Fun with infrared light and modern architecture

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Over the past few years, I’ve dabbled here and there with infrared (IR) photography, but didn’t take it very seriously until I recently took an online course in the subject from Derrick Story (a.k.a. The Nimble Photographer). If you’re at all interested in IR photography, I can highly recommend the seminar — you’ll learn a lot from the instruction, and quite a bit as well from your fellow students.

In particular, one of my fellow students recommended taking IR photos in office parks with mature vegetation. You can, he said, get some nice results with the architecture, windows, and greenery.

So as my first example of this subject matter, here’s the Pacific Western Bank building in the Denver Tech Center (Denver, Colorado):

PWB iPhone

The above is a quick reference photo I took with my iPhone — it’s poorly framed but still a good comparison for the images below.

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The Runabout

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This is a 1904 Ford Model A Runabout — on display at the Seal Cove Auto Museum in Seal Cove, Maine:

1904 Ford Model A Runabout

From the placard:

The first Ford made was the 1903 Model A. This early 1904 model differs primarily by having a larger radiator and flywheel. An alphabetical series of Fords followed the Model A. In 1928, after building the 1927 Model T, the designation “Model A” was used again from 1928-1931.

These vehicles usually had a rear-facing hinged door [to allow passenger access to the back seat]. The open, rear passenger seating compartment was called a “tonneau”. The first U.S. tonneau with a side door was made by Peerless. This led to the development of the modern sedan.

EXIF:
OM System OM-1 camera, M.Zuiko 8-25mm f/4.0 Pro lens
12mm, f/10, 1/30 sec, ISO 10000

Across the channel

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Looking south from Venice proper toward the island of San Giorgio Maggiore.
Across the channel
In 2022, we were able to visit Venice during the “shoulder season” just before the onslaught of tourists in the summer’s main tourist season. Taking a late-day gondola ride was one of our best choices — scenic and quiet!

EXIF:
Olympus E-M1 Mark III, M.Zuiko 8-25mm lens
15mm, ISO 500, f/9.0, 1/60 sec

Foxy Friars

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Floor tiles showing foxes dressed as pilgrims (with hats, walking sticks, and back packs) in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland.

Foxy Friars

This tile design is unique to Christ Church, but the tiles are not original to either the first church on the site (built around 1030), or to its 12th and 13th century rebuilds. Due to insufficient foundations, the cathedral roof collapsed in 1562 — shattering most of the medieval tiles, so what you see today are copies of the originals, installed in the 1870s.

EXIF:
OM System OM-1 camera, 12-40mm f/2.8 II lens
ISO 10000, 38mm, f/2.8, 1/60 sec

Strange planet

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The Flatirons, just west of Boulder, Colorado. But seen in infrared, and with some color tweaks in post-processing.

Strange planet

I love the Flatirons, but they’re one of those subjects that is exhaustively photographed here in Colorado. So, how to make a shot of them that doesn’t look like a million others? Oh, and I went hiking on kind of a “blah” sort of morning — light overcast, some snow on the ground (but not enough to really set off the rock). My regular color photos taken with a regular digital camera were… underwhelming.

Fortunately, I also took along my E-PM2 camera body (which I’d had converted to full spectrum imaging), and a 720 nm infrared filter. Do a little color channel swapping, fiddle a bit with levels to separate the rock from the trees, and presto — you’re on a distant world.

EXIF:
Olympus E-PM2 camera (full spectrum conversion), M.Zuiko 14-42mm F3.5-5.6 EZ lens, 720nm filter
ISO 200, 19mm, f/8.0, 1/250 sec