UNCONVERT6D

 By now, if you use Adobe products to process your images, you would be aware of the new denoise filter powered by AI. We have all seen the examples and read the questions on where in the process it should be used. For those areas of photography where noise is an issue, we now have a tool that will help. I have been considering what this means for infrared photography. In particular what it means for the those like myself using non converted cameras with infrared filters attached. Having a non converted camera means that you need to capture the light that sneaks between the blocking filter added by the manufacturer and the IR filter you have placed over the lens. Lower light levels means that the photographer faces a balancing act between exposure times and noise. Longer exposure times add their own aesthetic to an image, one I enjoy. But sometimes longer exposure times are not suitable. But shorter exposure times leads to a noisier image and a loss of colour and detail. So, what d...

 There are those shots where you can play with the composition, experiment with shutter speed, get it right! Then there are those times when it happens in front of you. no planning and you barely have time to get the shot. That was today! I was on my way to a meeting, when I heard the sound of crunching concrete, of falling debris, of a powerful diesel engine. I looked at my watch, I had maybe 5 minutes to find a composition (not easy in this overgrown area) and capture the image. The exposure was 3 and a half minutes.... so I just had to get on with it. I like the image, and it is in some ways its an historic image at least for me. This building has been part of the Massey landscape for many decades. It is going to be missed.   

 If there is one aspect I love about infrared above all else, it's the power to transform. Shooting in infrared is a technique, it in itself will not create a magical image. But the way it can change a scene, enhance it. The way it can bring out some items, while hiding others, makes it such a useful tool in the toolbox. I found this little scene at the beautiful Greenhaugh Gardens near Palmerston North. As winter has now turned to spring and the gardens are beginning to wake from their winter slumber, I like how the greens are beginning to change. This is where this infrared capture on my unconverted Canon 6d has come to shine. The longer shutter speed (10 minutes in this case as the clouds were quite heavy with the odd shower passing through) and the way the infrared capture has highlighted the lilypad's while darkening the water, has transformed this image in a way that 'normal' light didn't. I look forward to many more visits to this beautiful gardens and enjoyi...

 Just a quick post today. After yesterdays success, I decided to head back down to the domain this afternoon for my lunch break. The conditions were even better today with less wind and more warmth. By going a different way I found this nice composition. I like how the trees are changing each day at the moment. 720nm Infrared filter, Exposure 180 seconds, F16 ISO, 100 Channel swapped in Photoshop

 This will be the third summer I have photographed in infrared. In the past two years I have noticed a trend. I am not sure if it is specific to infrared or more based in my nature. I find my interest in photographing in infrared wanes over the winter, comes to life in spring (with a bit of effort). Then in late summer or autumn I come into the possession of a new piece of gear, but too late to really get familiar with it.   The first summer, after exploring the possibilities of infrared, I managed to find a 77mm 720nm filter. The 77mm thread allowed me to use better lenses with a wider range of focal lengths, but with shipping delays it only arrived in April. Then last autumn, through a bizarre chain of events, I purchased the canon 6D which spawned this blog. Just because it hasn't been the greatest light to photograph with, it doesn't mean I have been idle. Quite the contrary. I have been getting to know the 6D better, the positives and the things I miss from my Canon ...

 When people first use a camera, they are full of hope. They expect to see the images they capture look exactly like they did when they pressed the button. This expectation is so powerful, that to most it's not till they look closer they see the difference. This can lead to frustration, and for some a learning curve that allows them to master the skill. With time and experience we learn to use that difference to our advantage. We learn to use the flaws and short comings to see the world in a more creative way. To see things our eyes cannot see unaided. Longer exposure times allow us to see the passage of time. Faster lenses allow us to separate the subject from the surroundings and see the wonders of the night sky. Through the use of filters we can see wavelengths of light far outside the normally visible range.   This is the power of photography, as Marcel Proust put it "not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes.". To see the world as it is, not the world we glan...

 Virginia Lake in Autumn is a beautiful place to spend a few hours. Warm sunshine on your back, autumn colours adorning the trees. To top it all off, Les had found time in his weekend to join me for the afternoon walk. But as we began our walk, the clouds filled in, and that beautiful sunshine became a more fleeting prospect. That wasn't part of the plan! The weather forecast had promised broken cloud.    With the unconverted 6D, the lower light levels made live view focusing a lot more challenging. So the change of light would mean a change in approach. Actually it was an idea I had been considering anyway so in some ways I suppose it was a great time to test it. What was the new approach? Remove the filter from the lens, explore, compose, focus (using the infrared mark), then reattach the filter and photograph. This approach will take more time, but on the other side it is like taking your camera off a tripod to compose the next shot, it allows you to be more intentiona...

 There are somethings which people have difficulty understanding. Things that go against the social norms that seemed ingrained in our cultural fabric. I am not talking about the big things like hate speech, or shaming. I mean those personal likes and dislikes. Those choices which most people assume "everybody" likes. A great example is that my mum doesn't like chocolate.  Another example is one of my daughters doesn't like cheese. I myself don't like coffee. I mean, how can you not like coffee! I have heard that one many times. These are the choices which in some ways make us us. Why do we like that but not like this. Was it built into our DNA, or was it the result of a bad experience? Does it really matter? Will it change one day, who knows? Matters of loves and likes, of pet peeves and obsessions, who knows where they begin. Whatever their origin, there is no getting around it we like what we like. Recently I found another one of those social norms, at least am...