Goldie 590nm Nautical images & Processing

Nautical Images With The B+W 090

Deciding Between B&W and Faux Processing

"Poor Boy" E-PL1 Full Spectrum IR, 590nm Filter

This past Monday, I went to Georgetown, South Carolina for a early morning of Infrared shooting. I was looking specifically for nautical images of shrimpers. I was lucky to be at the dock when Poor Boy was getting ready to head out for a day of shrimping. I managed to get a few images of her still at the dock which I thought would look good in B&W but I still kept the 590nm B+W 090 filter installed knowing that I could generate great B&W images! As you can see from the image on the left, the 590nm filter can generate a B&W image full of wonderful contrasts and graduations! This image was converted from RAW in Capture One Pro Version 5 with the addition of a little structure (sharpening) and a decrease in exposure of about 1 stop, then cropped in Photoshop, adjusted in NIK’s Viveza and converted to B&W with NIK’s Silver EFX Pro using the standard model and adding a little contrast and structure.

A short time later the boat back out into the river and headed out into the bay.  I got into my truck and went down the river about a mile to get ahead of her and setup for some underway images.

"Poor Boy Underway" 590nm

What happened next is simply magic.  The sky was perfect, with wispy clouds, the water was smooth and generated great reflections and the sun was low and soft. As the boat approached, I started taking shots about every 30 seconds in order to get a series.  I threw away the first 10 or so images as the boat was too far away even though I was using the new Olympus 14-150mm micro 4/3 lens.  NOTE: The 14-150 has turned into my main Infrared walk around lens due to its ultra-wide capabilities and sharpness. As the boat started to draw even with me I started getting really good images.  I was shooting vertical in order to get a reflection of the boats rigging.  This image on the right and below were processed first using the false color action which can be downloaded on the right.  I adjusted (in the action) the master saturation up a little, then selected the red channel and adjusted the hue and saturation to get the trees the color that I liked, then the same with the cyan and blue for the sky and water.  I then ran NIK’s Viveza selecting the blue sky to lock it, then the white clouds to desaturate them.  I then selected the shrimp net on the back of the boat and adjusted its color as well. It is important to pay close attention the to the blue sky and make sure that it is a pleasing shade otherwise you will end up with a blue/green sky.

The last image (below) was after she passed my position. I waited until I could see both the side and stern and set the composition with the boat sailing into the frame with a lot of open space to the left. Processing was the same for the previous shot.

Sail Away

I was VERY happy with this photo outing and was excited with the resulting images.  The lesson here is that you DO NOT need a deep IR filter in the 850nm range in order to generate very good B&W images! I found the morning lighting very soft and even though it was not bright I was still able to capture great IR images.

Faux (Goldie) Processing, Introduction to Post Processing (Part 4)

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DETAILED FAUX COLOR PROCESSING WORK FLOW

During the time of slaves and war, we here in the great south had miles upon miles of fresh water rice ponds which were connected to brackish water tidal sources like rivers, streams and bays. Depending upon the tide, time and current there was fresh water flowing. They devised a valve system manually operated to only allow the fresh water to flow into the rice fields. This device was called a Carolina Trunk! This is an example (re-creation) of one.

The image was taken with an Olympus E-PL1 PEN full spectrum converted camera, an Olympus 14-150 m 4/3 lens with a B+W 090 590nm filter (Goldie) around 8am this morning.

Now, I did a little something different with this image, I attempted to frame the Trunk between the 2 background piers and I took the Trunk and the foreground rocks and converted them (in Viveza) to HIGH CONTRAST B&W in order to give the image some depth to draw the viewer into it.

I have to admit that I REALLY LIKE the E-PL1/14-150mm m 4/3 combination. It makes for a great carry around system that is functional in all color modes (UV/Normal Color/Infrared) with just a simple lens filter change!

I am giving you both the Faux and B&W versions to look at but specifically wanted you to take a close look at the Faux image.

