Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Working with IR Photography








I recently purchased an IR lens filter from B&H Photo, with the desire to begin exploring infrared photography. Since I left high school, I have not really spent time going back to the basic technical aspects of photography. But to justify the purchase of the lens and to really master IR photographs requires me relearning what I used to know about light and filters.



As the example photograph demonstrates, the image that shows up on the back of the digital camera removes the lower color wavelengths of light, leaving only about 50% of the red spectrum visible and the lower 700nm+ ranges of the infrared. I now have to readjust the techniques I learned so many years ago when I first started with black & white film. Contrasts are different, and exposure times are extended. Adding additional difficultly is the fact that with so little light coming through the lens, autofocusing becomes problematic. But the results, when things work, are extremely interesting.






Image 1: Sunset at Lafayette Resevoir. Image 2 & Image 3: Afternoon Jogger at Lafayette Resevoir.




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