Infrared Photography

Focus Adjustment and Other Considerations when Shooting Infrared

From very early in my photography I have been fascinated by the unique look and simply luscious tones infrared images can produce. Ansel on steroids. I have only been able to produce anything like decent images recently but pre-digital, inspired by Sir Simon Marsden’s work (www.sirsimonmrsden.co.uk or www.jamescwilliamsphoto.com), I tried some Ilford SFX 200 film that has extended sensitivity up to 740 nm (nanometers). At the time I only had a 6x red R25 filter which produced an infrared result of sorts and I didn’t take it any further. Sir Simon used the same R25 filter but with Kodak High Speed Infrared, sensitive up to 900nm and with less sensitivity to visible light. That combination and a lack of an anti-halation layer gave much more dramatic results with the halo effect so characteristic of his work.

Nikon CoolPix 990

5(+5) Digital-IR Frames from a Roving CoolPix 990 in Paris – By Dave Powell

Before Kate and I went to Paris in 2010, a good friend visited one of my digital-infrared exhibits and– the following Christmas– gave me a Nikon CoolPix 990 that he’d converted to digital-IR! The camera may only have a 3.4MP sensor, but it’s still a favorite IR shooter.

Here are 5 (+5) favorite shots from my Roving CoolPix 990’s adventures in Paris. (They were not post-processed or colorized in any way.)

Set up used.

Shooting infrared with a rangefinder camera, Rollei Infrared film and a Retina IIc – By Tony Warren

A comment on my review of Rollei Infrared film triggered this follow up. In his comment, Neal Wellons pointed out, quite correctly, that, for infrared photography, using a rangefinder camera would be much simpler than a single lens reflex (SLR) which is what I had available for the article. The rangefinder route certainly would be more hassle free than the SLR, so I decided I should try out some IR in my Retina IIc rangefinder.

Female head-and-shoulders statue in front of leaves

Digital-Infrared Workflow Begins Before You Leave Home – By Dave Powell

In response to this recent 35mmc article, reader Toby Van de Velde asked for an article about my digital-infrared workflow. The more I thought about it, the more useful I thought it might be. So here it is!

I lean toward simplicity in processing my digital-IR files. And we’ll get to that. But for IR especially, the workflow that leads to final images really begins:

Before Leaving Home

Foveon Color and Infrared Black & White Back to Back Comparison w/ SIGMA dp2 Quattro and sd Quattro – By Eric L. Woods

When not shooting film I really enjoy using SIGMA’s Quattro cameras. Have had and still have other more conventional digital solutions, but I really like these oddball offerings. Especially their Foveon sensors. Already possessing a dp2 Quattro one of the reasons I convinced myself to purchase a SIGMA sd Quattro was that it was able to do Infrared photography (More on this below.). But once I received it I got caught up in the color…

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