DETAILED FAUX COLOR WORK FLOW

• Taking the picture I adjusted the exposure compensation to -.7ev to keep the red channel under control and not blow out the sky.  I also set the White balance using a BRNO neutral WB lens cap.
• After moving the image to the computer via Downloader PRO (see recent post) and RAW processing with  Capture One V5 where I added a little contrast and clarity, I opened the image in CS5.
• I cropped for my master library size (8.5×12.5) and ran the Khromagery Faux Color Action (down load on the right).  In the Master Color Channel I simply increased the Saturation which brought out the blue sky & water and the yellow plants.  I then choose the Cyan and Red channel adjustments and made sure to adjust the HUE to where I liked it.
• The ABOVE Cyan adjustment is important, I hate sky’s and water looking blue-green, so I always adjust the Cyan HUE to go to normal blue!
• I then flattened the Adjustment Layers.
• Next I ran NIK Software’s Viveza (a Photoshop plug in) and simply made point selections of the color I wished to modify, ran up the structure to bring out detail and adjusted the brightness.  I did this to all of the color areas I needed to like the water surface, the yellow plants and the blue sky. I also selected the warm colored wood of the Trunk and the rocks in the foreground and removed color saturation forcing them to be B&W!
• Again flatten the image.
• Save as a PSD file

"Carolina Trunk" Oly E-PL1 w/ 14-150mm Lens & 590nm Filter

That is all there is to it.  All in all about 3 min from start to finish!

B&W PROCESSING STEPS

• For the B&W image I took the finished Faux Color image and in Photoshop CS5 ran the NIK Software Silver EFX Pro filter.
• Choose the High Structure recipe and reduced the contrast and structure by about 10%
• Flattened the Adjustment Layers
• Set the MODE to Grey scale with layer flattening.
• Saved as a PSD files and changed the file name to reflect the fact that it is a B&W image.

"B&W Carolina Trunk" Oly E-PL1 w/ 14-150mm Lens & 590nm Filter

That is it, another 30 seconds from start to finish!  This work flow is so easy that it is almost criminal!  I suggest that if you are interested in this that you do 2 things:

1. Download the Faux Color Action from the menu on the right side of this screen.
2. Visit the NIK Software web site and watch the video tutorials on the Viveza and Silver EFX plug ins.  I warn you, have some tissue on hand, it is that exciting!

Thanks for taking the time to read this work flow post!

Quick Update: Olympus PEN’s as Infrared Converted Cameras

Olympus E-PL1

Olympus E-P1

Just a quick update.  I am starting to see a LOT of converted Olympus PEN E-P1 and E-PL1 cameras in Infrared out and about.  I have seen 4 E-PL1’s modified to Full Spectrum Infrared, one E-P1 modified to 720nm and one E-P1 converted to 850nm.  Everyone that I have talked to about the functionality of these cameras for Infrared has agreed that they are the best IR platform they have EVER used!  Funny, you would think that you would get some negative comments!  Well there was 1 semi negative comment where a very practiced IR photographer just could not get used to the mirror-less camera system and went back to a Canon 20D.  She like the IR results from the Pen just fine, just not the functionality of the body!

Remember, so far the only company doing the conversion is Spencers Camera out in Utah.  They have done a good job for me 3 times now!

VF-2 Electronic Viewfinder

For me the E-PL1 is a better choice due to its ability to use the VF-2 Electronic Viewfinder.  This makes the camera much more usable in bright sunlight (which is when you really will be out taking Infrared photographs!) It does add about $250 to the overall price of the camera but was worth it for me.  I own and have tested the following lenses with both a E-PL1 Full Spectrum conversion and a E-P1 720nm conversion and have found NO HOT SPOTS:

Olympus Micro 4/3 Lenses, 14-150, 9-18, 14-42, 20

Olympus 14-42mm m 4/3 Kit Lens

Olympus 9-18mm m 4/3 lens

Olympus 14-150mm m 4/3 lens

Panasonic 20mm m 4/3 pancake lens

Panasonic 45-200mm m 4/3 lens

For the Full Spectrum E-PL1 I have tested with the following filters attached:

B+W 486 UV/IR Cut

Tiffen 047B In camera Faux Color

B+W 041 570nm

B+W 090 590nm

B+W 091 630nm

B+W 092 720nm

B+W 093 830nm

B+W 099 550nm

There are NO hot spots for these filters on all of the lenses listed above.  You have to realize that I invest in TOP QUALITY filters.  I feel that anything you place in the optical path must be made with the best quality glass.  Most of the filters listed above are very affordable (under $30) until you get into the non visible filters 091 & 093 plus the UV/IR cut 486.

