Sights and Insights
This friendly neighborhood trail in Tacoma Park, with its lush vegetation, invites Infrared photography. Early morning runners, walkers, and bicyclists use this trail as they ready their days.
I recently acquired a new “full Spectrum” camera for shooting infrared photos. My old converted Pentax K10 gave up the ghost some time ago. The K10 had been modified to capture infrared wavelengths at 720nm and above. I had it converted to IR after it had spent several years on the shelf.
This new camera is a virginal Canon point-and-shoot modified by Kolari Vision. I captured the above images in my backyard with a 590nm filter and processed them using Kolari’s channel switching software. This little bit of code swaps the red and blue channels resulting in a deep blue sky (and shadows), rather than a yellow-red sky.
This little camera came with 590nm and 720nm filters as well as a Hot Mirror filter that blocks IR and allows shorter wavelengths to impinge on the sensor, thus allowing color capture. (Other IR filters are available.)
These pictures are False Color Infrared • Central Park, New York City
There is no color in the infrared portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, but false colors appear and can be manipulated in infrared photographs based on the degree of absorption or reflectivity of infrared radiation by various objects. Green foliage reflects about 80 percent of IR. This can result in a brown, tan or pink—especially when shots are slightly underexposed to compensate for the enormous amount of IR energy reflected and diffused by healthy plants. Blues and blacks appear where IR is absorbed such as in sky or water. A specially modified camera is necessary to capture in the infrared spectrum. Advanced post-production skills are also required to develop IR photos.
