Friday, May 21, 2010

i c i r... u c i r 2

Have you heard anything about infrared (IR) photography? Apparently, some cameras can "see" infrared light and others cannot. A simple way to test your camera's compatibility is shown in the photo above. Using your television remote control, snap one photo without pressing any of the remote's buttons, and another one holding down any one of the buttons on the remote. If your camera can see this light, it is capable of infrared photography!

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The next thing to do is to filter out all the rest of the visible spectrum, and that is done with a filter. I found one pretty cheap on ebay.

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If I read it correctly, Wikipedia says that when we measure bright sunlight, only forty four percent of that is visible light. A measly three percent of it is ultraviolet, and a whopping fifty two percent of that light is infrared!

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Here then is my first infrared picture. [ISO: 3200, f/5.6, 2.1 sec] That was taken on a warm, sunny day at at 5:30 PM. The original shot had a strong magenta tint to it, and when I pulled that color out, it left the image looking more like a black and white photo of snow, but believe me, there was no snow! Foliage reflects IR in a big way! I'll have to do some experimentation with this...

17 comments:

Chris said...

Hi,
Yeh I'm following a blog where the blogger uses this kind of technique and I have to say that the results are both surprising and beautiful!

Gaelyn said...

Wow, this is really cool looking. Unfortunately, I have no TV or remote to check with. Almost looks like a negative.

SAPhotographs (Joan) said...

What an interesting concept Craver. I am going to get out that old, dusty remote and try this.

HappyK said...

That is incredible!! Hard to believe that isn't snow!!!

Pastor Dave said...

yeah! another feature to try with my camera..thanks!

imac said...

Most interesting.

lime said...

wow, that's fairly amazing. does that mean you can get some groovy night shots without flash too?

dot said...

You are getting too high tech for me. I can barely operate my camera without trying something like this.

mommanator said...

wow, color me impressed

Craver Vii said...

Zowie! Thanks for the responses!!

Chris, I Googled infrared images and found some really beautiful results. It would be cool to explore this a little bit, but I am not going to devote a lot of time with it. I really should learn to do regular shots first.

No TV or remote Gaelyn? Do you know how blessed you are? I like when we sit together watching a family movie, but sometimes, I think the television just robs our time, exchanging it for useless drivel. Good for you!

I hope that works for you Joan. This has been a fun discovery for me. Right now, I'm waiting for a clear night to see if I can use this method to photograph the night stars.

Craver Vii said...

Happyone, that was the first reaction when I showed the print around here, too! Isn't that a strange thing?

Your camera is pretty new, Mr. Dave. I think most newer cameras are made so they don't get infrared. But remember that even if it does, the camera will need a filter to screen out all the rest of the visible spectrum.

That's what I thought, Imac.

Craver Vii said...

Yes, that's true Lime. In fact I have already experimented with that. Maybe I will post one of those pictures.

That's fine Dot. It is part of my personality I guess, that I get lured into trying new things, and experimenting with all the buttons, gadgets and doodads on my camera.

Nicely said, Mommanator. Thank you very much.

EG CameraGirl said...

I had no idea you are such a techie guy, Craver. I'll copy your instructions and give it a try. :)

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Craver: Very interesting and spooky. Glad to be back and thanks for the visit.

DeniseinVA said...

Fascinating! I've never thought about it much before. I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the great info.

Craver Vii said...

Junior grade techie, maybe. When I was a kid EG, I used to take things apart, and rarely put them back together. My parents and siblings were so surprised they applauded the first time I actually fixed something.

Spooky? Fishing Guy, you ought to see the self-portrait in infrared. THAT was spooky. I'm glad you're back, Pal.

Who'd-a-thunk? Denise, I still want to do a little more experimenting with landscapes and black & whites.

George said...

I'm going to have to test my camera, but in the meantime I'll be interested in hearing more about your experimentations. This picture is amazing.