branches vs. infrared

i have really loved tree photos lately...those dead branches, scraggly and sometimes menacing, make for dramatic art. But since spring has sprung, and the once-dead branches are clothing themselves with bright leaves and flowers, the high drama is no more to be seen. I probably drove by a particular lake 50 times, telling myself I HAD to photograph how those dead branches looked when reflected in the water, but now they are full and green trees.

BUT today I was reinvigorated because I remembered that summer has a unique opportunity of its own, and that is the chance to do infrared photography. I've put a few IR pictures up before and maybe explained it some on Facebook, but IR photography is basically capturing a specific band of light on the spectrum in your camera - a specific band that our eyes can't see. So to see that band, you have to block out everything EXCEPT IR light. To do this in your camera, you just put an IR filter on the front of your lens (it just screws on) and then take a very long exposure to allow only IR light to find its way to the camera's sensor. (You can actually just alter your camera to get rid of the IR blocking mechanism inside it, which means you would only be able to take IR pictures, and you wouldn't need long exposures. Cost is somewhere around a few hundred dollars to alter a camera.) The reason you need a very long exposure is because your camera is (probably) fitted with an IR blocking filter already - I'm not real clear on why this is in there, but it's not perfect, and so as long as you block out most of the 'regular' light, the IR part of the spectrum will come through.

Where do you get this filter, you might ask? I ordered mine, a Hoya R72, from a very shady outfit in Hong Kong. It took several weeks to arrive, and I wasn't really sure that it would, but it did, and I paid quite a bit less than I otherwise would've. The Hoya brand is a very well known name in camera filters, and the Hoya R72 is pretty much THE infrared filter to get. I'd recommend name brand filters if you can afford them. I think I paid about $50 for my R72 - including shipping. Elsewhere you can easily pay $75-80. Just look around for the best deal.

There is a bit more to it than putting the filter on. First, you have to set a custom White Balance: take a photo of green grass using the filter and set WB to that image. This will keep your photo from looking helplessly bright orange. You will also have to do plenty of work in Photoshop - even with custom WB, the shots look pretty crappy right out of the camera. This processing is a kind of subjective part that I can't really advise about, because I do it differently every time and I am sure there is some 'correct' way to process IR photos, but I just play until they look good. :) Classic film IR shots are grainy and 'glowy' like the one here with the columns, so you could go with that look too. Basically IR work needs a lot of patience, before, during and after the shot.

Oh yeah, and did I mention you can't see THROUGH the IR filter? It blocks visible light, remember? So you have to set up your scene (use a tripod if you possibly can), THEN put the filter on and take the long exposure. You will probably want to use a remote too, to avoid camera shake from pressing the button. And by long exposure I'm talking between 5-20 seconds. So....it's best to pick a day that isn't too windy, unless that's the look you're going for - which is altogether possible! I've taken plenty of shots, IR and otherwise, that worked with the motion blur from windy days, instead of fighting it (see the windy IR grass here). Essentially, it all boils down to the fact that, unless you can spend enough money for a dedicated IR camera, you just have to spend lots of time getting used to the process of IR photography.

I think it's worth it... :)

recent victories and some other cool things

well, i found out i am going to shoot my first paid wedding. i will not be the main photographer, because i told her i was extremely lacking both in equipment and experience to be the only one. plus i could never handle the stress! so she hired another person to do most of it, and i'll be doing like behind the scenes stuff, not posing people but just shooting what i see, making beautiful pictures. :) i haven't always been super excited about wedding photography, because it seems like weddings are almost all the basically same thing, and plus i don't get too much of a kick of taking people pictures. but being given creative lisence is enough that i think i'll have fun.

i also have my first photo shoot next week with the music school here on campus. i'll be taking pictures of the wind ensemble as they rehearse, and eventually i'll be shooting a lot more events like concerts and such. cool! more people pictures, but hey, the creative lisence makes it fun - they don't want poses but they want more abstract, artsy stuff they can use for their website, brochures and other recruiting materials.

hmm, this has been kind of braggy today. so let me end with giving you some cool links to look at that aren't MY stuff. :) not all photography, but just cool things i've saved in my favorites on Etsy.



