In article <316EB3D9.1EE5@abaco.coastalnet.com>, joclair@abaco.coastalnet.com says...

>We are interested in info related to filters for outdoor photos.
>Primarily to avoid that washed out appearance common to bright sunlight
>shots. Please advise.

You don't say what kind of film you are using, though properly
exposed (and printed, if negative) film of any type (though
contrasty slide film is particularly exposure-sensitive) should
not look "washed out", especially if you attend to the arrangement
of light and dark areas in the photo when taking the picture (it's
"composition" as much as where the main subject, etc., is placed
in the frame). Since film has a much more limited brightness range
than most subjects, it is necessary to make tone-related choices
when making the photograph, though aids like polarizers and
graduated-grey filters for color, and colored filters for B&W
can help, once you understand basic exposure. --OR-- You may
be dealing with a photo finisher that prints for shadow detail,
no matter how small a part of the photo, how irrelevant that shadow detail is compared with the lost mid and high tone information, or
how meaningless the :washed out" looking print is. Does the term
"Color Watch System" ring a bell? ;-) If the trouble is with the
prints, switch printers. If you are shooting slides, give the film
less exposure.
Hope This Helps