New Fuji 55-200mm lens for IR!

Finally, a LONG X Lens for the Fuji Family!

Pawleys Marsh, Fuji X Pro 1 720nm IR conversion w/ the new 55-200mm lens.

Fuji X 55-200mm

Yes, the new Fuji 55-200mm lens arrived for my fuji camera systems!  I am currently shooting with a color X-E1, a color X Pro 1 and a IR converted (720nm) X Pro 1.   I know how well the 55-200 works on the color bodies but what I really needed to know how did it work with the IR system!  Would it give hot spots as so many of the Fuji lenses do?  This post is the report of my findings.  The final verdict is that it works very well and as long as you do not go higher than f/16 there are no hot spots to worry about at any zoom range! To me this is a really big deal.  

So far only the 14mm and 35mm Fuji lenses are usable in infrared. So the addition of another lens really helps.  

I am going to give you some examples of how this lens actually does at both the wide and long ends of the zoom range wide open and closed down so that you can get a feel of the usable Infrared range that you can use.  Next week I will do a posting using the lens for color work only.

Pawleys Marsh, Fuji X Pro 1 720nm IR conversion w/ the new 55-200mm lens.

OK, let’s take a look at the good and bad of the 55-200 in IR, the Wide end:

55-200mm @ 55mm, f/23.5 No hot spot

55-200mm @ 55mm, f/11 Small hot spot

55-200mm @ 55mm, f/22 Bad hot spot

As you can see as you get to f/11 we start to develop a small hot spot, but nothing that cannot be fixed.  Above f/11 the lens becomes unusable at the wide end.

Now, let’s take a look at the long end of the zoom range:

55-200mm @ 200mm, f/11 Bad hot spot, NO HOT SPOT

55-200mm @ 200mm, f/4.8 Bad hot spot, NO HOT SPOT

55-200mm @ 200mm, f/22 Bad hot spot, SMALL HOT SPOT

The difference at the long end of the zoom is amazing and is usable over the entire range of the aperture!  This is great news for us IR shooters.

Pawleys Island Marsh, 200mm B&W Post Processing

There is starting to be a large number of IR photographers out there who are using converted Fuji X Pro 1 camera systems.  There are currently 2 conversion companies out there who can do the conversion.  I HIGHLY recommend the X Pro 1 as an Infrared platform and with the addition of the 55-200mm lens to our shooting arsenal we are way ahead of the game!

A Simple Tutorial on Infrared Post Processing…

from my fine art photography blog

Murrells Inlet Marsh, X Pro 1 720nm IR Faux Color

The Fuji X Pro 1 has turned out to be one of the best Infrared camera systems that I have ever used… period!  The only good Fuji lenses for Infrared have proved to be the 35mm f/1.4, the 18mm f/2 and the new 14mm.  The Viogtlander 75mm f/1.8 has also proved to be a STUNNING lens also!  So, the camera has proven its infrared capability, now it is time to discuss in detail the recipe for post processing!  It is all quite simple but there are a few requirements that you must understand in order to follow my workflow with understanding.

Needed:

• Photoshop CS5 or CS6
• Nik Filters, Viveza, Define Silver EFX Pro plugins for Photoshop, NOT LIGHTROOM.  (You can now purchase the entire library of Nik filters for $149)
• Kromography False Color Action which can be downloaded here from the right menu bar under the box menu.  You can simply  click on it to download to your computer then drag it to photoshop to install.
• A converted Infrared camera system capable of generating enough color data to make Faux Color images.  This means 720nm, 665nm, 630nm and 590nm conversions.
• The ability and desire to experiment!

As you move your RAW (shoot only RAW for IR because of the ability to shift the white balance easily) onto your computer you should automatically tell yourself that you are going to process each selected image in Faux color and B&W.  Sometimes you will notice that the un processed image looks great also (wonderful bronze tones) and decide to do a version like this as well!

Lets talk about the RAW conversion process a little bit.  Photoshops ACR built in RAW converter will NOT apply the white balance correctly and your images will appear deep red.  For this reason I use Capture One version 7 from Phase One.  It is simply the BEST RAW converter that I have ever used.  You can download a trial version and decide for yourself if what I am telling you is true!

My Initial Editing Steps:

1. Move images from my camera to my computer with an intelligent download tool that renames them with a meaningful name and create an intelligent directory tree for my RAW Library.  For this I have tested dozens of tools and found that Ingestimatic is the best and lowest cost one out there! You can find them here.
2. Visually edit the RAW files by deleting the images that are simply no good.  Do not clutter up your computer with these useless files.
3. Batch process my RAW conversion choices and adjust the exposure, contrast and angles.  Capture One will allow this and place the converted image files into a storage directory for later editing.
4. Within Photoshop, open  each converted image one at a time for post processing
5. Run Nik Define 2.0 in its default mode on the image for noise reduction, Save.
6. Run Nik Viveza and without using any selection points increase the structure around 10% and the contrast about 5%, Save.
7. Having installed the channel swap action that you downloaded here, run it on your image.  The last thing it will do is to open a Hue/Saturation window with the Master channel selected.  Simply select the CYAN channel  and vary the HUE a little bit to bring the sky to a normal blue rather than a blue/green.  Then select the RED channel and adjust the saturation up to a value you like, and repeat with the YELLOW and MAGENTA channels.  When you are happy with the results click on DONE to move on.  REMEMBER:  This is to only get the colors of the FAUX COLOR IR image into the ball park!  The real adjustment will happen next.
8. Run Nik Viveza again.  Here is where you will use your control points to slightly adjust the colors and contrasts of various image elements to bring out a stunning, etherial work of art!  LOOK closely at your image, decide what you wish to adjust (Hue, saturation, contrasts and de-saturation). MORE ON THIS LATER!
9. Run Nik Define one more time.
10. Flatten the image, crop to taste, correct any imperfections (healing tool and content aware fill).
11. Save the image with a meaningful name in a planned and thought out master image library.
12. With the finished Faux Color image still open in Photoshop, now run Nik Silver EFX Pro to do your B&W conversion.  There are several built in recipes in this filter that can be used as a starting point.  My favorites are:

• High Structure Harsh
• High Structure Smooth
• Full Dynamic Range Harsh
• Full Dynamic Range Smooth
• Fine Art Process
• Wet Rocks (once in a while)

Save your image again with a NEW file name that reflects the difference in your master image library tree!