"reading the stars" cross stitch (not your mom's samplers) - by miniaturehino

i really love these because they are so different than everyday cross stitch patterns. the gray fabric really sets it apart. this artist has a lot of other awesome things too so check it out!



some awesome earrings that remind me of Frank Lloyd Wright - by taylorseclectic

there are countless unique jewelry items in this shop, run by a very nice person who has promoted my art in the past. many of the things look like stained glass - so beautiful.





glasses made from old wine bottles - by bodhicitta

super creative way to recycle old glass and look very cool in the process. :) i love how they're all different colors!







"the bird has flown" - by irenesuchocki

this was one of my first favorite things when i signed up on Etsy - there are so many cool photographs in this shop it was hard to pick one! they all have that cool grungy, vintage-ey feel.

a gallery and a philosophy

I've never had any of my photos for sale in any sort of "bricks-and-mortar" shop. My workplace is partly a gallery, and a while ago I was told I could hang some things there. But then it was decided that our store will no longer be a gallery and just concentrate on framing. This is a good decision for the store - but a teensy bit disappointing for me! :) It really made me nervous to think about hanging things up for the public to see (and potentially reject) though. I know art is different to everyone, and people are drawn to different things in art. But someone I don't know if I'm up for the possibility of no one liking it enough to buy it.

I think a lot of people have this concept that if it's photography, they could just go out and take that picture themselves. So they will never buy it. I've actually heard people say this. For some photography, that's sure true. I see a lot of photography for sale that, yes, I could go out and take myself because there was no imagination involved. But I think the mistake is assuming that all photography is basically journalism - accurately record what was there, and leave out the editorial please. But used as an art form, photography is far more imaginative and creative. In some ways it's easier than straight-up artists because you don't have to start from scratch - something is already there for you to capture. On the other hand, I think it's harder too - because you have to work with what's there. :) This is where artistic imagination comes into play.

So here's my theory. As an artist, a photographer (one who is not a journalistic type of photographer - neither is better or worse but they are very different) must see beyond what everyone else sees, and perhaps into the spirit or essence of something. The photographer must then capture the reality - which is already there - in such a way to expose or evoke something within the viewer...or simply to show the reality in a new way which people will appreciate.

So that's my philosophizing for you today. What do you think?

Back from a deep hole of school and wedding planning!

I've decided I'd like to keep this blog somewhat active - especially since I've decided to start promoting my Etsy site more. I made my second sale on that site today - very encouraging! I've also had a few family members and friends buy some prints, which is a huge blessing and encouragement to me.

My brother is getting married in June. He and his fiancee asked me to take their engagement photos. I've never done it before and we've only gone out once so far, but it promises to be fun once the weather starts cooperating. I had one print done at Walgreens (I know, the true mark of a professional) just so we could see the coloring and stuff in print - computer screens are deceiving. We actually had some trouble picking it up because the Walgreens employees thought we were trying to illegally reproduce photos taken by a professional. I showed the apathetic employee my drivers' liscense, he was like "whatever" and made me sign a copyright release. So weird. But he said, in a bland, 18-year-old-making-$6-an-hour tone, "your pictures are kinda good, maybe you should be a photographer." You never know when a trip to the drugstore will enlighten you to your true purpose in life. A call to excellence from a bored Walgreens employee should never be taken lightly.

I guess I should post some pictures! These are a couple of the new ones I uploaded to Etsy this week. I took them on the way home from our ski trip. I was kind of depressed that 3 days in Colorado passed without me getting any very good pictures. But as the sun set and the Honda skimmed along the interstate, I took some awesome (I think) motion-blur photos. Enjoy!
(I'm putting up the watermarked Etsy versions just because I don't want to resize them all again.) There are a few more on Etsy - so feel free to browse. :)

new photos?

I need to post more often. I constantly find new photographs on my computer that I can ready for online debut in a matter of minutes...which is handy when I don't have time to take any new pictures. Hopefully I can get motivated to create some new art - but this year I've hardly taken any new photos of the wintry loveliness (that I hate driving in). I have, though, found some great winter oldies from last year's photo stash that I can share with you now.

This year's family Christmas present-opening photos were, for the most part, just as bad as last year's - except this year I condescended to use my built-in flash for many of the photos. Which means the subject is clearly visible, as are the dark halos and shadows scattered around. I hate using the flash, but I also hate using ISO 1600 and still having to manually lighten every single photo because my parents still don't have enough lamps in the living room. Well, that is a lesson for everyone. Have enough lamps in your living room - at least enough light to appease your live-in photographer.

Oh yes. Old winter pictures. Here are a few for your delight.