Digital infrared pages from 43 1 f09 cjet 2

PRIME PARKING The Bass Performance Hall is a famous building in Fort Worth. My wife and I love to attend shows and plays that are performed there. It is a special place to us, and this photograph reminds me of my wife and the wonderful times we have shared there. I also think this is one of my strongest photographs. I really think black-and-white infrared shows the wonderful detail of the building itself. The angle works well with the position of the bike.

The contrast is wonderful, and every little detail stands out. Photo by Shawn O’Connell

Digital Infrared Camera modifications necessary for true effect, but digital tricks can simulate eerie style

B Photos by Tony Leung

ack in the “old days,” shooting in infrared meant buying special film sensitive to infrared wavelengths of light, film that often required special processing and handling as well as camera filters that blocked visible light.

“Years ago I used to love to shoot Kodak High Speed Infrared Film. You never knew exactly what you would get until after it was processed. But oh, what amazing images could be made,” wrote Chris Maher and Larry Berman in a 2002 article on the topic in The Shutterbug magazine. 

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Photos by Shawn O’Connell

From Shawn O’Connell FILTER: A PHOTOGRAPHER’S RANGE Using the Hoya 72 filter for my infrared photographs, I set up everything first: tripod, framing, focus, etc. Then I place the filter on the camera and usually start at ISO 200. I use an exposure of 3 seconds at f/8. I adjust the shutter speed until I get a good result. I look for brighter red tones in my image to make sure the exposure is not too dark.

Next, I bracket the exposure (+1, +2, -1, -2) for two reasons. First, I want to make sure I have one proper exposure (cover my bases so to speak). Second, with a set of bracketed exposures, I can process the images in Photomatix for high dynamic range images.

I do all my post processing in Adobe Photoshop by converting the image to black-and-white and by adjusting the contrast/ brightness to get the result I am looking for.

USING A CONVERTED CAMERA I use a point-and-shoot method still at ISO 200 but with exposures of 1/250 or 1/500 at f/11. If I want to bracket my exposures for a photograph, I use my tripod.

USING ADOBE PHOTOSHOP Using the channel mixer tool, photographers should change the color options (red to blue, green to blue, and blue to red) to achieve interesting results.

“Green foliage glowed white; people’s skin could change to an ethereal complexion; and sunny skies could range from jet black to a rich silvery gray.”

Still, some modifications required to shoot in infrared were downright annoying. For example, because infrared light has longer wavelengths than visible light, it focuses at a different point. Most lenses had a red dot on them offset from the regular focus line. After focusing on the image using visible light, the photographer had to move the focus ring to align with the red infrared focus dot.

Needless to say, photographers shot a lot of out-of-focus infrared images.

Except under special circumstances, the hassles were rarely worth the unpredictable results.

Perhaps the most troubling problem was that humans are unable to see infrared light. To capture a true infrared image, all visible light had to be blocked. Real time infrared photos were next to impossible.

As Life Pixel, a company that specializes in infrared camera conversion, says on its Web site, “If you ask any photographer who shoots or has shot infrared film, he or she will tell you that it is a hassle and much more difficult to master or even get good results with over regular film photography.”

DIGITAL ERA: Explore options Digital camera sensors detect near-infrared radiation. To start experimenting with infrared photos, put a filter (such as a Wratten #89B, 88A, 87 or 87C) in front of the lens to block visible light. The camera will adjust its focus and exposure to show the infrared image on the preview screen.

Of course, because the filter is blocking all visible light, it will require a well-lit scene. The image will be hard to see on the LCD. In addition, exposures will be quite long even on a bright, sunny day.

Exposures of several seconds would not be abnormal, and they require stationary subjects and the use of a tripod.

“It is still possible,” Life Pixel says, “to shoot digital infrared photography with an unmodified digital camera, but the exposures become quite long and in most cases require a tripod, not to mention the need to place an infrared filter in front of the lens to block visible light. All this sure doesn’t help the creative infrared photography process.”

Using a visible-light-blocking filter is not the only way to capture infrared images. Indeed, such techniques work only for capturing near-infrared radiation on the CCD, which stands for charge-coupled device.