There is one other important thing that you must consider whey using any of the WIDE ANGLE lenses, you MUST use a lens shade to stop lens flare caused by sunlight coming into the lens at an extreme angle from the side.  Any sunlight in front of the lens will cause flare no matter what you do, but this is also true of normal color photography!  Olympus does NOT include any lens shades at all and you must purchase them as an accessory (BAD OLYMPUS, GO TO YOUR ROOM!)

Deciding on Faux Color or B&W Infrared Post Processing!

Understanding YOUR Artistic Vision!

This is the hardest of the decisions that I face when post processing! I just don’t know which way to go with EVERY image that I create. For me, the Faux Color images look more appealing and I tend to really work on them to bring out every nuance of Color & B&W data in each and every one that I process.

Take today’s shoot for instance…. A semi cloudy day with storms off in the distance. The sun is bright and overhead. I went out with my friends Lori & Victor to specifically look for old trains around the Conway, South Carolina area. I had no trouble locating lots of interesting train scenes, but lots of trouble deciding on how to post process the train images! I am a TOTAL SLAVE to my own likes & dislikes when it comes to my own images, but will bow down to public demand on my images after printed, framed and mounted. Sales tend to drive supply. So, I usually make all of my Infrared images in both Faux Color and B&W hoping against all of the odds that the public will like, NO, demand that I produce what I personally like the best! (aside from my Infrared addiction you now must realize that I am also deluded when it comes to my own work). It is VERY RARE that my wife (Ellen) will like and appreciate my Faux Color vision for a image, but when she does, I pull out all of the stops and jump right into printing it LARGE in a canvas gallery wrap! They usually always sell! The rest of the time I stick to the B&W (Ellen really does pick them correctly) when printing! This really depresses me to think that my own artistic self view could be so skewed (but more on this thought process later).

I am including 4 images below for you to look at. PLEASE examine them carefully and send me some feedback on what you like and why!! This is really an exercise for me to better understand your artistic mind! I will show you a Faux Color image followed by a B&W version. (remember, I too prefere B&W to Color but there is just something about the FAUX process where you combine both B&W and Color in the same image!).

Please, don’t be shy, tell me what you like and why! Who knows, you might actually help me to improve my work and selection process!

Thanks

Faux IR, To Process or NOT To Process ?!?

Carolina Road, Standard B&W IR

Sometimes, depending upon the IR filter installed (630 and up), the Infrared camera can and will generate wonderful bronze images that are simply stunning.  You as the photographer must decide what looks good!  Traditional B&W IR, Faux IR or RAW right out of the camera?  It is rare that I will choose the unprocessed image straight out of the camera but once in a while the camera gods smile down upon me and will allow me to capture an image that is simply breathtaking! Case in point:  Look at the 3 images included here.  First I will show (left) the standard B&W processed Infrared using the Olympus E-PL1 with a B+W 091 630nm filter.  The lens is the Olympus 14-150mm m 4/3 and the day was slightly overcast with no harsh light on the scene.   I think that the B&W is VERY pleasing overall and I wouldn’t hesitate to print and display this!

Carolina Road, Faux Color

On the right is the SAME image but processed Faux Color using the down-loadable Photoshop action on the right menu here.  Again a very pleasing image that is a real keeper!  BUT consider the final image below… It is simply stunning in its coloration.  The bronze highlights really pop out at the viewer and I consider this image STRAIGHT OUT OF THE CAMERA, only processed for conversion from RAW to PDF and adjusted for sharpness to be the BEST of the three!  Remember, all 3 images are from the same RAW file!

What do you think?  Sometimes you need to REALLY look at your RAW images for the occasional keeper like this one!

RAW "Carolina Road" Processed for conversion to PSD and sharpening

Olympus 14-150mm Micro 4/3 Part 2

Just a short update:

Farm Road, E-PL1, 590nm 14-150mm Oly M 4/3

Played with the Olympus 14-150mm again today while out shooting some barns in the area.  This first image was Faux processed using the channel swap action, Viveza and Color Contrast (NIK).  It generated this image which I like very much.

Farm Road, B&W Oly E-PL1, 590nm

Here is the Black & White version processed through NIK’s Silver EFX Pro using the High Structure model.  There is a nice range of contrasts which make for a well rounded image.

