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!

The Hammond & Gilbert Mills In Rhode Island

The Gilbert Stuart Museum & Mills

In Color, Infrared and B&W

The Hammond & Gilbert Mills

The Hammond Mill, Selective Focus

I would like to draw your attention to a specific Grist Mill in Rhode Island!  This is the Hammond and Gilbert Mills at the Gilbert Stuart Museum.  What is so unusual about them is the fact that they are 50 feet apart on the same creek feed!  The Gilbert Mill was a Snuff Mill with living quarters for the family above the mill.  The Hammond Mill is and was a standard Grist Mill.  Both Mills are in AMAZING condition and the location just screams “Photograph Me“!    Location is a little in the back country but well worth the drive.  If you would like directions then download the Mills GPX file in the download window to the right!

The Gilbert Mill

The Mills are full of promise!  Look for detail shots as well as wide angle shots.  If you arrive mid day then you will likely be only able to shoot in Infrared (hey, not exactly a bad thing, you think?)  I think that early morning would be the best.  There is a nice standing pond behind the mills for reflection shots and the water path below the mills is actually a fish ladder to aid in migration! As I said, VERY PRETTY!

I shot these images using a Panasonic GH2 Micro 4/3 camera body (Color) and the Pansaonic 14-140mm lens.  For the Infrared shots I used my Olympus E-PL1 Full Spectrum Infrared camera body with the Olympus 14-150mm lens and an external (on the lens) B+W 091 630nm IR filter.  Since the previous post has a lengthy description and recipe for post processing these IR images I am going to leave the same out of this post!

Again, I am going to place all of the images of these amazing mills in a photo album below and all you have to do is to click on any image to bring up the slide show!

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The Hammond & Gilbert Mills

The Hammond Mill

The Gilbert Mill

The Hammond Mill

The Hammond Mill

The Gilbert Mill

The Gilbert Mill

The Gilbert & Hammond Mills

The Gilbert & Hammond Mills

The Hammond Mill, 630nm IR

The Hammond Mill, 630nm IR

The Gilbert Mill, 630nm IR

The Gilbert Mill, 630nm IR

The Gilbert Mill, 630nm IR

The Gilbert Mill, 630nm IR

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I hope that you enjoy this collection of a VERY unusual Mill!  

Please let me know what you think!

You Do NOT have to spend a fortune to do IR!

How To Do It On The Cheap!

 

I know, this was supposed to be a post on the GH2 tests but I have been getting a lot of email and comments about the assumed high cost of getting into Infrared Photography!  This insane notion needed to be stopped before it got any further!

If you have an extra camera system laying around you can reasonably expect to send it off for conversion for $200-$300.  Yes that is a lot of money but the expansion of your artistic mind set that Infrared will give you will be worth it.  But there is a cheaper way!

EBay is a great place to find used digital camera systems already converted to Infrared!  I have purchased several of these used IR camera systems in the past year for next to nothing and have NEVER had a problem with a single one that came from EBay!

So far I have purchased from Ebay:

• Canon G10 at 720nm for $350 (G10’s are in high demand)
• Canon G9 at 665nm for $300
• Canon 10D at 850nm for $250
• Olympus E-P1 at 720nm for $300
• Canon 20D at 590nm that I picked up for $300.00!

Why you ask did I purchase all of these system?  Well I TEACH Infrared Workshops and as part of that I have loaner cameras so that my students can try different camera systems before they decide on what type of camera and what conversion they like the best!  But the real point that I am trying to make here is that YOU DO NOT have to spend a lot of money and that EBay is your friend!

Point and Shoot cameras are very inexpensive and are light and easy to carry.  This means that you will always have a IR system on hand.  Mirror-less SLR IR systems like the GH2 and OLY Pen systems give your the advantage of interchangeable lenses and are small and light.  DSLR IR systems have the advantage of being able to share lenses and accessories!  If you shoot Nikon, do not be afraid to buy a used Canon camera and a cheap lens and vice-versa!

