Why is IR Photography Difficult to Shoot?
The goal of infrared (IR) photography is to record light that is outside the visual range of the human eye. Digital cameras can capture these wavelengths with infrared filters, and we produce infrared images.
However, these images frequently have a reddish or magenta tinge rather than being in black and white, so you lightly post-process later to get the final cut.
Want to Get Started with Infrared Photography?
Have an older digital SLR kicking around? Older devices can sometimes be better for repurposing to capture this unseen wavelength. Plenty of guides exist, but naturally, this sort of thing will 100% void any warranty!
“To me, infrared photography is not a special effect like some Instagram filter, it’s a different way of looking at photography and light and the world itself.”
― Dean McIntyre, The Unseen Spectrum
Horizon Variations
This is my favourite infrared shot.
Taken just outside Gimli, Manitoba, this wooden pier is a labour of love that a family friend of mine continually builds year after year.
Here in the early morning, I captured the pier, in its infancy in construction. Paired with a tripod and an infrared lens — a Hoya R72, to be exact — I line up the barrel of my 55mm lens toward the end of the pier with the still horizon of Lake Winnipeg.
Contact me for print inquiries.
📷 EXIF / Equipment
Location:
Manitoba, Canada 🇨🇦
Camera:
Canon Rebel XT / Hoya 55mm IR filter
Date:
May 19, 2009
Exposure Time:
75 seconds / 27mm / f6.3