Finland in infrared
@ 8:23 pm Did you know that most digital cameras can “see” well into the invisible infrared range? Try taking a television remote control and watching it with your camera while pressing one of the buttons. The same is true for video cameras. Most of them have filters to filter out most of the infrared. Some video cameras have a night shot mode, which when activated, removes the infrared filter. These can’t really be used during the daytime without a filter to filter out the visible light because they get saturated. The manufacturers were worried people were using them to see through peoples’ clothing, since at infrared wavelengths some clothing is transparent. Some things that are black in natural light are bright in infrared. In infrared you can see through liquid black ink and camera negatives which look black in natural light. Here is a YouTube video that tells about the effect and how to make your own filter. Don’t confuse this with far infrared, which you can feel with your skin as heat energy if it is intense enough, or see with a thermal imaging camera. Near infrared is more like visible light – you just can’t see it very well or at all depending on how far the wavelength is from visible light. Ansel Adams is a famous photographer who lived in America who stumbled upon this phenomenon. He took black and white photos, many from the Western United States. He often used a dark red filter, because it gave good contrast.
I used the method and took the following pictures of my yard. The near infrared photo is fuzzy because it is filtered through 5 layers of picture negatives.
Cut the Grass Phil. The weeds have won…or did your grass waive the white French flag of surrender?
Comment by winter “Yea, Proton Power, now in remission” — Sun, Aug 10th, 2008 @ 2:17 am
winter, you dipshit, it’s the clown’s yard, not Phil’s.
Having said that, wtf? Does this come under the “culture” mandate of this blog?
Comment by someone — Sun, Aug 10th, 2008 @ 10:48 am
You might also look up the word “waive” in the dictionary.
Comment by K. Wilska — Sun, Aug 10th, 2008 @ 11:10 am
I am wondering about the infrared photo,that looks like a winter scene in the above Suomi photo…
I have seen snowstorms in Massachusetts that have caused everything,trees ,cars,the ground,and houses
to be totally coated in white,sparkly, snow and ice crystals.
When the sun comes out after the storm,it looks like a crystallized,totally white,mythical wonderland….Sort of like the above photo…I know people in Finland have also observed this effect many times also..
If you were to take a photo of the almost absolute,crystal whiteness,using infrared filters,what would the pictures look like!?
Would they have a dark appearance?
Comment by infinndel the jenkki dogg — Sun, Aug 10th, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
Ah..so sorry Phil, thought you posted.
Comment by winter “Yea, Proton Power, now in remission” — Sun, Aug 10th, 2008 @ 2:38 pm
Hmm, could be useful in a second Winter War.
Comment by John — Sun, Aug 10th, 2008 @ 2:50 pm
@4 I think water and ice have a dark appearance, at least liquid water does. I am not sure though. I can try it in the winter time and post again. I should also have a filter by then, a real one that is.
Comment by Tapani Pallomeri — Sun, Aug 10th, 2008 @ 6:51 pm
If you want to get your old digital SLR (are there any of those yet?) converted properly you can try companies like lifepixel.com. I’ll be sending my Canon 20D to them fairly soon. You can get some great images with a properly configured camera.
Comment by Kyho — Mon, Aug 11th, 2008 @ 4:08 am