Murrells Inlet Salt Marsh, X Pro 1 720nm IR

Remember:  Process ALL IMAGES as both Faux Color and B&W.  You really do not know what you are going to get till you do so.

All of this really is VERY SIMPLE and once you have done it a few times it will become second nature to you.  Soon you will be a post processing Infrared God or Goddess!  Congratulations

No, let’s take a look at the image below.  Notice the areas that I have circled as places where I desire to change the colors, contrasts and saturations (both plus and minus). Also consider that this is a 720nm converted camera and as such has a very limited color range (light pinks and warm tones and blues).

Annotated Faux Color, X Pro 1 720nm IR

It is in this area and others like them (similar color values that are the same) that we are going to place control points on and change these values!  If you notice that the areas around them also change a little you can place what we call anchor points which are simply control points with no adjustments to bring those areas back to where you wanted them!

You will find this ENTIRE process from the initial loading into photoshop to finish will just take 4 or 5 minutes or less as you become more practiced!

Here are a few more images for you to consider that were taken on the 720nm Fuji X Pro 1 camera system:

Stormy Seas Faux Color, X Pro 1 720nm IR

Stormy Seas B&W, X Pro 1 720nm IR

Sometimes Faux Color images simply do not work, then you still have the great B&W ones to work with!

SC School Bus Boat, X Pro 1 720nm IR

SC School Bus Boat, X Pro 1 720nm IR

Was this information helpful?  Please let me know one way or the other!

1st Official Fuji X Pro 1 720nm Converted IR Post!

Here it is…

Fuji X Pro 1, Brookgreen Gardens, 720nm B&W processed. Fuji X 35mm lens.

Well, it arrived!  After months of consideration after I got my X-E1 I finally decided to send off the X Pro 1 for  Infrared conversion.  It went to Dan at LDP (maxmax.com) and the cost was $500.00.  YIKES!  yes I said $500.00!  Dan explains that the X Pro 1 is the most difficult conversion that he does!  It required him 1.5 days to do the conversion and lots unsoldering/soldering to get to the sensor.  Still, better than sitting on the shelf or an attempted sale on Ebay, plus  I really like the camera and the hybrid viewfinder is just perfect for IR.

I had to decide between 720nm and 850nm so decided to go for the 720 in order to have a little color ( I really like the bronze tones right out of the camera at 720nm).  The total time for shipping – conversion – shipping was 8 days, door to door.  Very fast!

Importantly, the Fuji X Pro 1 camera White Balances perfectly. For these tests I white balanced on a green shrub in front of my gallery.  The process to do so on the camera is simple and fast!

The scope of THIS post is to talk about the conversion itself and to give you some sample images testing each of my normal Fuji and Voigtlander lens set that I use.

• Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Lens
• Voigtlander Ultra Wide-Heliar 12mm f/5.6
• Fujifilm XF 35mm F1.4 Lens
• Fujifilm XF 18-55mm F2.8-4.0 Lens Zoom Lens
• Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens
• Fujifilm XF 60mm F2.4 Macro Lens

My first image out of the camera was with the Fujifilm XF 35mm F1.4 Lens.  It is stunningly sharp with great contrasts and tones without any processing at all! This is simply a perfect IR image right out of the camera.

Fuji X Pro 1, Brookgreen Gardens, 720nm RAW un-processed. Fuji X 35mm lens.

OK, the original hot mirror can tell us a lot about the capability of the Fuji body to take IR with no conversion.  The strength of the internal filter from the X Pro 1 is quite strong!  It is actually 2 filters sandwiched together.  They are very much like the B+W 486 IR blocking filter and the LDP CC1 IR blocking filter back to back.  The 486 is a pink/gold  filter that extends a little further into the visible light spectrum before falling off and allows a little less IR to pass through.  The CC1 filter is wider at the UV end.  The two filters together will pass light to the sensor from about  300nm to 700nm.  You can see this in the image below. This is the same filter arrangement (hot mirror) that we normally see in the Canon DSLR line and on the Panasonic Micro 4/3 camera line.

X Pro 1 Hot Mirror showing both Wide bandpass side (gold tint) and the Lower UV side (Aqua)

X Pro 1 Hot Mirror showing the Wider bandpass side (gold tint)

X Pro 1 Hot Mirror showing the Lower UV side (Aqua) similar to the CC1 filter from LDP

If you were to look at the 486 and CC1 filters they are the same general colors and pass band to what we actually see here!  So , what does this all mean to you?  If you decide (and convince Dan) to have a full spectrum conversion done on your X Pro 1, you can convert it back to a normal color camera by stacking both of these filters (B+W486 and the LDP CC1) on the end of your lens.  The full spectrum Infrared conversion is one where the hot mirror (IR blocking filter) is removed from in front of the sensor and replaced with a piece of clear glass.  Then, the camera is programmed to the specific UV or IR band with the addition of the appropriate filter on the end of the lens.