Go back through this blog and read the posts on the 14 IR camera systems that I have tested!  You will notice that I tend towards smaller lighter and cheaper cameras!  There is a whole world out there full of people with IR systems that are upgrading to something newer and cooler (in their eyes!) who would jump at the chance to sell the old ones for funds to add to their new ones.

Beware of buying from friends in camera clubs as they are looking to recover ALL of the money they spent both for the camera as well as the conversion!  As I said EBay is your friend!

 

Images from the Low Country Infrared Adventure!

Seven Gifted Attending Photographers Share Their Work!

WOW!  How else to describe the 3 day Low Country Infrared Adventure!  It was an amazing time both in the workshop and out in the field shooting. Both Jamie and I were very impressed with everyone there.  We had seven gifted photographers in attendance, 8 hours in the classroom split between 2 days and 17 hours out shooting in all of the BEST Infrared locations in the Low Country.  Talk about tired, I am still dragging around.

We had a total of 7 photographers in attendance.  There were several Nikon IR conversions, Canon, Panasonic and Olympus systems. Every spectrum was covered from UV to Deep IR.  I am going to show case images from each of the attendees here in the days to come as they send their images to me so stay tuned and re-visit to see the new additions!

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Donald E Brown

Mark,
Been at it all morning processing images from this last weekend.  I am hungry and my eyes are hurting and it is all your fault!!!  I have tried many variations of this shot  from “Roadside View”  and it and some other variations are fast becoming my favorites. 

Anyway, enjoy the scenery from my roadtrip home.

Old Barn Version 1

Old Barn Version 2

Old Barn Version 3

Old Barn Version 4

Donald was shooting a 665nm converted Nikon DX2 and was an established Infrared photographer.  He added a lot to the workshop/excursion and was a lot of fun to shoot with!  Donald, these images are just breathtaking!

More please….

______________________________________

Vicki Wilson

Hi Mark and Jamie,

I had a great time in the workshop! Thanks for sharing the IR cameras and letting me try out different filter types.  This has opened up a whole new fun area of photography, I love it! Here are a couple of my photos from the workshop.  Thanks again!

The Path...

Of Boats Long Gone....

Capt Andrew

Vicki was shooting with a loaner IR camera!  My Olympus E-PL1 Full Spectrum mainly with the 630nm filter and the UG1 UV/IR filter!  Her excitement was infectious and she is going to convert a Nikon D90 to the same!  I expect to see a lot of fabulous IR work from her!

______________________________________

Dave Lindey

Jamie/Mark

I processed each in FAUX color and Monochrome. Couldn’t decide which to send. I processed a total of 120 images from the weekend. The attached represents a variety of what I shot over the weekend. I spent the past week experimenting with the post processing and will likely go bacl over a few because I learned a few things along the way. All images were shot with a Nikon D200 665nm conversion processed with Capture One, Adobe Photoshop CS5 and Nik Dfine 2.0, Viveza 2.0 and Silver Efex Pro 2. Select what you like to post. I did not sharpen the images at all.

It was a great weekend.

Walkway, Georgetown, SC

The Path Less Taken....

The Tug Susan RIchards

Brookgreen Gardens Pond

Dave, I am stunned by these images!  To say that they take my breath away is simply an understatement!  For you to be creating this caliber of ART after only shooting Infrared for a year is amazing. Please continue to share your work with us!  I can see now that I am going to have to create a guest gallery now……..

OK, as I said earlier, stay tuned for more images from the workshop!

The Grist Mill Trip – Day 1

So Much Fun That It Hurts!

Mabry Mill, Blue Ridge Parkway, VA. 630nm Faux IR

Well, I should warn you here…. This is going to be a series of LONG posts (about 6) that will be comprised of both Infrared and Color photography!  I feel that to show only one or the other will just not do credit to the locations that I visited!

I am tired, we got back last Wednesday night after 2800 miles of driving from Pawleys Island to Boston.  Boston was the location of a wedding that I had to attend with my wife and the motivation for 10 days of travel to visit Grist Mills, Covered Bridges & Lighthouses!

