My first IR

MrBook2 · May 27, 2005

And my first post here at dgrin! I used to frequent the Sony Talk Forum at dpreview.com, but things have gotten a little out of hand there lately.

This was taken with my Sony F-717, with some post processing in the GIMP. I basically used the workflow here as described by Joseph Levy. I had to tweak it a little to make it look right since my IR "filter" was a little bit unorthodox. I had read somewhere that you can use a 3.5" floppy disk (just the inside data surface part) as a crude IR filter. The lens on the 717 is too big for that so I tried a 5.25" floppy instead. It worked like a charm (although it is still just slightly too small for the whole front of the camera, but it covers the entire light opening.)

--Aaron
(MrBook2)

Steve Cavigliano · May 27, 2005

Hiya Aaron and welcome to Dgrin

I like what you did here

I like the colorization too. The only negative is that it looks a bit flat to me for some reason

Usually, IR shots sting your eyes because they are so crisp. Even if you're using a floppy filter instead of an IR filter. The floppy will cut down on the light (like an ND) but won't emphasize the IR wavelengths (or block the non_IR wavelengths) like say an R72 would. Basically, it's like shooting in NightShot with a strong ND filter. But, it should still be crisp.

Anyhow, welcome again and keep sharing your pics

Steve

Andy · May 27, 2005

welcome do dgrin, aaron - so glad you joined

and thanks for the cool ir shot!

wxwax · May 27, 2005

Hiya, Aaron glad you made the hike over here! That's pretty darned creative shooting. I think we're going to be seeing a lot of IR photos in the next few months - I think some folks have been bitten by the bug.

GREAPER · May 27, 2005

Welcome to the forum. Interesting colors on that shot, Is that how the IR comes out of the camera, or was it done in post?

USAIR · May 27, 2005

Aaron
Welcome to Dgrin glad to see you over here
Very nice IR shot 717 is great for IR cool

:

Thanks
Fred

MrBook2 · May 28, 2005

Thank you all....
Thank you all for your comments. I am still learning the best way to post-process my 717 with floppy filter IR. Mostly it may convince me to get a real IR filter.

As to Steve's comment about it not being sharp, I agree. My 717's nightshot mode has always seemed a bit soft in its focus. I also used a small blur to try and clean up some of the noise. I only recently realized just how much noise there is (even at ISO 100). I am thinking of getting Noise Ninja. (I am a linux guy but I found out that NN will run under wine, the windows emulator.)

--Aaron

Higgmeister · June 1, 2005

Hi Aaron,
I too just made it over here from the other side. I remember your thread asking about floppy IR filters and I didn't know if the 5.25" size would work. Seems like it does. Try shooting something fairly close that will give you good definition (foilage against a deep blue sky). The floppy wasn't the sharpest, but it did produce decent IR shots. Also, try doing just B&W initially, seems easier to process and see the results. I'd be interested to see if it's your camera or the filter causing the softness (I'm betting on the filter).
Interesting that the pine didn't go bright white which is my experience. If the light is direct, pine really lights up. The floppy still is not quite like a real IR filter. I was just looking at some of my pine floppy shots and found something interesting. The pine in the forground is in shade whereas the others in the background are in full light. With the R72 filter, even shaded pine shows white.

IR is addicting and can add an element of drama to a scene. Once I shot my first few floppy IR shots, all was lost. I couldn't find the filters locally so I had to order them online and wait:eek1 for them to arrive. I've come a long ways and still have a long way to go, but here is a current sample using R72, ND8 and a L Polarizer.

You might as well give in to the dark side as there is no denying it

.
Do you have more samples Aaron?
Chris

rutt · June 1, 2005

Higgmeister wrote:

You might as well give in to the dark side as there is no denying it.
Do you have more samples Aaron?
Chris

This is really a cool shot. I like the technique and I love the application to the particular subject matter. Love that Mason's symbol on the grave stone. The spooky drama of the IR works so well in the graveyard.

Higgmeister · June 2, 2005

Hi Rutt, just trying to convince Aaron

rutt wrote:

This is really a cool shot. I like the technique and I love the application to the particular subject matter. Love that Mason's symbol on the grave stone. The spooky drama of the IR works so well in the graveyard.

that he's going to get the filters, it's just a matter of time. I ordered mine within the first week I had my V3. The floppy wetted the appatite. I thought I'd show a then and now to get him going a little.
Glad you like it, it's one of my best. I broke a few comp rules with this one, but it works for me. This is the Masonic cemetery in Virginia City, NV. There are several more cemeteries that I still need to shoot very soon.
I do have several others if you care to look:
http://www.pbase.com/higgmeister/virginia_city_nv_cemetary

Thanks for the comments,
Chris

MrBook2 · June 2, 2005

More samples soon
I do have some more samples, but it is a bit late here. I will post some tomorrow.

IR is VERY addictive. There should be a warning label. If there were, I would take a picture of it. In the IR.

--Aaron

MrBook2 · June 2, 2005

More samples
Ok, so here are some more samples from my 5.25" floppy IR filter on my Sony f717.

Someone had asked about that pine tree in the first image. Here is a shot from the bottom of that tree looking up:

And here are a few shots from the woods:

That last shot has my lovely wife in it. I didn't do much post processing, just autolevels, convert to greyscale and then fiddled with the contrast and brightness a bit. These are all in my IR gallery on smugmug (ok, these pretty much ARE my IR gallery...)

I am overall happy with the results, but the focus still looks soft. Looking back at my other pictures that were shot with the Sony Nightshot on, they are all a little soft. I assumed that it was a natural consequence of the nightshot mode. Anyone have a crisp nightshot image that they can post from a 717?

--Aaron

Higgmeister · June 2, 2005

Hi Aaron,
That was me asking. I wanted to see how the 5.25 floppy worked overall. Looks like it works as good at the 3.5" disks.
Overall, I think the contrast needs to be increased a bit to give the shots some kick. If you look at your colorized tree, there is much more kick and it's not from the color. I don't like blown highlights in my photos, but for IR, you can get away with it much easier.
I believe Gimp has a levels adjustment; it's a decent place to work with IR shots. After looking again at your gallery, it's also quite possible that the large floppy isn't quite the same as the smaller one. You may also want to try a tripod for the clarity issue.

IR is too much fun:D
Chris

MrBook2 · June 2, 2005

Higgmeister wrote:

You may also want to try a tripod for the clarity issue.

IR is too much fun:D
Chris

These were all shot on a tripod actually. Like I said, I am beginning to suspect my nightshot mode.

I have a lot of tweaking to do in post. Still getting the hang of it (and could use a few more hours in the day to do it all.)

--Aaron

My first IR

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