Fliters
In these day and age when one have software like Photoshop, are they redundant? In my case both yes and no. The old special effect filters like soft-focus, star-filters, center-spots, colour-filters for black and white, well since one have Photoshop to do this, and the software does a good a job at it as the old filters, then why carry the deadweight in the camerabag. What filters that Photoshop can’t recreate or have problems recreating are the polarizer and the good old grey neutral density filters (both standars and graduated). Yes, Photoshop can recreate N.D. grads, but I feel doing it in-camera is better, and doing it through HDR-prossessing is many times depriving the soul and feel of the scene. With the polarizer and the grey-filters for making motionbluring, Photoshop can make poor mock-up at best.
But to save time correcting colourcast one should get good quality filters that are really neutral. Which brand is up you and your budget. I personally use Formatt Hitech 85mm and 100 mm when it comes to the greys, and Kenko Pro-1 Circular Polarizer. As I picked up form Art Wolfe and Moose Peterson, that in many cases it’s easier to just hold the ND-grad in the hand in front of the lens then fidling about with the filterholder. I use the filterholder for the standar ND-filters. Since I’m on a budget, I chose the Formatt’s filterholder to use with the 100 mm filters, as this serie is my go-to filters when I’m not in a rush and have time to set up the shot.
For quick and ease I use the 85mm ND-grads both hard and soft-edge, and graded form 0.3 to 0.9. In the 100mm series I use ND-standars ranged from 0.3 to 1.2, often combined with the polarizer as this gives me a 6-stop at the greates. Also I use ND-grad graded from 0.3 to 0.9 in the soft-edge and 0.6 to 0.9.
In the beginning I used the Cokin P-series filterholder, but I don’t recomend it. The system is fidly and flimsy, and makes using a different brand polarizer difficult as Cokin have their own take on where to place the polarizer for that series.
Toffa Berg Photography
Toffa Berg, a dedicated landscape photographer hailing from the picturesque landscapes of Stavanger, Norway. Toffa's lens is a portal to the intimate and less-traveled corners of Norway's natural beauty. With a passion for solitude and an aversion to city life, Toffa's photography is a reflection of the quiet moments and serene vistas that capture the essence of the Norwegian wilderness. He runs both Toffa and Knotten and Toffa Berg Photography. Under this author profile he writes in the power of being a photographer and not a vanlifer.
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