Infrared photography has been a long held passion of mine.
[su_row][su_column size=”1/2″][su_dropcap style=”flat”size=”2″]D[/su_dropcap]igital Colour infrared photography has come a long way in only the past few years. Recent technology has overcome many of the limitations and difficulties present in earlier methods. Now the cameras act as cyborg like devices allowing me to see the world lit by invisible light in real time. These developments have opened up the creative capacity of this medium as never before.[/su_column] [su_column size=”1/2″][su_dropcap style=”flat”size=”2″]M[/su_dropcap]odern Infrared photography uses modified digital cameras equipped with special filters to take pictures using infrared wavelengths of light. However, cameras, although much better, are still not made to use infrared light so there is much fine tuning involved to reveal the minute details in colour shifts and white balance.[/su_column] [/su_row]
[su_dropcap style=”flat”size=”2″]M[/su_dropcap]ost of these photographs also involve a process called channel swapping. There will be some images with red skies and blue leaves, this is how the camera sees infrared. This is closer to what seeing in infrared light would look like, all the greens, yellows and blues would disappear. Although very effective for some images, I usually swap the red and blue channels of the image to make red colours blue and blues change to red. I often find that using a channel swapping method makes for more relatable images which place less emphasis on the mars look and more on the content of the image.
Infrared photography provides me the ability to look at the world around me literally in a new light. The once mundane seems invigorated and full of life, inspiring curiosity in a uniquely perceptual way.
