Lets
first define infrared photography and how it differs
from normal colour photography.
The
infrared light spectrum fits in just below visible light.
That means that infrared is INVISIBLE.
The human eye is generally insensitive to wavelengths
longer than 700nm, although some people are able to
see up to 740nm. |
The
"IR" band has longer wavelengths than the
visible light spectrum (Image
courtesy of www.handprint.com) |
Infrared reflectivity off
different surfaces
(Image
courtesy of J. Andrzej Wrotniak 2006)
|
Digital
cameras are actually sensitive to IR light, but most
cameras have an internal IR filter to stop the IR mucking
up your photos. This filter can be removed, but it also
kind of screws up your camera if you aren't careful
(like me). So I left the filter in there. It doesnt
matter though, because the internal filter only filters
out some of the IR light.
What's needed,
then, is a visible light filter, which gets rid of all
the visible light, letting only the IR light into the
camera. Visible light filters such as the 'Hoya R72'
are easily available on the market. |
So
what does the world look like through infrared?
Well
firstly IR light reflects differently to visible light,
and as a consequence, trees appear white and the sky
appears black. Keep in mind that IR photos contain no
real colour information.
Sit
back and enjoy a brief trip into an infrared world! |
I
took this photo on a sunny day. Notice how the sky is
dark red, while the trees appear white. |
Corner
of a house viewed through visible light
|
The
same shot viewed through infrared light
|
The
park through visible light
|
The
same park through infrared light
|
Pair
of sunglasses viewed through visible light. The lenses
block out most of the visible light, leaving a dark
patch which we can't see through
|
The
same pair of glasses viewed through IR light. The IR
light passes through unhindered, and the trees in the
background can be seen
|
It
doesn't snow in Darwin, but this is the closest you'll
get to seeing 'snow' here. I love this one, the contrast
is pretty good, and the trees look so completely crazy! |
|
|
I call
this one 'the long road'... The exposure is a bit saturated,
and isn't entirely clear because of a slight wind on
the day, causing leaves to move and effectively blurring
the 1 second exposure. |
Here
is one with a touch of false colour. Nuclear apocalypse
anyone? |
|
|
The cliffs
by the sea. I've found that I need to take IR photos
when the sun is right above, otherwise the exposure
times get too long. When I get a new camera, I'll remove
the IR filter in this one to dedicate it to IR photography. |
