Cokin Blue / Yellow Polarizer

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Punch It Up

Mono Lake Sunrise, 1999

I rarely use any filters other than a polarizer or a graduated neutral density. But, in 1999 my friend and western landscape photographerSteve Kossackintroduced me to theCokinBlue / Yellow polarizer (#173)and it's now become an indispensable part of my kit.

The photograph above was taken just before dawn atMono Lake, CA. While it's effective, the sky wasn't as dramatic as I would have wished. Steve handed me his Cokin B/Y to try and a few minutes later, along with the use of a wider-angle lens, the photograph below was the result.

Mono Lake Sunrise #2, 1999

Whether you like the image or not is a matter of taste, but one can't disagree that this photograph is punchier and more dramatic. Steve's comment was that whenever he sees water, he thinks of the B/Y fi...