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Tim Parkin
Amateur Photographer who plays with big cameras and film when in between digital photographs.
Books on filters have historically covered everything but the kitchen sink. Whole chapters on how to add various coloured graduated filters (remember the tobacco grad? The ruination of many an amateur photographers holiday snaps). There have been a few attempts at writing books on filters for digital but mostly they have just skipped the 'tints'. Darwin Wigget & Samantha Chrysanthou have finally fixed this by writing a definitive guide to filters for digital cameras. Considering that the book is really only covering polarisers and neutral density filters (of the standard and graduated type) you'd think there wasn't much to talk about but they know their subject inside out and has small chapters on many aspects of filter usage. From uneven polarisation of skies and water, polarisation effects on rainbows and refracted light, effects on colour, grad placement, rules of thumb for grad selection, grad filter systems, colour interactions with digital cameras etc. Intruigingly there is also a chapter on blue/gold polarisers which is quite interesting as I had always thought they were gimmicky but Darwin shows a wonderful waterfall shot where the gold effect has created a very nice sense of light. A chapter of solid neutral density filters covers the standard and seemingly obligatory Lee Big Stopper - it also includes the Singh Ray Vari-ND filters - an interesting technology that seems very useful.
Overall the ebook is good value at $10 for 60 pages and anybody who uses the reflection from their receding hairline to demonstrate polarisers gets huge kudos from me. Very good indeed for beginners and intermediate photographers and even an expert may learn a thing or two. It's sold directly through Darwin and Samatha's Oopoomoo website
