First attempt at Colour Infrared - Hodbarrow

[iangreenhalgh1]

I took my old Nikon D50 with Nikkor-N 2.8/24 to Hodbarrow Point equipped with my newly arrived from China 720nm IR filter to try it out. This filter passes a little bit of visible light so enables colour IR shots. The light was awful, very gray and dull, would have been a waste of time shooting visible light, but IR seemed to work okay.

#1

#2

#3

#4

#5

#6

[Attila]

Landscapes are so stunning, I am not impressed by light tower.

[Excalibur]

Well they looks different, but if I showed these shots to my wife she would say "there was something wrong with your camera"

[iangreenhalgh1]

Cheers, I'm not impressed with the lighthouse either, seems to me that IR is best used on landscapes, trees, etc and isn't good for industrial and buildings.

LOL, they do look like the camera was playing up I suppose.

[l9magen]

#2 & #3 for me - look forward to seeing some more.

Did you do any PP and if so, what software? (I'm thinking channel-switching). Currently I'm using GIMP with mixed success, but I'm shooting with a converted camera so I think the workflows differ.

Don't give up on the industrial-type shots - it does take the right light.

[iangreenhalgh1]

Cheers, I had anything but the right light, so I will try again.

I used Photoshop, Photomatix and Autopano Giga. First step was to convert the Nikon NEF files into TIFFs using Photoshop, setting a new white balance as a batch process. Then I compiled the HDR frames in Photomatix. After that I stitched them in Autopano. Then back into Photoshop where I did a channel swap, then a tweak of the colours and saturation and sharpening.

This is what I got out of the camera:



After resetting the White Balance in Photoshop:



After swapping channels:



Then Auto Colour in Photoshop:



That example is of a single frame, rather than a HDR one, but I think it shows the workflow, the HDR step comes after setting the WB and before swapping channels. It also shows the dull, gray conditions and explains why I chose to use HDR - it is the best way I have found of overcoming such bad light conditions.

[Orio]

Ian - simply beautiful. #5 and #6 are stunning.

[iangreenhalgh1]

Cheers Orio. I hope to do better with practice and better light conditions, but I'm pleased with the start I've got off to, IR is proving easier than I expected.

[kds315*]

Works fine for me (landscape).

Ian, try to preset in-camera white balance using green grass, that usually works fine for such IR images!
Not really needed but allows a good preview how the final result will look like....

[iangreenhalgh1]

Cheers Klaus, I must read how to do that on the D50. It's not much work to do the WB during RAW conversion, but it would be useful to get a view on the camera LCD that was closer to the end result.

[kds315*]

Yep, I found this rather useful to have. Also not to blow channels is helpful.

[iangreenhalgh1]

The D50 has a useful histogram for that. The blown highlights in the skies are the result of an error I made in PP, I'll figure out how to avoid it next time I hope.

[tomasg]

[pich900]

Quite unusual colors but I think it's working fine, the landscapes are really great (I guess much nicer than with original colors!) and I like also the tower, the sky and the light on the lower right side are nicely rendered...very good work especially with the bad light conditions!

[iangreenhalgh1]

Thanks for the tips Tomas, and the kind words Pascal. If the light had been a bit better, I would have also shot visible light versions, bu it really was too dull and gray to be worthwhile, even with my HDR technique, I think the results would have not been very good,so I am surprised that the IR worked okay.

[tomasg]

I wonder if the D50 is similar?

http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Permanent-Infrared-DSLR-Camera/?ALLSTEPS

Tomas

[iangreenhalgh1]

Not all that similar, requires some soldering:

http://www.lifepixel.com/tutorials/infrared-diy-tutorials/nikon-d50

[tomasg]

Interesting that it s more complicated then with the D80. Yes some soldering is required, but it looks a basic soldering. More than replacing the IE filter i would like to swap/remove the AA filter, making it a "hot rod" version ala MaxMax.

Tomas

[iangreenhalgh1]

The older the DSLR, the simpler it is to perform a dissection and extraction. For instance, the pretty old Fuji S3 pro is pretty simple, the even older Nikon D1 is even simpler, even I could tackle the task on a D1 I expect.

Lifepixel has detailed instructions with illustrations of how to remove the filter from a large number of cameras, so go and browse through them and see which cameras look feasible for your skill level and which look like a nightmare better left to someone else.

I did that and decided that I preferred to buy a cheap old D50 that didn't need surgery to work rather than a more modern camera that would require opening up and operating on as my skill level with such fiddly task is rather limited (or rather, my confidence in my skills).

[tomasg]

You proved that you don t need to do any work on the sensor, i really like your pictures. Maybe one day i ll remove the AA filter on the D50, jusat to see the results, the problem is it has to be replaced by something, at least i think so. I think it would be doable, i just cleaned my AF Nikkor 35/2, the infamous lens for oily aperture blades, the lens was unusable stopped down, it s working perfectly now.


Tomas

[iangreenhalgh1]

Yes, I agree, something needs to go in it's place to protect the sensor and ensure focus properties. Most people cut a square out of a 49mm UV filter.

Congratulations on the aperture repair!