Normally, the hot mirror can bee seen as the colored layer of glass under the lens as shown here where you can now see the 720nm filter installed.

Inside the X Pro 1 showing the 720nm filter.

Lenses that Work/Don’t Work with the X Pro 1 720nm IR conversion…

Lens Hot Spots

As you may know (or guessed), not all lenses work well in the Infrared spectrum.  This is due to many things, but most commonly, the coatings on the lens elements and the coatings on the internal lens barrel and how they reflect IR light energy.  The common failure then is in the form of HOT SPOTS in the center of the image captured by the camera.  These are always dead center in the middle of the image and present as large round white areas.  Sometimes, they can be overcome by using a wider aperture, but not always…

Lets talk about the lenses that I tested that work (or in 1 case mostly work)…

Fujifilm XF 35mm F1.4 Len:

Fuji X 35mm Lens

WOW, what can I say?  This lens works perfectly in the 720nm spectrum at all apertures!  The camera auto focuses perfectly and fast, the images are sharp and there are no hot spots at any aperture!  Lets take a look.  This first image is raw out of the camera.  I have done not post processing for B&W or Faux Color but there is enough color in the 720nm spectrum to have some interesting Faux Color results.  These types of images will be covered in another post next week and we will spend a lot of time and effort teaching and going through each step in the recipe used to create them in Photoshop CS6 and the Nik filter set.

Fuji X Pro 1, Brookgreen Gardens, 720nm RAW un-processed. Fuji X 35mm lens f/8

Next, is the same image post processed using CS6 and Nik’s Silver EFX Pro for B&W…

Fuji X Pro 1, Brookgreen Gardens, 720nm B&W processed. Fuji X 35mm lens f/8

Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Lens:

This lens from Voigtlander is one of the sharpest, easy to use lenses that I own.  The fit and finish on this lens is something to behold.  The lens has an included clamp on lens hood that works very well.  The focusing is so smooth that it is scary… It is a PERFECT match for the Fuji X system (X Pro 1 and the X-E1) and works just as well here in Infrared!  I was very happy to discover this in my tests at 720nm!  There are no hot spots at any aperture.  It takes Take a look:

Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Lens at f/11. Raw (notice the nice bronze coloring)

Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Lens, f/8 Faux Color Post Processing

Voigtlander Heliar 75mm f/1.8 Lens, f/8 B&W Post Processing

Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens:

Fuji X 18mm lens.

This lens works well as long as you do not go beyond f/8.  Past that it generates very discinct hot spot in the center of the image.  While this can be overcome in post processing  with Nik’s Viveza, it is still slightly disappointing…  Still, when used at f/8 or wider the lens generates pleasing sharp images that make it worthwhile to carry in your camera bag!  Here are the RAW test samples for you to consider.

Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens at f/2

Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens at f/4

Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens at f/5.6

Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens at f/8

Fujifilm XF 18mm F2.0 Lens at f/11

Voigtlander Ultra Wide-Heliar 12mm f/5.6

Voitlander 12mm

Another great lens from Voigtlander.  This one has a built in lens hood and while it will take screw in filters they need to be wide angle versions.  It also has that super smooth focusing feel but since it is so ultra wide at 12mm you can focus it pretty much at infinity and it will always be in focus.  I love this lens on the X Pro 1 and X-E1.  For 720nm Infrared, it works great until you hit f/22 then it gives a faint hot spot.  This is just fine with me as I rarely go beyond f/11 or f/16.

Take a look at the samples:

Voigtlander Ultra Wide-Heliar 12mm f/5.6 at f/8 RAW

Voigtlander Ultra Wide-Heliar 12mm f/5.6 at f/22 RAW with hot spot

Fujifilm XF 18-55mm F2.8-4.0 Lens Zoom Lens:

Fuji 18-55

This lens is such a disappointment to me…  It is without a doubt my favorite walk around Fuji lens on the X-E1 camera. I hardly ever take it off.   Sharp and clear with great contrast.  That being said it is all but USELESS for Infrared!  There is a major hot spot problem at ALL focal lengths at ANY aperture past f/4.  At f/4 it did take nice images but as you understand, useless for landscapes.   Bummer…..  I am beyond disappointed over this one.

Fujifilm XF 60mm F2.4 Macro Lens:

Fuji 60mm

I am going to initially tell you to simply forget this lens for Infrared.  It has a seriously bad hot spot at all apertures.  I will also share with you that I might actually have a bad copy of it.  It gives a terrible hot spot on my X-E1 when shooting in color as well, especially when using a flash.  I think that I am going to send it back to Fuji for repair and see what they think.  Depending upon that I might re-evaluate it for Infrared later on!

Ok this is all for the initial post.  

The next post will focus on post procseeing and what can be acheived artistically with this new Infrared Fuji X Pro 1!

Please let me know what you think!

Get Ready…. Here it comes!

Fuji X Pro-1 720nm Conversion!

 

Well I actually did it and sent off the X Pro-1 to LDP in New Jersey for a 720nm conversion!  The camera is due back today and the fun will begin!  Stand by….

Fuji X Pro-1 720nm IR conversion!

Repost: Fuji X Pro 1 For Infrared, Part 1, Technical Details

Creating Emotional IR Images From Your Heart

This post was originally posted in my Fine Art Gallery BLOG at: http://markhilliardatelier.wordpress.com/

Using the Fuji X Pro 1 for Infrared

Infrared photography means so many things to me… It is more than a type of photography, rather a passion or better yet an addiction! I have a LOT of experience in Infrared, I have a book in work on it, but MOST IMPORTANTLY, I have practiced the art of creating emotionally charged Infrared images for longer than I can remember, even as long as 45 years ago with film.  Here, today, I will disscuss with you the technical details of using your Fuji X Pro 1 camera system to create these emotionally powerful images as well.