Yes, I have a VERY UNDERSTANDING & SUPPORTIVE WIFE!

It was a very relaxing trip and we visited about a dozen of each of the subjects.  I had a great and successful time. I tried to make sure that we visited each location in the best light but as you know sometimes that is just impossible.  This is where Infrared can save the day (or vacation)!  Some locations screamed color but I shot in both formats regardless.  I hope that you enjoy the images as much as I did making them!

Our first planned stop was on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia at the Mabry Mill.  This is likely the most photographed mill in the country and you can see why from the images. It is a stunningly beautiful location with a perfect mill.  The elements of a perfect IR image are all there:  Water Reflections,  Green Leaves & Sky.  Usually there are so many people visiting the mill that it is hard to get a shot without them in it.  Today was the exception.  We got there about 2 pm and it was overcast with very subdued light.  I couldn’t have asked for better conditions for both color and infrared.

Mabry Mill, B&W 630nm Long View

The long view when approaching the mill gives a stunning framed image using the fence, hill and trees.  The entire property is in pristine condition and just screams “Take My Picture”!  Below is a Faux Color version of the same image.

Processing with my standard Faux Color recipe:

For CS5:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. I cropped for my master library size (8.5×12.5)
4. Run NIK Software’s Viveza 2.0 and apply about 15% STRUCTURE to the overall image only by not using control points.
5. Run the Khromagery Faux Color Action (down load on the right).  In the Master Color Channel I simply increased the Saturation as necessary which brought out the blue sky & water and the yellow plants.  I then choose the Cyan, Red & Yellow channel adjustments and made sure to adjust the HUE to where I liked it.
6. 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!
7. I then flattened the Adjustment Layers.
8. 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!
9. Again flatten the image.
10. Save as a PSD file

For Elements:

You MUST install the Elements Plus Plugin (see post on this BLOG for link)

Link Here to Detailed Post On Elements Processing

1. Convert your RAW image to Tiff.
2. Open in Elements
3. Crop
4. Run NIK Software’s Define 2.0 noise reduction filter.
5. Run NIK Software’s Viveza 2.0 and apply STRUCTURE only.
6. Open the Channel Mixer, changing red and blue
7. Run the Hue/Saturation adjustment and adjust DOWN the saturation HUE on the Cyan channel.
8. Run NIK Software’s Viveza 2.0 and make your color, saturation, structure & contrast adjustments across the entire image.
9. Flatten the Layers
10. Save as a TIFF or PSD in your output library with a meaningful name!

The most important aspect of this is to look at the trees. Do you see how the leaves look slightly different in coloration?  This means that you should adjust each tree to a slightly different hue to get the most impact!  These small adjustments are so easy to accomplish with Nik Software’s Viveza plugin.

Mabry Mill, Long View. Faux Color 630nm

This image was also one of those rare ones that looked good in the RAW format.  By this I mean straight out of the camera, converted from RAW to TIFF and processed for contrast and structure only using NIK Viveza.  As you can see, it generated a rather pleasing image that is soft on the eyes!

Mabry Mill, Long View, RAW 630nm

As I said, the lighting was very subdued so I could shoot in color also.  Here is a version of that at the same location for you to compare.  Which do you like the best?

Mabry Mill, Long View, Color, Panasonic GH2 w/ 14-42mm Lens

But what ever you decide, make sure that you totally explore your subject.  Walk around it, take both long and short view images, landscape and portrait, DETAIL closeup shots and look for the unexpected!

Mabry Mill, Sluice

Process EVERY image you take in both color and B&W (color) and RAW, Faux and B&W (Infrared).  You will be surprised at the variety of emotions each will generate! Below is the same color image but converted to a medium contrast B&W image using NIK Silver EFX Pro V2.  I actually think that in the case of this image that the B&W image has more impact!

