Polarising filter for B&W film.

Terry Breedlove · Oct 4, 2016

So I took a video of a whale play at the beach with my iPhone. You can see it below. I want to go back and get some shots with the Hasselblad for a print. As you can see in the video the light is highly reflective on top of the water and you can't see the whale very good. I have a polarizing filter and I am wondering if it will cut down on this glare. Hopefully it stops raining and I can get down there tomorrow to try. Would shooting with color film work better or B&W. I prefer black and white film so I can make a print in the darkroom. I am thinking it doesn't make a difference but no sure.

Alan Klein · Oct 4, 2016

It should cut down on the glare for both color and BW although I don;t know how much in this case. Try it. Will the whale still be there?

Terry Breedlove · Oct 4, 2016

I just got a phone call it is there now so I am headed down. Will only bring the DSLR for video though this time. They have been there for about a month now.

Leigh B · Oct 4, 2016

Polarizers can work very well for still water, like a bowl of it sitting on a table.

The problem with real water (river / lake / ocean) is that the angle of reflection changes constantly.
The effect of the polarizer changes with the angle of the incident light.

All you can do is try it and hope. The shots will likely be better with it than without it. Good luck.

- Leigh

Poisson Du Jour · Oct 4, 2016

A polariser will certainly cut reflections very well, but it will do so best in still water, rather than a rapidly churning ocean surface. All well and good. But a polariser can screw the sky by only imparting partial polarisation which can dramatically unbalance the tone of the sky (whether it is clear or overcast/cloudy). You might be able to get around this partial/uneven polarisation by hooking up your camera to a drone (!) with the camera angled down to the water surface and polarised. Even Moby would be impressed by the spectacle...

Terry Breedlove · Oct 4, 2016

I went down but the whales were out in deep water feeding. I did load the Hasselblad up with TRI-X and rated it at iso 800 and put the polarizer on but never got a chance to shoot. It did allow me to see in the water more yes but you guys are right the motion in the water was to much even though it was pretty calm. SoI will wait to get back as soon as I get another call.

TheRook · Oct 5, 2016

Cutting down on the glare in this scene may make it more difficult to see the dark whale, as the water surface will be rendered darker. However, it's always worth experimenting to see what a polarizing filter can do.

Polarising filter for B&W film.

Terry Breedlove

Alan Klein

Terry Breedlove

Leigh B

Poisson Du Jour

Terry Breedlove

TheRook

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