X Pro 1 Faux Color IR Image with only the channel swap

Understand this, you can create Infrared images several different ways:

1. Film:  Rolli makes a great 720nm IR film in many different formats that with the addition of a 720nm filter on your lens will create great IR images at 100 ISO, and with no filter great B&W images at 400 ISO!
2. 

   Hoya R72

   Standard Digital COLOR Camera:  With the addition of a 720nm or 850nm IR filter on your camera lens your camera can capture Infrared images.  There is a tradeoff to this way though because each camera manufacturer places some sort of UV/IR blocking filter over the image sensor that allows only visible light to pass through.  Some of these filters are weaker than others and these cameras make for a system that will do well in Color and OK in Infrared with reasonable IR exposure times around a second or two.  Others have a strong filter allowing only a small amount of IR energy to pass.  These require VERY LONG exposure time in order to overcome this filter.  The Fuji X Pro 1 is one of the cameras with a weaker filter! This is exciting because it enables you to easily create IR images with an unmodified camera system!

3. Converted Infrared Camera:  This type of system is the most popular by far.  There are 2 types:

• Full Spectrum conversion: The internal UV/IR blocking filter is removed and replaced with a clear glass filter. You can then program the camera with an external IR filter in any range from UV to Color to Infrared!  This is the most adaptable IR system but costly because IR filters for your different lens sizes are expensive!
• Dedicated Infrared Conversion:  This type has the internal UV/IR blocking filter removed and replaced with a specific IR pass filter and will create IR images in that band only.

What your camera sees!

So with regard for the Fuji X Pro 1 system we are going to discuss option #2, the standard color camera with an external IR filter attached to its lens.  But you ask: “What filter can I use?”. Well since we are not modifying the internal UV/IR blocking filter you must understand that the camera will pass normal visible colors as well as IR if the external filter allows it.  This is both good and bad!  If you were to install a 590nm IR filter on your lens the camera, it would see everything from 590nm up to 1000nm.  But because the internal UV/IR blocking filter allows much more visible light than IR through, it will poison the exposure metering system.  It is going to see the vast majority of the light as color (red) and expose for that rather than the IR portion.  So attempting to do this will cause very unreliable exposure and great frustration on the part of the photographer.

What we need is to attach an IR filter that blocks ALL of the visible light and only passes IR to the sensor!  So it is best to choose a 720nm IR pass filter to your lens like the Hoya R72 or a 800nm B&W IR only filter like the B+W 093.  The higher you go in nm the longer the exposure time will be…

Now, knowing that we are going to use the 720nm filter which will only pass IR energy from 720nm and up while blocking ALL of the visible light our metering system will now function as it should!

Considerations of problems that must be overcome within the X Pro 1 to get good IR images

• Even though the Fuji X Pro 1 has a weak UV/IR blocking filter there is still one there.  Exposure time at a normal low noise ISO of 800 and below will still require an exposure time too long to hand hold and still get sharp images.  Most of mine were at 1/30s and longer.
• Yes, the X Pro 1 works well at high ISO settings, but in IR the camera will still create noise in the dark areas of the image.
• 

  Fuji X Pro 1 with a custom WB right out of the camera. This is as close as you can get but will still generate a great image.

  White Balance is IMPORTANT when shooting in IR!  The X Pro 1 will NOT reliably do a custom white balance with the 720nm IR filter installed.  But it does have a manual Kelvin White Balance option, so when shooting IR you need to go to this sub menu in the WB settings and set it to 2500K.  I have talked to others doing this and have heard that they also take away green as well in the menu.  I personally think that this is unnecessary and by leaving the green neutral you will get more pleasing Faux Color images.  A properly white balanced image taken on your camera has s slight reddish cast, the sky should be bronze and the green leaves should have a monochromatic feel with a bluish cast. (more on this later) An improperly white balanced camera image will be pure dark red.  While you can still use this image in post processing the lack of a good white balance will throw off your exposure system. Read your camera manual on white balance and understand it!

• Longer shutter speeds need a tripod to get sharp images!
• Remote shutter cable to cut down on camera shake!
• The Hoya R72 720nm IR filter will generate good Faux Color infrared images some of the time, but good B&W images all of the time.  Keep this in mind while shooting and plan to always explore both options in post processing!
• Faux Color IR images require a channel swap in post processing.  ONLY the Photoshop family (CS through CS6) has this function built in!  Photoshop Elements has an optional plugin called Elements Plus that you can purchase to do this.  Lightroom and Aperture DO NOT have this function!

Ok, enough of this for now. Lets talk images…

 The Hoya R72 IR filter is almost black.  You can see very little through it but don’t worry, the camera can see through it just fine!  You can find these filters on Amazon for about $58.00 in 52mm.  There are a lot of other filter companies out there that make these, some good some not so good… I trust the Hoya!

Mount the filter on your lens, set the ISO to around 1000 and put the camera on a tripod.  Make sure that you have properly set the WB either as a custom on or as a Kelvin entry.  If you choose custom, the camera will require a lot of light to due this properly.  Use green grass to generate the custom white balance.

I like to use the optical viewfinder rather then the LCD or EVF for shooting in IR.  Choose and frame your subject carefully.  Hmm, a word about composition…

There are three items that can make IR images really powerful and full of emotional impact:

• Sky with clouds!
• Water reflections!
• Green Leaves!

