Experiments in IR photography

[Lisa Nikodym]

I'm playing with more creative interpretations of IR photography (with my D70 custom-modified for IR), and am wondering whether the direction it's going is worthwhile.  Attached is my favorite "experiment" so far.  I'd appreciate comments on whether this works or not.  What does this image suggest to you?  Is there anything you'd do differently?

Also, for those who'd like to try their hand at it themselves, I've attached a minimal-modification raw conversion from my IR camera (that's the very red one), and would be happy to see what you come up with.

Lisa

[OnyimBob]

Lisa, when I try to load these I just get a bunch of code. Want to try again?
Bob.

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

Lisa, when I try to load these I just get a bunch of code. Want to try again?
Bob.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=67159\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Bob,

That's not Lisa's fault. The LL website has been doing this to several us for a couple of weeks now. The rather cumbersome work-around is to right-click the link and choose "save file as", and then specify a name with a .jpg extension, after which you look at it in your favorite jpg viewer. The same problem occurs with Opera, Firefox, Netscape and even Internet Exploiter.

I do hope someone figures out the problem and fixes it soon.

And now to Lisa,

That being said, you do such good stuff generally that I did go through the hassle of downloading your links. I'll have to say that so far, your IR doesn't blow me away, but I hope you will keep at it, because good IR photos can be stunning. But in the mean time, please keep on using your regular camera as well. Your travel photos are great.

Eric

[Richowens]

Hi Lisa,

Does your conversion have a split tone? It appears that way here and I like it.
I just felt that the area outside the doorway was a little too bright, almost burnt out. This appears to be a very high dynamic scene to photograph.

I gave it a go and came up with this one. I did crop it a little tighter to give a more intimate look. The door jamb on the right just didn't seem to fit with the ornate work in the rest of the picture.

[attachment=654:attachment]

I don't have an infrared camera and am no expert on infrared. I just tweak things around until I see something I like, so none of this is set in stone.

Rich

[Lisa Nikodym]

Thanks for your comments.

Eric -  Thanks for being honest.  It sounds like I need to work more on IR to get something that works well.  I wasn't sure, and needed another opinion.  Something to work on in the future.     (Though you'll turn my head with your comments on my little vacation photos!   )

Rich -
My conversion was like yours - playing around with a bunch of stuff until something came out that I like, without any real plan.  I left it in somewhat desaturated color for the raw conversion, used levels on the individual channels, then swapped the red & blue channels, and what came out was slightly purple, which I liked.  I like your cropping out the doorframe - that was a good move.  I think I still like my original almost-burnt-out distant vegetation, though, as it contrasts well (and slightly weirdly) with the dark door. YMMV.

I think I need to play with a lot more IR photos to get the feeling of what works well in IR and what works well in post-processing.  Still learning!

Lisa

[Richowens]

Lisa,

Thank you for providing the opportunity for me to learn also. I finally got my head wrapped around using layer masks, been trying for over a year to understand how to use them.

Rich

[jule]

Lisa, thanks for this opportunity. I am finally able to see the image instead of ascii stuff - so something must have been corrected so I can view using Internet Explorer. I'll see how using Firefox goes at my other computer later in the day.

I must preface my comments with the fact that I know nothing about IR photography.

I too think the crop that Rich made is a good move. I just think the bright area in the centre of the doorway is just too bright and overpowers the image, and becomes a constant distraction. I think the leaves on the trees on both sides, especially the ones on the left, lack that luminous aspect that is inherent in some IR photos. I however like the colour toning that you have chosen for the image.

Julie