The imaging sensor on modern digital cameras reads visible light and infrared light. To avoid the infra-

SCIENCE: LIGHT ON THE DISCOVERY Astronomer William Herschel is credited with the discovery of infrared radiation in the early 19th century. In results published in 1800 for the Royal Society of London, Herschel describes how he used a prism to refract light from the sun and detected the infrared through an increase in the temperature recorded on a thermometer. He called his discovery “Calorific Rays.”

The term “infrared” did not appear until late in the 19th century.

Infrared radiation is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength that is longer than that of visible light (400-700 nm) but shorter than that of terahertz radiation (100 µm - 1 mm) and microwaves (~30,000 µm).

Direct sunlight includes infrared radiation (47%), visible light (46%) and ultraviolet light (6%).

Infrared means below red (from the Latin infra, “below”), red being the color of the longest wavelengths of visible light.

Infrared is used in night vision equipment when there is insufficient visible light to see. Through a chemical and electronic process, the infrared light is converted into visible light. Infrared light sources can be used to augment the available light to increase visibility without actually using visible light. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infrared

Photos by Tony Leung

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To shoot infrared, TONY LEUNG said he uses a modified G1 digital camera with the IR filter removed. For these photos, he used a “B+W” 083 IR filter. For others, he attaches a Hoya R72 infrared filter to block out normal light.

ORIGINAL PHOTO BY NICK LOOMIS, UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

MODIFIED

One way to simulate the infrared appearance is to use the black-and-white adjustment in Adobe Photoshop CS4. There is only modest similarity to a true infrared image.

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red light from ruining the picture, manufactures block it with a filter in front of the sensor. If the filter is removed, however, photographers can shoot infrared images at low ISO speeds without the need for infrared filters to make real-time images possible.

“For anyone who has experimented with infrared film, shooting digital infrared will seem like a dream come true. Being able to preview the results in real time is critical to composing the most effective images,” Maher and Berman wrote.

Removal of the filter is something a technologically savvy consumer can accomplish on an older camera. It renders the camera useless for everyday shooting, however, so is best accomplished on an out-of-date model. Third-party vendors, such as Life Pixel, will make the modifications for between $300 and $500 depending on the camera model.

THE SHOOT: Uncover the Surroundings By photographing infrared light, the photographer is recording images that are invisible to human eyes. The world looks different in infrared.

For example, leaves refract infrared radiation and, depending on their health and structure, might appear a ghostly white in infrared. In contrast, still 38 • COMMUNICATION: JOURNALISM EDUCATION TODAY

water and a deep blue sky absorb infrared radiation and appear extremely dark, almost jet black.

In their article, Maher and Berman detailed how common scenes are interpreted in infrared.

• Plants: Healthy leaves can go almost white while dead and dying vegetation is a bit darker. Tree bark can range from black to a birch-like white.

• People: Skin can glow with a soft light. Occasionally a latticework of small veins can be seen barely beneath the surface. Eyes can be quite spooky as the iris can absorb or transmit infrared in unexpected ways.

• Water: Bodies of water can reflect infrared if the surface is in motion but will tend to absorb the IR if the water is still. Shallow water is often quite transparent.

• Sky: Depending on the angle for shooting relative to the sun and the amount of moisture causing backscatter, the atmosphere and outer space will range from a light gray to black. Clouds are often brilliant white.

• Cityscapes: Urban landscapes can be richly varied as buildings reflect and absorb different amounts of infrared radiation. Overall image clarity is often dramatic as atmospheric scattering of near infrared wavelengths is generally quite low. t FALL 2009

Photo by Shawn O’Connell

Photos courtesy LifePixel, ©2008

Life Pixel provides digital infrared conversion services, do-it-yourself tutorials and custom infrared filters for photographers interested in handheld infrared photography. On its Web site, (www.lifepixel.com), the company gives detailed, step-by-step instructions about how to remove the infrared filter in numerous camera models, including the Canon G3 pictured.

The procedure is not for the faint-hearted. It invalidates any warranty and could result in irreparable damage to the camera.

“If you decide to perform the conversion, you could damage your camera or be hurt or get killed from the high voltage present,” Life Pixel warns.

“You do so at your own risk. We are not responsible for camera damage or any harm you may suffer or any special or consequential damages.”

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