The more of these items you can get in your images the better they will be!  Here is an example…

Clouds, Water and Leaves! What more could you ask for? While not done on a X Pro 1, this image could just have well been so!

 As you can see, the sky, reflections and leaves create an emotionally packed, etherial image that draws your viewer into it!  Keep these three compositional elements in mind as you go forth and create your images!

Exposure Issues…

OK, last part of this post!  There are a few small exposure issues that you need to be aware of while doing IR work.  They are:

• Red Channel over exposure: The RED channel will aways expose a stop or more higher than the blue and green.  After you have taken the image and see the preview on the LCD panel look at the histogram.  It only displays the combination monochrome histogram and if it is close to being overexposed you will get better results by dialing in -1ev exposure compensation and re-take the image.  This is due to the red channel being more sensitive to infrared and causing the overexposure.  You can really see this during the RAW conversion or in photoshop during post processing by looking at the RGB histogram there.
• Hot Spots:  Some people have reported hot spots in the center of their images when using the 18mm lens.  I have NOT personally  seen any evidence of this with my system as of yet.  Hot spots are areas in the center of each picture that is usually a stop brighter.  They are caused by light bouncing back and forth between the sensor and the lens elements.  These are lens specific and very little can be done while taking the picture to stop or reduce them.  BUT, the aperture can have a drastic effect on them!  If you see these then try adjusting the aperture and review the results, you just might be surprised!  You MUST ALWAYS use a lens hood when shooting in IR.  This will also help stop hot spots by stopping light from striking the objective lens at extreme angles then bouncing around inside the lens between elements.  If you do notice the hot spot you can remove it in post processing very easily by using Nik Filters Viveza.  You use the selection point by placing it in the center of the spot and then reduce the brightness!

OK, this is enough for today.  The next post will be a detailed Post Processing tutorial that will take you through both Faux Color and B&W processing.  I even have a photoshop action that you can download to semi automate the channel swap and cut down your post processing time!

Grist Mill GPX Download Updated!

Updated Version (April 2012) Ready In The Downloads Window!

There is a new updated version of the Grist Mill GPX file available in the Downloads area on the right side menu!  I have added all of the Ohio and Indiana mills plus made repairs to older entries that proved to be incorrect!  Please download them and install on your GPS!

As ALWAYS please share the lat/long, name, location, address and description of any mills that you find that are NOT on this download!!

Glade Creek Grist Mill, WV

Thanks for your continued help.

Italy, 2012, Post 3

Images, Images and More Images!

Assisi, Road Thru Houses 590nm Infrared

Todays post are just a few more of my favorite Infrared Images taken around Italy.  All are 590nm with an equal mix of Faux Color and B&W.  The post processing on them are basically the same as in the last post.  All were taken with the Panasonic GH2 with the 14-140mm Panasonic lens.

Rome, the high fashion district at the Spanish Steps. Notice the vast crowds! 590nm

I will likely add some Color images here as well in the coming days to highlight the differences between locations done in both Infrared and Color!  But for now, on last gallery of Infrared images:

Assisi, road between the houses

Assisi, road between the houses

Assisi, Road Thru Houses 590nm Infrared

Vatican Chapel

Vatican Chapel

Vatican Chapel, Swiss Guard

Vatican Chapel, Swiss Guard

Rome, The Spanish Steps, High Fashion District

Rome, The Spanish Steps, High Fashion District

Rome, the high fashion district at the Spanish Steps. Notice the vast crowds! 590nm

Pompeii Streets, Note the chariot wheel ruts!

Pompeii Streets, Note the chariot wheel ruts!

Pompeii Ruins

Pompeii Ruins

Pompeii Ruins

Pompeii Ruins

Pompeii Garden

Pompeii Garden

Amalfi Cliffs

Amalfi Cliffs

Italy, 2012, Post #2

Speciality 590nm Post Processing to OVERCOME Difficult Images!

Michelangelo's "Pieta" in Saint Peters Basilica, Rome, 590nm Faux Color Infrared.

Oh my, where to start… Hmm well I think that there is no need to proceed in any order so I will tackle the most important images in order rather than by location!

Looking at the image of the Pieta above the first thing that comes to mind is the full beautiful saturated colors.  One would look at this and never realize that this is a Faux Color Infrared image!  It is indeed a 590nm IR images taken on the Panasonic GH2 with the 14-140mm lens, INDOORS, THROUGH PROTECTIVE GLASS at a super high ISO of 1250, 1/60 s, f/5.6 HANDHELD. It is in fact not a scene that one would normally consider for Infrared.  This is EXACTLY why I did choose it.  Color was nice, but everyone shoots it in color.  I desired something different and new.  I cannot imagine that it has EVER been photographed in Infrared!

Post processing for this one took considerably longer than the standard 30 seconds with CS5 and the Nik filters.  There were also several problems with the scene that I had to overcome!  First and foremost was the Plexiglas shield between the public and the statue.  It was not exactly clear and there were literally thousands of people standing there shooting wildly all of them using their flashes which were just bouncing off the plastic making it more difficult to see through.  Also there was a large window just over the head of Mary which had the sun directly behind it.  Ok how I did this image:

• I took my time moving up through the crowd until I got to the rope divider and placed myself directly in the center of the plastic so that I would not cause issues from photographing from an angle.
• I made sure to have the flash turned off (its normal condition).
• I set the ISO to 1250 so as to have a f/5.6 aperture at at least 1/60s shutter.
• I chose a zoom range of 24mm so as to overcome lens bending issues.
• I then choose the composition in the Portrait mode and set my exposure ON THE WHITE STATUE set to Zone 7 and 8.
• I took a LOT of pictures as I needed to overcome camera shake, other folks flash reflections bouncing back at me and reflections in the plastic.  By a lot I mean 20 or so images…

Things to consider when shooting through plexiglass:

1. Your overall contrast will be greatly reduced so PERFECT EXPOSURE is a must!
2. Flash bounce back from others cameras will KILL your image.
3. Low shutter speed will require a solid support.

