Photography skill is an art that is close to impossible to acquire overnight. Many might own DSLR but not many can take good photos. Owning a full frame camera and pro lenses do not make you a pro. It only shows that you are rich.

You do not need to be rich to be a good photographer. Having said that, taking photography as hobby can be very expensive as the lens itself can cost up to few thousand dollars. The ability to buy the hardware is one thing and improving the end product is completely different ball game.

Learning about photography is getting easier nowadays with DSLR. Not like ancient film SLR where you need time to develop the photos to evaluate the outcome. Now, you can see the result instantly and alter the parameters by previewing over the LCD screen. It gets even easier with Live View.

Alternatively, majority will go to photography courses or join the field photography group to learn the fundamentals, tricks and sharing their perspectives. Contrary to popular believe, I decided to take up this challenge and learn everything myself from scratch.

Building the learning curve leads me to a lot of try and error. More like hitting my head and learn. I bet that is what many say, failure is a ladder of success. In my own defence, I was at wrong time at wrong place.

Let me share this and I considered this as one of the most memorable moment in the history of my photography adventure (<6 months). I bought a 77mm CPL (circular polarizer filter) recently for my 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM. I did not go for B+W but rather a local made as it was meant for experimental.

After spending about few hundred dollars, I am so eager to try out the filter but at the same time, I am too busy with my ‘daily commitment’ and only free after 8pm every day. So, I decided to give it a try to shot a light tower from my balcony window.

Not long before I realized that my CPL filter did not improve the photos at all and I can still see glare from the viewfinder. I also cannot see the different contrast and not even close to get a nice shot. I told myself, “I should not resort in cheaper filters or maybe I got cheated for a lousy piece of glass instead of filter!”

After few weeks, I read this, “CPL filter only works on day time as it filters out light polarized perpendicular to the axis of the filter. By having the filter, it will reduces the reflection from some surface, darken the sky and saturates the image by eliminating the unwanted reflection.”

So, I have learned a lesson that I wish to share here. Photography is not about stealing the show on who can produce the best photos or what you use to shoot it. If you don’t have the photography skills and knowledge, your style with cool camera is just for demonstration and the outcome is not for presentation.

My advice is, “Learn from expert and never buy anything without knowing what it can do or what is the limitation.”

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