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P H O T O G R A P H Y C O N T E S T Sponsored by A.J. Hirsch |
Victoria Blais
Second Place
2006 OAPT 4U Photo Contest
Immaculate to Murky
Light is made up of electromagnetic waves vibrating equally in all directions. This is unpolarized light. However, polarized light can be thought of as light vibrating in a single direction. When light is reflected off a shiny surface of transparent material, such as the water in the photographs, light vibrating in a particular orientation is reflected more than light vibrating in other directions. Only light parallel to the plane can pass through, therefore the reflected light is polarized. This is what is seen in the first photo – polarized light reflected off the pond which acts as a reflector of the sky, and the bright image dominates the exposure. On the same day, moments after the first picture was taken, a polarizing filter was used to take the second photograph of the pond. A polarizer only lets light through that vibrates a direction parallel to the long-chain molecules aligned within the filter, and blocks out light vibrating perpendicularly. Therefore, the polarizing lens was rotated so that it was close to perpendicular to the polarized light reflected off the pond, reducing the reflections and the glare from the water’s surface. This is why it appears dark, and more becomes visible beneath the surface of the water. The once perfect and pristine pond has become grimy and grubby.