Optical digital camera filters are a great way of not only adding drama to your landscapes but also enhancing the scene at the point of pressing the button. But as post-processing technique, such as HDR and split toning are becoming more and more popular, the need for filters in everyday use is slowly dying out. Gone are the days when a landscape photographer would have his bag rammed full of fancy filters ready to use one at any given moment.

These days, there are only really 3 types of essential filters for scenic photography – Neutral Density graduated filters (clear at the bottom, darker at the top) to help balance out exposure changes in a scene, solid NDs (dark all the way through) for enabling slower exposure times and polarisers, for cutting through reflections.

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In order to capture the color in the sky with your digital camera, make sure you shoot at dusk, around 30 minutes after  sunset whereupon the sky will be a magical blue color. This window of opportunity will be longer during summer months and is  often referred to as the “golden hour”. In the city it is easier to get the timing right, because you will see building and  street lights become subtly brighter. The contrast between the sky and the buildings will also become more subdued.

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