Mabry Mill Sluice, Color Converted To B&W

OK, moving on, I moved in closer to the mill but still giving space for a water reflection in the foreground. This image is a little more pleasing due to the greater detail that our eyes can detect.  Again, process in all possible ways to discover what we actually have!

Mabry Mill Closeup, RAW

Mabry Mill Closeup, Color

Mabry Mill Closeup, 630nm B&W

Now, had it been a bright sunny day color photography would have been out of the question due to the late arrival time at the mill.  Keep this in mind as you plan your excursions.  Regardless of this, you can always depend on great Infrared images any time of the day.  That is a pretty good motivation to embrace IR don’t you think?

This was a really good first day for the trip.  Mabry Mill is indeed worth the time necessary to travel to it.

There is another mill around the corner from it about 3 miles away, but it is in a commercial center and the wheel is gone.

Knowing that I was going to take 10 days to travel up the east coast to Boston, I RESEARCHED all of the mills and covered bridges from South Carolina north, and Missouri  east all the way up. I think that I have all of the worthwhile mills in 19 states entered into my GPS now!  There are about 300 mills that I narrowed down to about 75 based on their beauty first and foremost.  I then took the time to enter them ALL into my GPS so that I could easily find them.  This also has the added benefit that as you travel, the GPS will show you how far away you are from any of the mills in the list and continually update moving the closest to the top of the list!  What more could you ask for when you are ALWAYS in search of mills?

Even now that the trip is over I continue to research mills.  Just this weekend I added another 30 to my GPS list.  This list can be managed on your computer and downloaded directly to your GPS! 

I plan on adding this way point list to my download section here on this blog shortly so that you all can have access to these perfect subjects!  I only hope that you do the same and share new mills with me!

I hope that you enjoyed this LONG OVERDUE first post on the 2011 Great Grist Mill trip!  I will add every few days the next day of travel as I process the days images.  Keep in mind that I came back with over 2500 images which I reduced to about 1200 by the first editing step:  DELETION of the bad, marginal or duplicate images.

Tomorrow, Day 2:  Lancaster County, PA for Covered Bridges and Amish Farmland!

You are invited to the Low Country Infrared Adventure!

Jamie Konarski Davidson & Mark Hilliard
present an exciting, new Photographic Workshop &
Excursion Series on Fine Art Infrared Nature & Landscape Photography!

By Jamie Konarski Davidson

Come along with two of the most accomplished Infrared photographers on the Southeast coast for this energizing study of Fine Art Infrared (IR) photography! Learn about equipment needed for Infrared photography, what subjects  generate stunning IR images, and how to capture & process breathtaking IR images using this new digital technology.

By J.M. Hilliard

We will teach both Faux Color & traditional B&W post-processing techniques using Photoshop CS5, Elements 9 and Nik software. We will have several loaner IR camera systems for you to share if you do not yet own one!

Explore with us the rustic southern beauty of the Low Country. Along with two intense classroom sessions on Infrared Photography and post-processing, we will be shooting breathtaking land and seascapes in Pawleys Island and Brookgreen Gardens. In historic Georgtown we will capture local nautical themes, including the shrimp boat fleet and an ancient working boat yard where you will never know what you will find!

Infrared photography has become wildly popular in the past two years. It allows us to create new, different and emotionally intense images of things we see every day. Combine this capability with the stunning locations that we will be visiting, and you will understand why we are so excited to share this adventure with you.

Even if you do not currently have a Infrared camera  plan on attending! We will have loaner cameras for you to use as well as Infrared Filters to convert your current camera to Infrared!  This promises to be a great photographic experience for all!

By J.M. Hilliard

Tools For IR Processing UPDATE!

