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Filters are used in photography to bring back an image to the way our eyes have perceived the original scene. Some times it’s not possible for our cameras to record an exact scene - so we have to rely on the manufacturers of camera products.

Filters also help us to create mood in our images and bring out the best in a scene. A small selection of filters is well worth packing when heading off for a trip. They don’t take up too much space and will definitely add a bit of spice to your images.

Filters work by being placed in front of your camera lens. You can also place several filters in front of your camera at any given time.

Lets take a look at the most important ones to use.

Neutral Density Filters (ND): Neutral Density filters will certainly help you with tough exposures. These filters work by cutting down the light that reaches your lens. These filters come in a variety of strengths with the most popular being 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 - these filters will help with exposure without affecting colour.

One half of these filters is dark and the other is completely clear. They basically work by reducing brightness. The different numbers stand for the amount of brightness they reduce - 0.3 ND reduces light by one stop - 0.6 reduces light by 2 stops - 0.9 reduces light by three stops.

Lets say you arrive at a high contrast scene, - you take a light reading of the sky and get an exposure reading of F/22 at 1/8 second; you take a reading from the ground in front of you and get a reading of F/22 at 1 second. This is a difference of three stops of light. You need to reduce the brightness of the sky. By using the 0.9 ND you will reduce the light in the sky by three stops without affecting the light hitting the ground in front of you.

Polarizing Filters: A polarizing filter should be top of the list - a polarizing filter can be used with colour or black and white and is probably the most important filter on the market today. The polarizing filter will also darken the blue sky to give it a strong rich colour. It will make mist stand out and can be also used to give fast flowing water a misty effect. This filter is most effective with side lighting.

Warm-up filters: In overcast conditions, don’t put your camera away. This is an ideal time for you to switch your attention to landscape detail. On an overcast day images often appear cold and dull. Try using a warm-up filter. These filters will remove the dull effect that you get shooting without the sun.

The 81-series are the best choice and will give your images an extra bit of life. An 81A warm-up filter is ideal to use in adding extra warmth to low light images.

Filters for B/W photography: Just because you use black and white film it doesn’t mean that you can’t use filters - there are several filters for B/W photography. The polarizing filter is one of the few filters that work for B/W and colour photography. It will help to darken shades of grey in your final print.

The red filter is one of the most popular. This filter will darken the sky giving your image more impact. The most common red filter is the number 25. Filters for B/W work by transmitting light of its own colour, and holds back light of the other colours.

There’s a large amount of filters available; these are the most important filters for landscape photography.

There are also several filters on the market today that will do very little for your photography. Colour graduated filters should be left at home or placed in the bin - colour graduated filters work by creating un-natural colours, destroying your final print.

TJ Tierney is an award winning Irish Landscape photographer and a freelance writer. If you are looking for some photo tips visit the photography directory he frequently writes for: http://www.goldprints.com To view some of his images visit his on line gallery @ http://www.goldenirishlight.com

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Take a photograph that is set up perfectly, composition, lighting, scale, its all right. You take the shot and feel pleased with the outcome, but how much personal emotion went into the shot?

This is a question you should ask yourself every time you press the shutter down.
For human emotion is a powerful tool to equip your images with. It avoids images
taken without reason or understanding. It evokes feelings and emotions within the
viewer of the photograph, and it gives the image a much greater level of meaning.

As a nature photographer, any image I take has been the result of an instinctive feel
for the environment being shot. We all know that feeling you get when you reach
the summit of a mountain, or when you step into the warm sea for the first time.
Something within gives you a great satisfaction, a buzz that you cannot keep hold
off. How incredible would it be to find a photograph that could capture that feeling
and record it within an image? An image that unleashes these very emotions when
viewed. This however is no easy task. It requires a photographer that is sensitive to
their surroundings and understating of their subject. The images do not require
being laboured over, for it should be instinctive, driven by the emotion of the taker.
If it feels right, take the shot.

Of course, not everyone will see in an image what you see, and will not feel what
you feel. This is unavoidable, but you do take away some of the static feel that can
suffocate a photograph. Make your photos exciting, make them feel alive, make
them look real, and most of all, equip them with emotions.

John Threlfall is a self-taught photographer with a deep passion for nature
photography. With an upbringing in the countryside, John strives to capture his
feelings and emotions within his images. John has a Masters
Degree in ‘Creative Imaging’. His work can be viewed at http://www.capturednature.com
The images capture the pure simplistic, yet breathtaking beauty that is hidden away
in rural Britain.

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