This lens suffers greatly from the lack of a lens hood. I cannot believe that Olympus sells these without including the hood!  ANY sunlight that reaches the front objective at an extreme angle will generate  lens flare.  I am waiting for my hood to arrive so that this setup will be more useful.  So far the only place that I can find the actual Olympus hood is in Japan so I have to wait on international post on it.  There are NO Infrared generated hot spots with this lens on my modified E-PL1 (in fact there are none with the Olympus 14-42 kit lens, 9-18mm m 4/3 lens and the Panasonic 45-200 m 4/3 lens as well!)  I am happy with the fit and function of the lens overall and will start using it in my daily work!

Introduction to Post Processing, Downloader Pro (Part 3)

Getting Your Images From the Camera To The Computer In An Intelligent & Meaningful Way!

Hello all!  Today I thought that I would tackle the first of the software steps/tools in my work flow.  After I take the pictures out in the field I have to get them into the computer.  Most people simply copy the camera or memory card directly into the computer in some random directory with no thought as to how they will manage the images a year from now!

If you have trouble viewing the images in this post in your browser, click on them to bring up a larger version!

Downloader Pro Download Path and File Naming Setup

For me (and this is just a suggestion) this involves 2 separate image libraries.  The first one is the library of all the RAW images. It is divided into Camera (I have several), Year & Month.  The file names of the camera RAW files are changed to reflect the Camera Name, Camera Image Serial Number, General Location & Year. The files are automatically moved from the memory card when I plug it into the computer, renamed and placed into the correct directories as specified above automatically.   Sounds difficult doesn’t it?  Well, say welcome to Downloader Pro ($30.00) from Breezesys! This little utility does all of the above functions plus a whole lot more!  You can geo tag your images automatically, support lots of different cameras and much more.  The biggest plus to this system is the fact that it will dynamically change the image name dependent upon some programmable tags, rename them accordingly and move them into the proper directories creating the directories if needed!  Take a look at the right hand image to  see the programming interface setup. It looks complicated, but in fact it is very simple.

Job Code Window

Each time you start Downloader it will prompt your for a Job Description that can be included in the image file name!  Keeping the 4 digit camera image serial number is important for indexing and searching your RAW library and finished library.  This serial number will be the link between files in the two libraries! This utility can include the orgional serial number in each file name.  Now, for me, I enter the IR band (ie: 590nm) and the job location into this job code.  I have added tags in the setup screen to add the camera name, image serial number and year in a 2 digit format. This generates a file name like:

Oly E-PL1 5432 590nm Georgetown 10.qrf

Downloader Pro Folder Naming Example

Image Nameing

The RAW Image tree can be setup any way you wish and will make your image management very organized and easy.  The biggest plus is the intelligent image names created that are meaningful!

Downloader Pro also has the ability to add Key Words to your EXIF data allowing faster searching and indexing.  They have several pages of forms that you can fill out with copyright, owner, job and other data that will help protect your images!

All in all this little utility is one MAJOR work saver for me and I highly recommend it to anyone who takes images!  One negative:  They do NOT have a version that works on Apple Computers!

OK, that’s it for Downloader Pro but we cannot have a post about Infrared (even sumething as mundane as downloading image files) without an Infrared Image!

Baytown Warf Park, Sandestin Resort, Destin Florida, Canon 5D 720nm

Olympus 14-150mm 590nm Lens Test

Olympus 14-150mm Micro 4/3

Hi everyone!  It is a slow day down here in the Low Country!  There are no clouds plus I have to be at the gallery today so there will be no shooting.  BUT I did take out the Olympus 14-150mm Micro 4/3 lens with the B+W 090 590nm (Goldie) filter for a test run.

The first thing that I would like to draw your attention too is the great build quality of this lens! It is smooth with enough friction to make the zoom function very nice.  It is VERY light and the camera handles very well with the lens attached.  Again, Olympus cheapens the value of this lens  by NOT including a lens hood, after all, it is a wide angle on one end (shame on you!).

Faux Color 590nm (Goldie), "Carolina Road"

I am testing today with the B+W 090 590nm Infrared filter.  The image on the right was processed both in Faux Color and B&W.  It produced a VERY SHARP image with great contrast.  There are NO Infrared HOT-SPOTS BUT the lens is subject to lens flare if  you allow the sunlight to enter the lens at an extreme angle. The image was sharp edge to edge at all zoom ranges.  I used my standard Faux processing as detailed in a previous post.

B&W "Carolina Road"

The 2nd image is a Black & White version of the same photograph processed through NIK Software’s Silver EFX Pro using the standard model.  As you can see, the monochrome graduations are very smooth and the contrasts generated by this lens are perfect!