A Quick Update…

A reader sent me a comment today about a plugin for Adobe Elements that will fix the issue of not having a Channel Mixer.  The company name is SimplePhotoshop.com » Elements+.  I downloaded and installed the update and have to tell you that fora $20.00 investment you get a great working Channel Mixer!  I am running Windows 7 on a 64 bit system and it works perfectly on Elements 9!  It is still not able to run Photoshop Actions, but the actual recipe for doing the channel swap is so easy that you can do it with your eyes closed!  I will do a post on the process within Elements tomorrow for you all.  In case you missed the comment about this from Martin here it is:

Hello Mark,

Thanks for your information. I’m an IR addict who has four IR converted cameras that were acquired before I knew the value of a color channel mixer.

I’ve always objected to Photoshop CS because of its price. After buying a Mac computer with Aperture, I progressed to the channel mixer problem and found two much less expensive solutions. (Note I can prove what I have to say in the Mac environment, as for Windows, I’m fairly certain, but not totally certain that these solutions will work.

For Mac alone, Pixelmator, an import from Great Britan has a channel mixer that easily plugs into Aperture. That’s a fact.

My best solution however wraps around Photoshop Elements and a plugin named Elements +, a $20 add on that puts a channel mixer in hand via PSE. My experiments with PSE 8 and 9, on the Mac, put version 8 on top because of the ease I had in adding Andrei Dubrovsky’s Elements +. With PSE 9 had to engage Erin at Texas Chicks to install Andrei’s neat package of marvelous plugins/actions. I think both versions will easily accommodate Andrei’s plugins if done on a PC.

Accordingly, I’m an IR buff who has found a low-cost way to get rolling in infrared post-processing, and I’m glad to pass it on to anyone who enjoys IR photography.

One more item. I’d sure appreciate some leads as to where I can purchase the low number IR filters that you have convinced me I need.

All the best, and thanks again for your outstanding information.

Martin Young
Peterborough, New Hamphire

Thanks Martin for that GREAT tip!

Infrared Workshops & Excursions!

Basic and Advanced Infrared Workshops and Excursions are coming!

Seacoast Artist Guild in Pawleys Island, SC is sponsoring a 1 day Infrared Introduction workshop at The Lens Work Gallery  at the end of April.  You must be a member to attend. Please click on their link above to get more information.

Jamie Davidson and I are putting on a 3 day Low Country Infrared Adventure &  Workshop on July 8-10.  This will be centered in Pawleys Island but will include GREAT OUTINGS in and around the Low Country of South Carolina. It also will include two 1/2 day Advanced workshops that cover everything from equipment to printing but REALLY hit Post Processing FAUX COLOR and B&W Infrared Images!  More Info will be coming soon on this workshop.

Jamie and I  are also planing another similar Infrared Adventure in from Oct 30 thru Nov 2nd called The Inner Banks Infrared Adventure & Workshops that will take us down the Sound from Grenville, NC to the Outer Banks shooting shrimp boats and other nautical scenes! It also will include two 1/2 day Advanced workshops that cover everything from equipment to printing but REALLY hit Post Processing FAUX COLOR and B&W Infrared Images!  More Info will be coming soon on this workshop.

Lastly Vic & Lori Grbich and I are  in the beginning stages of planning a weekend Great 2011 Grist Mill Excursion this Fall to Pitkins, SC!  If you have read any of my posts here about grist mills and Infrared then you KNOW how excited I am about this trip!

Stay tuned for Info!

Oh My GOD! What Have I Created?

And Now For Something Different….

Not your normal flower image! While this is a normal Faux Color Infrared image, there is nothing normal about  its outcome. I love the color ranges displayed here  in Infrared!  The different Hue’s of the flowers and leaves both real and reflected are caused by varying angles and intensity of the sun as well as how they react in the IR world.  You NEVER know what you are going to capture until you return home! To me the striking part of this image are how the colors assault your eyes and affect you on a much higher level than normal photography possibly can!

Faux Color Magnolia Gardens, Flowers and Leaves

What makes this image so special to me are the deep range of colors across the whole image. It seems like now matter where your eyes fall, they uncover something new and wonderful!  Even the water reflection has a major impact on the color contrast range that says OMG! The wide range of the colors are the result of using the B+W 091 630nm IR filter of course but it is the OUTCOME due to the Post Processing is the direct reason why the image grabs you by the throat and screams “LOOK AT ME!”.