Still, knowing all of the issues I knew that I could overcome them in Post Processing, so I simply set everything up and shot away with the thousand other tourists!

I trusted my ability to set the exposure perfectly on the white statue in the spot meter mode of the camera and then wisely selected ZONE 7 & 8 by dialing in the appropriate positive exposure compensation.  I also knew that I could hold the camera quite still and trusted in its built in image stabilizer to help.  I used the LENS HOOD to cut down on flash reflections striking my lens objective and causing further loss of contrast (you do this also… right?)

After getting back home I went through my 20 images and selected the absolute best version to move into the post processing phase.

My Post Processing Recipe:

1.  Using Capture One RAW converter I made sure that the image was straight.  I adjusted the contrast up about 10% and adjusted the exposure so that the RED channel was from edge to edge in the histogram. I also insured that there were no hotspots on the statue.
2. After converted to a 16 bit TIFF image I opened it up in CS5
3. I cropped the image to my master image size of 8.5″ x 12.5″ at 300 dpi.
4. I ran Nik Define 2.0 and manually chose measurement points on the statue and the marble wall behind it.
5. I ran Nik Viveza and increased contrast up again by 10%, structure up 10% and brightened the overall image a few percent.
6. I used the lasso selection tool and selected the window behind the statue and then via edit > fill with content aware allowed CS5 to remove the window and replace it with more marble from around it. I had to reselect the edges a few times  and go through the process again to make sure that the marble blended perfectly!
7. I now ran the Channel Swap Action that you can download from here.  At the end of the action it pops up a window with the color channels.  From that window I selected RED and made saturation and hue adjustments, Yellow with saturation and hue adjustments, Cyan  for saturation and hue adjustments (cyan is the most important adjustment, this is where you overcome the blue/green sky during the channel swap by adjusting the hue control towards the blue end!) then selected OK to end the action.
8. I ran Nik Define 2.0 again to clean up some noise generated by the channel swap action.
9. I now ran Nik Viveza AGAIN and using selection points I started at the top of the image and worked my way down to the bottom adjusting BRIGHTNESS, CONTRAST, STRUCTURE, RED, GREEN & BLUE levels and finally SHADOW adjustments.  All in all I placed about 100 selection points in the image to get it just right.  As you can see, this recipe is much more detailed than that which I usually use for normal Infrared post processing!
10. I ran Nik Viveza AGAIN and darkened the four corners to force the viewers eyes into the image center.
11. I ran Nik Color EFX Pro and chose the Vignette: BLUR filter and adjusted the outside edges of the image to be slightly blurry.
12. Flatten and save image as a PSD file with a name that is meaningful!

That is it.  The entire process took about 20 min from start to end and I feel that the process was very much worth the time investment.

Here is a B&W version generated by Nik Silver EFX Pro 2 for you to compare.  It looks good, but the color image just grabs me by the throat and screams, LOOK AT ME!

Michelangelo's "Pieta" in the Saint Peters Basilica, Rome, 590nm B&W IR

What do you think?  Please give me some feed back on how you feel the images look and feel to you!

Italy, 2012, Post #1

Or, How I Spent My Summer Vacation…

Amalfi, 590nm Faux IR

Ellen (my wife) and I decided that it was time to take a trip somewhere to “get away” for a short while.  We decided that a trip to Italy was just what the doctor ordered!  Last year we went to Greece but booked an inexpensive hotel in the center of Athens then took day trips to various places in Greece.  We learned that this was NOT the way to go.  So for Italy we booked a total package trip through Gate 1 which included 5 star hotels, ground transportation, guides and entry fees for the following cities:

• Venice, 2 days
• Pisa, 1 day
• Florance, 2 days
• Assisi, 1 day
• Rome, 3 days
• Pompeii, 1 day
• Sorrento, 2 days
• Amalfi, 1 day

The hotels were amazing and the ground transportation was luxury buses.  All very well planed and executed!  The only real drawbacks were the food costs and the amount of walking required to tour the various locations. This was a group tour which had 35 people plus one full time guide.  Everyone was from the USA except for the guide who was from Rome.  She was very good and kept us all very organized. There was another professional photographer in our group besides me who specialized in Pin Hole Photography using home made wooden cameras shooting film!  I had several hours of very good conversation with him. I would not hesitate to use Gate 1 again in the future.

GPS track of our path through Italy

As you can see from the rough GPS track above we covered a lot of the country.  I took along a small GPS device to generate a bread crumb track so that I could TAG all of my images for location as well as keep a detailed plot of our movements.  It worked very well and had enough memory for several months of movement and a 44 hour battery life! The unit I decided on was from Ostarz and called the X-1000 Travel Recorder XT.  It is TINY and has a bluetooth interface for uploading the date to your computer system.  I am very pleased with it so far and it has worked flawlessly.

Each of the cities that we visited were interesting in their own way and all were different!  Below I will give you a basic overview of each and what I liked about it!

