This is my 1st time posting here. I used to live in Denver but I've move to Los Angeles. Just last week, I was lucky enough to go back to Denver and visited RMNP for a day full of photo session. Most pictures turned out alright, but if you look at this one for example, there's a significant blue cast in the far distance of the mountain. The foreground seems ok I guess because it's a little lower elevation, so the light spectrum is different. I did use a polarizer for these shots, and they all carry these blue casts. The pictures I told with my slide film also turn out the same (as expected).
Has anyone of you come across with this issue before? In the future, what kind of filter can I use to take that blue cast out?
I heard from people that Hawaii is like that too, and I am going there soon for a wedding, so I want to make sure I am prepared. Any help would be great. Thank you in advance.
Posted by Brent Murphy on May 24, 2006 at 12:47 PM
This color cast is fairly common in photos taken at altitude. To remove it, you'd want to shoot with a warming filter, like an 81A or 81B. You can also get warming polarizers that combine the function of a polarizer with warming glass.
You can use a warming filter such as an 81a or 81b filter to compensate for the blue cast. You could also correct this in Photoshop if you have the software.
No, a normal warming filter would be fine. The blue cast will be there in the rest of the image, too. You just don't notice it as much.
I know some people who keep a warming filter attached to their lens the entire time they're shooting at altitude. This is pretty reasonable, and I've done it occassionally. The effect is subtle, so it corrects the whole image, without making it look unnatural. Even in a situation where the filter might not have been needed, the extra little warmth will probably improve the image anyway. I've read that the human brain perfers warm images over cool images.
If you are wondering the conditions that could cause the blue cast, it's my impression that shaded areas with a mostly blue or bluish sky will cause a blue cast in the shade. You can see in the example, that the snow in the sunny areas has little color cast, but the snowy areas that are under cloud cover have a blue cast.
Film choice can make a difference as well. If you're shooting a different film for the wedding than what you shot here, you may want to test it out first. A warming filter on top of warmer print film (if that's what you shoot in Hawaii) may be too much.
Discussion
8 repliesThis is my 1st time posting here. I used to live in Denver but I've move to Los Angeles. Just last week, I was lucky enough to go back to Denver and visited RMNP for a day full of photo session. Most pictures turned out alright, but if you look at this one for example, there's a significant blue cast in the far distance of the mountain. The foreground seems ok I guess because it's a little lower elevation, so the light spectrum is different. I did use a polarizer for these shots, and they all carry these blue casts. The pictures I told with my slide film also turn out the same (as expected).
Has anyone of you come across with this issue before? In the future, what kind of filter can I use to take that blue cast out?
I heard from people that Hawaii is like that too, and I am going there soon for a wedding, so I want to make sure I am prepared. Any help would be great. Thank you in advance.
The blue cast is due to the high elevation.
I have more questions. When would you know to use these filters? Because you eyes don't really "see" the blueish cast, only on film.
Also, you'll probably want to use a grad 81A or 81B in this situation right? Or else, wouldn't the forground trees be a little too warm?
I have more questions. When would you know to use these filters? Because you eyes don't really "see" the blueish cast, only on film.
Also, you'll probably want to use a grad 81A or 81B in this situation right? Or else, wouldn't the forground trees be a little too warm?
I know some people who keep a warming filter attached to their lens the entire time they're shooting at altitude. This is pretty reasonable, and I've done it occassionally. The effect is subtle, so it corrects the whole image, without making it look unnatural. Even in a situation where the filter might not have been needed, the extra little warmth will probably improve the image anyway. I've read that the human brain perfers warm images over cool images.