Photography Blog - 'Infrared'
Levengrove Park, Dumbarton
I have always wanted to try infrared photography. Today I finally got round to it! My first digital camera was a Nikon Coolpix 950. I recently discovered this is one of the best digital cameras with which to try infrared photography if you don't want to remove the internal IR cut filter (or 'hot mirror' as it is sometimes called) and replace it with a piece of optical glass. The 950's sensor is receptive to near infrared. The internal IR cut filter (IICF) in front of the sensor allows enough near infrared to pass for you to make a photograph if you filter out the visible light. To filter out the visible light, I attached a B+W 093 filter to the lens. The 950's lens has a 28mm thread. IR filters with a 28mm thread are not easy to obtain in the UK, so I purchased a 37mm filter and attached it to the lens by using a step-up ring.
I used a tripod and the camera's self-timer for the first two shots I took. They both turned out satisfactory. I was able to (mostly) compose each shot in the viewfinder. I say 'mostly' because the the edge of the filter obscured the bottom right side of the viewfinder. I took subsequent shots handheld and they too proved to be satisfactory. I had to remember to disable the flash when taking a shot. Each subject I photographed was either front lit or side lit by strong low-angled sunshine.
Click here to see my infrared photographs in a slideshow.
Previous Blogs
- Water of Leith September/October 2008
Links to External Sites on Infrared photography
- Digital Infrared Photography by Eric Cheng
- Infrared (IR) basics for digital photographers—capturing the unseen by Digital Photography For What It's Worth
- Infrared Photography with a Digital Camera by Photo Tidbits
- Invisible Light by Andy Finney
- Everything you wanted to know about Infrared Photography but were afraid to ask… by Clive Warren
- Infrared Dreams by Chris Maher and Larry Berman
- Infrared Photography - Popular Myths by N.K. Guy
- Lifepixel Digital infrared conversion services, IR filters & tutorials.