richer color and what lies below the surface.

If you are photographing a waterfall,  river, or pond, there are often reflections of the sky on the water's surface or the wet rocks nearby. These reflections or glare disguise the true colors underneath. Using a polarizer, you can reduce or eliminate these reflections.

With no polarizer, the reflection of a cloudy sky obscures
the rocks below the water's surface.

With a polarizer, the gray haze reflection is gone and
the rocks are clearly visible along with being more colorful.

A polarizer is also helpful when photographing waterfalls where the splashing water wets the surrounding surfaces. These reflect the sky and hide the rich rock hues. A polarizing filter can remove the glare.

With no polarizer, the wet rock at the top has shiny reflections.

With a polarizer, the reflections on the wet rock at the top disappear.

Learn about more filters and practices to improve your images in my Better Landscape Photos class that begins Thursday, September 28, at the Lifelong Learning Center in Missoula, Montana. Click here to register.