Ansel Adams was born on February 20, 1902, in San Francisco, California. An exceptional photographer and environmentalist, he is best known for his iconic black and white images of the American West.
Like most photographers, I love black-and-white infrared images. There is a purity and intensity to a well-crafted monochrome image, and there are many software options out there to help convert an image to black-and-white.
During the summer of 2021, I was invited by a close friend living in Latvia to visit the country for a few days. Totally foreign to the Baltic countries, I was able to discover Latvia through different aspects, from its capital Riga to national parks and forests, passing by a memorial of the Second World War.
Infrared photography is mostly used to create alternative and dreamy landscape pictures during bright days, giving nature specific hues from clear white to vivid yellow or red. But this technique has also a high potential in urban photography too, moreover at night.
Not all lenses perform well with infrared. A fantastic lens for normal visible light photography may be terrible for infrared (aka “IR”) photography. Choosing the right lens can be tricky.
For the last years, I have spent every summer traveling across France to discover the diversity of its landscapes and its natural heritage. Usually, summer is synonymous with crowds of vacationers and tourists. For this project, summer is also synonymous with lush nature, in which infrared photography works the best to reveal alternative colors.
My name is Pierre-Louis Ferrer, and I am a professional French photographer specialized in infrared and ultraviolet photography for ten years now. I spend a large part of my free time experiencing and testing new filters and equipment to see behind the visible. My work is mostly divided between artistic photography, dermatologic photography for cosmetic brands, and infrared photography workshops in Paris.
I will start with a warning: Digital Infrared Photography is not easy, and this will get technical fast.
Kodak Aerochrome was a popular infrared film that produced a distinctive look photographers have utilized for various projects. Discontinued a decade ago, a 24-exposure roll of Aerochrome can cost over $80 these days. If you want the look of Aerochrome without the cost, the new IR Chrome lens filter for digital cameras was designed just for you.
Digital cameras usually have infrared filters on the sensor that work to block out almost all of the infrared information reaching it. To shoot infrared photos, photographers often have their camera converted to capture infrared light by removing this filter, but in turn the camera loses its ability to capture "normal" images. If you'd like to dabble with IR photography, there's an easier alternative.
Here's a DIY project for infrared photography enthusiasts who have a few hundred dollars and some time to spend this weekend. Instead of taking the typical routes when it comes to taking IR photos -- i.e. using an IR lens filter or making the magic happen in post -- why not DIY a dedicated IR camera of your own?
There’s plenty of tutorials online that teach you how to convert digital cameras into infrared cameras, and …