Processing was slightly different with this image then with the previous post. Earlier I was setting up my image as a landscape.  This new image is simply a DETAIL of the same landscape but taken with an eye for the sun direction and color of the flowers and leaves. I was hoping for something spectacular and found it!  As with the previous post I followed the modified recipe for Post Processing a 630nm filter.

1. I did my normal cropping to my master storage size of 12.5×8.5 making sure that the image was at 300dpi and in the Adobe RGB 1998 color space
2. I ran NIK Software’s Define 2.0 for noise reduction.
3. I then ran NIK Viveza 2.0 and specifically added 20% structure and 10% extra contrastwithout any control points so that the changes affected the entire image!  This was to create a brighter deeper image before I ran the channel swap Photoshop Action!  WOW!  WHAT A DIFFERENCE THIS MADE!
4. I then ran the channel swap action and proceeded as normal with the rest of my Post Processing Recipe!
5. BUT THEN I called up another of NIK Software’s world class filters and ran the TONAL CONTRAST filter in the COLOR EFX PRO plugin.  The result was this incredible image full of contrasts tonalities as well as contrasting colors!

Take a look at the original RAW converted image.  Do you notice the subtle coloration changes across the flowers and leaves?  Each change in shading in the blues and reds will create a totally different color when Faux processed! This is what I was looking for when taking the picture.  I knew that Post Processing would produce something great!

I am VERY interested in your thoughts in this process.  Like I said, I NEVER take Infrared flower shots.  Nothing ever turned out pleasing with the effort. I can see now that I was wrong….. Heck, dont you just hate it when that happens?

Let me know what YOU think…

 

A Day Of Perfect Photography…

I Tried For Color Work But Switched To Infrared!

Oh, MY!  I do so love the B+W 091 630nm deep red Infrared Filter!  The reds, pinks and yellows that it creates for a scene with various types of trees and lighting are just breath taking!  Case in point, consider the following image.  This was taken on a long overdue photographic trip to Magnolia Gardens in Charleston, SC at the end of March.  I actually went to take color images due to the explosion of flowers, but kept finding myself with the Infrared camera in my hand time and time again without even realizing it!

Now I can see why!

Bridge At Magnolia Gardens, 630nm IR, Faux Processing

I am stunned by the emotional pounding that this image creates in my mind.  It is though I am sitting in the grass looking at the bridge, smelling the flowers and hearing the birds sing!  I cannot ask any more of one of my images than to do just this!

I did something a little different with these images in Post Processing!  Let me share it with you and perhaps you will decide to try it yourself!

1. I did my normal cropping to my master storage size of 12.5×8.5 making sure that the image was at 300dpi and in the Adobe RGB 1998 color space
2. I ran NIK Software’s Define 2.0 for noise reduction.
3. I then ran NIK Viveza 2.0 and specifically added 20% structure and 10% extra contrast without any control points so that the changes affected the entire image!  This was to create a brighter deeper image before I ran the channel swap Photoshop Action!  WOW!  WHAT A DIFFERENCE THIS MADE!
4. I then ran the channel swap action and proceeded as normal with the rest of my Post Processing Recipe!

For the B&W conversion I took the finished Faux Color image and ran it through NIK Silver EFX Pro and added contrast, structure and reduced brightness!  Remember to change the image MODE in photoshop to Grayscale once you are done with Silver EFX!

Here is the finished B&W version of the same image.  Please let me know what you think of these and which you like the best!

Bridge At Magnolia Gardens, 630nm B&W

Here are a few more from the outing but they are NOT in the same league as the first two! All of these images were processed by using Viveza 2.0 prior to the Channel Swap Action!

Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Gardens, 630nm B&W

Audubon Swamp at Magnolia Gardens, 630nm Faux Color

"The Path Least Taken" at Magnolia Gardens, 630nm B&W