I did my RAW processing through Capture One 5 Pro and had it analyze the image for Chromatic Aberration and apply an automatic correction.  It did a very good job and  I have found no hint of any CA at all!

I am VERY pleased with this lens and filter combination for Infrared.  This super zoom will provide a universal walk around lens that will give great compromise shooting capabilities while out and about.  I will be able to limit my lens kit to two lenses, the OlChoose from the most used tagsympus 9-18 micro 4/3 and the Olympus 14-140mm micro 4/3!

Non-normal Infrared Image Subjects!

Old Rt 66

It is raining outside today and I find myself sitting in the gallery thinking about what I like shooting in Infrared.  I have already told you about my 3 rules to successful Infrared images but what about other types of Infrared work?  Things that you would not normally even consider?  Sometimes an obscure image can be quite stunning and shooting things that do not reflect Infrared light (like plants do) can and will give stunning Black & White images!  Look for steel and wood  in your subjects, THINK, Black & White!  Take the telephone poles and snow scene to the left.  It is not what I would call a normal IR setting but with the heavy snow and mist it gives a great B&W image and I did not have to change cameras. This one was take with the Canon G10 (665nm) but processed in Silver EFX Pro for a very ethereal B&W.

Adobe at The Painted Desert

How about another…. Same camera, Canon G10 but a slightly better sky and a snow covered building.  This images looks great in normal color but my personal opinion is that EVERYTHING looks better in B&W!  The Sky has a very nice graduation and there is so much detail in the mud adobe that I find myself looking at this image for long periods of time, seeing something a little different each time.  Again, not a normal IR subject, but as you can see, it works very well!  This image was post processed using Silver EFX Pro.

Keep these images in mind as you are out and about looking for interesting subjects for possible Infrared ideas.  Try everything, I guarantee you that you will not be disappointed in your outcomes!

047B Filter Test UPDATE!!

Exciting New Findings With The Tiffen 047B Deep Blue Filter

Well after talking to you all about the results of the Tiffen 047B Dark Blue filter test from the other day, I decided to do a little more investigation.  There is a company overseas called MyInfrared who have a new camera conversion called the TRAVEL INFRARED conversion.  After a little more testing I have come to the conclusion that they are using the 047B or something very close to it for this camera conversion!  The more I read about their system the more I liked it.  I took out the E-PL1 and put the 047B filter on the 9-18mm lens and went out for some tests. It was dark and stormy outside with dark blue clouds with a thunderstorm. The light was diminished but I was still able to shoot hand held.

047B Filter WB on Grass Thru BRNO WB LENS HOOD

The importing thing to consider when using this filter is choosing the correct White Balance.  I am showing you two images here, the first one was White Balanced on the green grass through a BRNO White Balance Lens Hood pointed down at the grass.

BRNO WB Lens Hood

This gave a green tint in the LCD and produced this first image on the left.  I shot both in RAW and JPG, and the JPG actually came out on the computer identical to how it looked on the LCD panel.  Keep in mind that the ONLY Post Processing on these images was a little sharpening and contrast adjustment. NOTHING ELSE!

047B Filter with Sky WB thru BRNO LENS HOOD

This second image was the same basic shot but the White Balance was with the camera pointed up at the stormy sky thru the BRNO WB hood giving a blueish tint in the LCD.  This images gives slightly richer colors in both the sky and plants.  Again, the only post processing on this image was sharpening and contrast.  The image was a JPG images straight out of the camera.

This test has provided images VERY MUCH like those from the cameras converted by MyInfrared!  I am very excited about this and plan on some more experimentation with it on another day.  It does indeed provide a wide spectrum image with UV, a splash of Visible Color and Infrared in the 720nm range.  All of this from the Deep Blue, Dual band filter.  I hope that you are intrigued enough to go out and try this filter on your own on your FULL SPECTRUM camera conversions!

I think that the reasoning behind this new conversion is to provide instant feedback for photographers who are on the move while on vacation and provide the ability for instant printing at mini labs. Remember this worked much better with the camera shooting JPG rather than RAW (I shot in both at the same time), and setting a custom white balance as the light conditions changed and/or if you changed lenses.   I really like (so far) the BRNO WB LENS HOOD! It has proved to be accurate with every shooting condition change and filter change I have used so far!

Let me know what YOU think of this Dark Blue filter from Tiffen!