• Venice.  A very unusual city of boats.  The water scenes were amazing and I loved every moment here.  I only took a few IR shots here and a ton of color images!  We visited ALL of the major attractions here plus took a water taxi to the island of Murano where we watched artisan master glass blowers create their wares!  All in all a most enjoyable destination that I would have enjoyed another day at.
• Pisa. We were told that we would not enjoy this location because it was boring and full of gypsies.  NOT TRUE!  The basilica which is made up of the Battistero, the Duomo and the Leaning Tower were amazing both inside and out.   Amazing photography!  There was another big plus here in that we found a McDonalds and Ellen was able to have her first cup of normal American coffee!  Color her happy!
• Florance.  A city of the arts full of splendor.  I really enjoyed walking along the river taking photographs both during the day and night!  Very interesting buildings and statues!
• Assisi.  Here I would have liked to spend another day!  Amazing is the only word for it.  The basilica of Saint Francis was amazing and full of world class photographic opportunity.  I took a LOT  of Infrared images here…
• Rome.  BIG, 4 million residents.  The Vatican was amazing.  We visited there both during the day as well as at night.  The Chapels and Museums there left me stunned.  We took a walking tour of all of the famous fountains, ruins and basilicas.  I took a lot of Infrared here.  I would have been happy with 2 days here instead of 3.
• Pompeii.  HUGE ruins.  Interesting.  No good for color photography due to the time of day so I basically shot Infrared all day.  After the first 2 streets everything started to look the same.  
• Sorrento.  What can I say about Sorrento… AMAZING! More time please!  Lovely town in the south.  Had a GREAT time here.  Lots of images in both color and Infrared!
• Amalfi.  OMG!! This was the highlight of the entire country for me!  Amazing, scary, rough, tall cliffs with twisty turnie tiny roads.  Shere cliffs that have been terraced with small towns built on them! Ohhh, could have spend a week here alone!

An Assisi street. 590nm Faux Color

For the trip I decided to travel light.  I took my Panasonic GH2 590nm IR camera with the 14-140mm lens & the 8-18mm lens (which I never used) along with my Fuji X100 color camera system.  I learned after my Costa Rica trip several years ago that heavy DSLR systems just sucks the life out of any vacation trip…  I had ordered the new Fuji XPro 1 camera system with the 35mm and 60mm lenses for this trip but it did not arrive in time for it (in fact I still don’t have it and they are telling me the end of March!).  The little X100 works great though and due to its small size and silent operation it made for some easy street photography as well.

I will add further images of the trip along with technical details on how they were taken and processed in my next post.  I will also include my thoughts on travel photography. I will also be including some color images as well so that you can see and understand the differences in impact for each.  Some images simply work better in IR or Color and until you have processed them you will not know!

It is going to take me weeks to wade through all of the images that I took.  I am working on the Infrared ones today and will include a small gallery below to share some of them with you.  Please click on each image to bring up a larger view!

An Assisi street.

Amalfi, the rugged coast, 590nm Faux IR

Amalfi, the rugged coast, 590nm B&W IR

Amalfi, terraced town, 590nm Faux IR

Amalfi, terraced town, 590nm B&W IR

Amalfi, terraced town, 590nm Faux IR

Amalfi, terraced town, 590nm B&W IR

Amalfi, Saracen Guard Tower and terraced town, 590nm B&W IR

Amalfi, Saracen Guard Tower and terraced town, 590nm Faux IR

Venice – Murano, Lighthouse, 590nm Faux IR

Venice – Murano, Lighthouse, 590nm B&W IR

Pisa, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, 590nm Faux IR

Pisa, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, 590nm B&W IR

Pisa, Battistero baptistery, 590nm Faux IR

Pisa, Duomo Cathedral, 590nm Faux IR

Pisa, Duomo Cathedral, 590nm B&W IR

Assisi, the road down, 590nm B&W IR

Assisi, Rocca Maggiore, Fort on the hill, 590nm B&W IR

Assisi, Rocca Maggiore, Fort on the hill, 590nm Faux IR

Assisi, Basilica di San Francesco Assisi, 590nm B&W

Assisi, fork in the road, 590nm Faux IR

Assisi, fork in the road, 590nm B&W IR

Assisi, homes on the hill, 590nm Faux IR

Assisi, Homes on the hill, 590nm B&W IR

Rome, the Colosum floor, 590nm B&W IR

Rome. The floor of the Collosum, 590nm Faux IR

Amalfi, 590nm Faux IR

GPS track of our path through Italy

The 3 Faces of Infrared Conversions…

Or, which way should you jump?

Different Spectrum Choices...

Recently, I have been asked several times in emails and via reader comments on which Infrared camera conversion is the best for someone who is planning on jumping into IR!  So, it is time to address that small question…

There are three ways to go when considering Infrared Photography:

1. Normal color camera with external IR filter.  This is the cheapest way to try your hand at IR photography.  You simply adda 720nm filter to your lens.
2. Internal conversion to Infrared. This is the cheapest easy way to get into IR.  The internal IR blocking filter (hot mirror) is replaced with a IR pass filter.
3. Full Spectrum conversion.  This is the best way to get into IR, but the most expensive.  The hot mirror is replaced with clear glass and you put IR filters on the lens.

Let’s discuss each option..

