Help me deal with hazy atmosphere!

We took a little day jaunt up to Reading, PA today to see the Pagoda and as an excuse to take a bunch of pictures. I haven't been out much recently. The day was bright and sunny, but once we got there, there was a lot more low-lying haze in the distance than I thought I'd see. I have a good B&W CPL on the 10-22 lens, and that helped to darken the sky but the images still show a lot more blur, and appear washed-out near the horizon-much more than what I remember seeing with the naked eye.

I shot most of the day in AV mode at F16 or so. Could that have been a contributing factor? I've included three sample images completely unaltered from the camera RAW files except for conversion to JPG and down-size to 1024x768. The first was taken with the 50mm 1.8, no filter, and the second with the 100-400L, also no filter. The last is the 10-22, with the B&W F-Pro CPL filter.

Is it me, was it just the conditions, or is there something I can learn from the experts to reduce or eliminate this hazy, almost smoggy-looking stuff?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

[Image 1 - 50mm]

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Being from Florida, I've had to deal with this a lot. I've found that a CPL alone simply won't cut it. The only way to cut the haze is the underexpose, or make the pic an HDR. I'd love to find if anyone else has suggestions from their experiences as well!

Contrast adjustment.

I found that in post (I use photoshop) that if you create a duplicate layer and blend it with the soft light setting then apply a high pass filter to it it can increase the contrast. Creating a duplicate layer allows you to mask it in arrears you dont want the filter to affect.

Oh also look at your levels in the histogram have a play
Heres what it may look like (I left the right as original)

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Not a whole lot that you can do, and ND filters won't solve the problem (even a good polarizer can't cut through that much haze). The best thing to do is shoot when the lighting conditions are more favorable...

Greetings JimmyJam, Did you dial the polarizing filter to get the most from its polarizing power; the first two images do not appear to be polarized, the third image is overexposed (a GND filter or bracketed images would have helped). To an extent the haze can be controlled by editing in photoshop. The light and time of day are to be considered the most important factor for future shots. Also, mornings usually have less haze than afternoons. KC

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May want to take a look at this:
http://www.thedigitalp​hotographyconnection.c​om/LFDP_player2.php?ID​=lqIG0W8V.

forrestt wrote in post #11069975
Greetings JimmyJam, Did you dial the polarizing filter to get the most from its polarizing power; the first two images do not appear to be polarized, the third image is overexposed (a GND filter or bracketed images would have helped). To an extent the haze can be controlled by editing in photoshop. The light and time of day are to be considered the most important factor for future shots. Also, mornings usually have less haze than afternoons. KC

The first two were taken without any filter on the lens. The last was with the B+W CPL on. I never thought about a GND but one may have helped - I'll try that next time I have a similar situation.

Thanks

argyle wrote in post #11068005
Not a whole lot that you can do, and ND filters won't solve the problem (even a good polarizer can't cut through that much haze). The best thing to do is shoot when the lighting conditions are more favorable...

Yes - I agree. As I noted, I thought it would be a much clearer day, which was one reason we took the two hour drive up there It was not very warm or humid, temp about 70-75F, low humidity, a light breeze, and an other wise clear sky. It was just very surprising to see that much haze in the sky.

I think all for your suggestions. I don't use PS or LR, so I suppose my best bet is to wait for and/or utilize better shooting conditions.

Low humidity.