Infrared?
Infrared? Hey didn’t Superman have infrared vision? He could see through clothes right?
Infrared was The Predator I think, Superman used X-ray vision, but yes he could.
Lets have a bit of science to see what Infrared actually is before I ramble the ears off you.
Infrared: The Science
In infrared photography, the film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Usually an “infrared filter” is used; this lets infrared (IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the filter thus looks black or deep red).
When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting “in-camera effects” can be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance known as the “Wood Effect.”
The effect is mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible light is reflected from snow. There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is extremely small and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs.
The other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze, caused by reduced Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering, respectively, compared to visible light. The dark skies, in turn, result in less infrared light in shadows and dark reflections of those skies from water, and clouds will stand out strongly. These wavelengths also penetrate a few millimeters into skin and give a milky look to portraits, although eyes often look black.
Credit: Wikipedia
Back to the point of the article
Putting all the science to one side, I like Infrared photography because it shows what the naked eye can’t see. The colours it can produce brings a different dimension to photography as we know it, and scenes as we see them. Take a look at the following examples to see for yourself how beautiful Infrared photography can be.
Examples
Summary
Infrared photography is new to me, until I had a conversation with my father in-law last month about IR I’d never heard of it. It seems digital IR is easier to master than traditional film IR photography, with filters and sensor adjustment services readily available. But to be honest, I think it’s a little too advanced for me at the moment, so I’ll start with the basics and work towards IR. *hats off to all those who have conquered IR, I’m simply amazed.