• The first, normal color camera with a 720nm external filter will work great, but it does have some major issues to overcome.  The exposure times are greatly increased due to the fact that you have limited the amount of light reaching the sensor with the addition of the external filter plus it must overcome the internal hot mirror built into the camera.  The results in exposure time around a minute long and no ability to compose (unless you have live view) because your eyes cannot see through the 720nm external filter.  Focus is off and must be adjusted for IR as well.  Still, it is a good way to see if you even like IR work!
• The second, internal conversion is a really good way to go.  It requires no special camera functionality (you do not need live view) and will give the ability to shoot normal hand held exposures. It works well in all camera types.  They only issue is the decision on which filter to choose!  I usually tell people to go with a 590nm conversion (Goldie or Super Color) because it gives the best combination of Faux Color and B&W work.  There is another consideration to the internal conversion, it is that you can change the flavor of the conversion by adding an additional filter on the end of your camera lens!  You can only go down in frequency  (up in nm) from whatever your internal filter is but it can be done allowing a different flavor for your camera!  Remember when you hit 720nm or lower you loose the ability to use your optical viewing path so you MUST have a camera with some sort of live view system for this to work! I have a Panasonic GH2 at 590nm, a Canon 20D at 590nm and they both work great.
• The third option, Full spectrum gives you the most versatility but with added costs.  The hot mirror is replaced with a clear piece of glass and you then program the camera with an external filter!  This opens up an entire world for you to explore.  The camera will see everything from UV to FULL COLOR to INFRARED!  You simply tell it what you wish by your choice of external filter.  If you only are interested in 590 nm, 620 nm and 665 nm then any digital camera will be fine for you.  But if you wish to explore some of the alternatives, like the Super Blue (in camera Faux) or  UV+IR (UG1) or the deep IR filters like 720nm (standard), 850nm (deep IR) and lower then you MUST have a camera with live view or full time LCD display!  The reason for this is the fact that normal DSLR camera systems use an OPTICAL image path that goes from the viewfinder thru a prism, bounces off a mirror and out thru the lens and filter!  If your filter is dark then you cannot see to compose although the camera will still focus!  Live view will allow you to overcome this problem.  There are some REALLY interesting filters out there like the UG1 (UV+IR) and the 047B (Super Blue in camera Faux) that will only work with an internal or Full Spectrum conversion but need a live view with the Full Spectrum Conversion!  Now, the additional costs are the prices of the external filters to fit your lenses.  The darker the filter the more they cost!  Oh, did I mention that with a Full Spectrum Conversion you can convert the camera back to normal color by adding a UV/IR blocking filter (expensive)!!

Spectrum choices

UG1 – UV+IR  This is an interesting filter that mixes UV and Infrared to give ultra white colored leaves and a dark blue or purple sky!  You will see a lot of this posted around the net but very little in the galleries!  It is not for everyone but still can be very pretty and interesting.  The filter is very expensive!  It is around $120 for 58mm.

Hoya 047B Super Blue

Super Blue – In Camera Faux Color.  This filter is becoming more popular as you can shoot normal Faux Color IR images right in the camera with no post processing. It is highly dependent upon good white balance but gives very good Faux Color images.  For B&W it is not so good… The cost of the Tiffen 047B is around $70 in 58mm. Lifepixel now offers a Super Blue internal conversion service.

B+W 090 Super Color 590nm

Super Color (Goldie) – 590nm.  This is (and should be) usually the filter of choice for most IR shooters.  It gives great gold toned Faux Color images and stunning B&W images as well.  For Faux Color special post processing is required in Photoshop and the Red and Blue channels must be swapped which is VERY difficult in Elements but simple in Photoshop CS5!  The cost for a B+W 090 590nm filter is about $25 for 58mm.

B+W 091 Pinkie, 630nm

Pinkie – 630nm.  This is my personal favorite filter for Infrared work.  Instead of golds it gives pinks and reds in Faux Color and stunning B&W work.  No on offers this filter as an internal conversion so the only way to use it is with a Full Spectrum conversion.  The same post processing rules that apply to 590nm apply to 630nm.  The cost is about $25 for 58mm for the B+W 091 590nm filter.

Enhanced Color – 665nm.  This is very close to the 630nm filter but with more reds than pinks.  B&W is stunning and this filter can be had on both the internal conversion and the Full Spectrum Conversion.  The cost is slightly higher at about $50 for 58mm. You will find a lot of P&S cameras on EBay with this conversion.

Hoya R72 720nm Standard IR Filter

Standard – 720nm.  This is called standard for good reason, most IR conversions out there are at 720nm which really does not make any sense to me! It gives very LIMITED Faux color but great B&W!  The filter is black to normal vision and while it works great as an internal conversion it is not so good with Full Spectrum unless you are using it on a camera with live view or full time live view like a Micro 4/3, P&S or any of the other mirror less systems out there.  With a DSLR with live view it works great in Full Spectrum.  The cost is expensive at around $100 for a 58mm version of the Hoya R72.

Deep IR – 850nm.  This filter is totally black.  It gives ZERO Faux Color but beautiful rich and deep B&W images.  This is for the person who only wants to work in B&W.  Even with an internal conversion there will be about a 3 stop hit in exposure do the the limiting factors of the filter.  With a DSLR with live view it works great in Full Spectrum.  The cost is expensive at around $150 for a 58mm version.

LDP CC1 UV/IR Blocking Filter

IR Blocking – Normal Color.  This filter has a aqua appearance that blocks the UV/IR spectrum which will convert your camera back to normal color AS LONG AS YOUR CAMERA IS A FULL SPECTRUM conversion!  This is VERY expensive around $200 for 58mm for the LDP CC1 Filter. I have found that if you couple this filter with the B+W 486 UV/IR blocking filter that you get a better return to normal color.  The reason is that it blocks slightly more on the UV end of things.  I usually dissemble the 486 and install it in the CC1 filter ring along with the CC1 filter.  Again, this is expensive at about $125 for a 58mm.

As you can see, there are a lot of choices out there for you.  The Full Spectrum Conversion has much more options but requires a live view capable camera system.  I have both internal conversions and Full Spectrum conversions and like them both.  I really like playing with the Super Blue you must remember that it does not do well with B&W work!

There are endless examples of images created with each of these filters spread out in this blog.  Go take a look around to see the examples of each to help you decide on which way you might jump!

Please let me know what you decide upon!