Like many writers, I also enjoy taking photographs. (Real original, right? Ha!). No surprise, I have many cemetery photos in my collection. I find a lot of beauty in cemeteries, from old gravestones, to flora and fauna, to geometric patterns of roads/sections/gravestones.

I purchased a Canon SLR in 2007 and took quite a few pictures over the next couple of years. Those were my freelancing and writing days, so I had a more flexible schedule in which to pursue photography. I took a full-time job in 2009 and time I could devote to photography took a nosedive. Now that I’m back to writing and teaching, I find myself making a little more time to get out the camera.

When I unpacked the camera a few weeks ago, I discovered I had purchased a couple of filters and had rarely used them. One was a polarizing filter, which I remember using on occasion. But the other was a red filter, which I’m pretty sure I had never used. Even though I had bought it on the advice of a photographer friend, I had long forgotten what it’s even used for! After a little Internet research, I waited for a clear, blue-sky day to test it out. The photo above is what resulted.

Here’s the polarized version:

I think the red filter provides a kind of “creepy” effect–what do you think?

I know a lot of photographers are on WordPress, so I’m looking for some advice. In what situations do you use a red filter? A polarizing filter? What are some of the best photos you’ve taken using filters? Any other filters I should consider?