Thematic Infrared Photography - Post your "invisible world" pictures here

**baro-nite** · 07-04-2022, 05:32 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by newmikey

Here are a few shots from a newly-converted K-5. Just getting started with IR and I chose the K-5 to get converted to 630Nm because it is relatively cheap to get, takes all my my lenses (used on the KP) and feels so darned familiar in my hand (yes I owned it as well as the IIs version after and loved both cameras).

Welcome to the IR K-5 club! The one with the windmill is a particularly good job with channel-swapped color, unreal and believable at the same time.

---------- Post added 2022-07-04 at 08:34 AM ----------

(No channel swap, obviously!)

**bicycle** · 07-16-2022, 06:40 PM

K3-3 with IR Filter. Seem to like to try the filter on days with big puffy clouds.

Bob

Theov39 · 07-16-2022, 11:19 PM

Originally posted by newmikey

Here are a few shots from a newly-converted K-5. Just getting started with IR and I chose the K-5 to get converted to 630Nm because it is relatively cheap to get, takes all my my lenses (used on the KP) and feels so darned familiar in my hand (yes I owned it as well as the IIs version after and loved both cameras).

Software used is Darktable for the intial conversion from PEF using a RB channel swap, Digikam to do some level and curve stuff. Lens used was the DA16-85mm.

Amazing photos!

Is that in the Netherlands? Except for the first photo, the country scenes remind me of my childhood there.

**newmikey** · 07-16-2022, 11:44 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by Theov39

Amazing photos!

Is that in the Netherlands? Except for the first photo, the country scenes remind me of my childhood there.

Thanks and yes. These were shot around my town in the North West of the country near Alkmaar.

**newmikey** · 07-17-2022, 04:21 AM

The Sigma 85mm/f1.4 (which I purchased way back in my K20D days) has disappointed me in the past due to its often nervous and busy out of focus backgrounds. That background often ended up distracting from the actual subject and generally made this lens very hard to use.

Both these were PEFs which I did a channel swap on in DT. On the sunflower I also changed the yellow foliage to back to green with DT's color zones tool.

I'm now getting to know what seems like an entirely different optic under infrared light (630Nm wavelength cutoff). Gone are the busy backgrounds, suddenly turning into incredibly smooth transitions. The foreground suddenly springs to life with razor-sharp detail and beautiful light rendering.

Conversion of the infrared images was with a channel swap in Darktable and some manipulation of the color channels to emphasize the nuanced shades of light coming off subject and background. BTW, I could see no sign of any hotspots at various apertures, unlike the DA*50-135 which is basically unusable for IR shooting.

So, different optics behave differently under visible light and IR apparently - never too old to learn! My Sigma 8-16mm ends up being unusable due to lack of sharp detail (whether focused in AF-S, live-view contrast detection or even manual focus using an X6 enlarged LCD) and the DA*50-135 is plenty sharp but suffers from horrible hotspots across its entire aperture range.

On the flipside, the DA16-85mm exhibits way better detail sharpness under IR than under visible light and the Sigma85 suddenly loses its nervoeusness and becomes a smooth shooter...who'd have thunk?

**baro-nite** · 07-17-2022, 05:51 AM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by newmikey

On the sunflower I also changed the yellow foliage to back to green with DT's color zones tool.

Creative use of PP tools and an amazing result -- I am going to have to try that! IR also tames contrasts that don't work well in regular (visible-light) photography, so this technique opens a lot of possibilities.

Zoom lenses tend to have more problems in IR than primes (I say this not from experience, just from research).

**newmikey** · 07-25-2022, 10:33 AM - **1 Like**

Excited as tomorrow my used Tammy 10-24mm arrives. It is said to exhibit better sharpness and less hotspots than the Sigma 8-16mm but let's see if it can beat the Samyang 8mm Fisheye I used on these:

**baro-nite** · 07-27-2022, 04:28 AM

3-shot shift panorama with the Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-D Shift. I'm disappointed with its corner/edge performance in infrared. It's a brilliant performer in the visible spectrum however.

**newmikey** · 07-27-2022, 04:50 AM - **2 Likes**

The Tammy has arrived and it has indeed surprised me in a positive way. Mind you, in visible light on my KP, the Sigma 8-16 still beats it hands-down but on my 630Nm K-5 it is way better. Absolutely no visible hotspots and very passable sharpness except for the extreme corners which is to be expected from a UWA. For a mere €130 I think I've scored bigtime.

A few samples:

And a few B&W shots of today which were just an experimental combination between a tonemap from a 3-exposure bracket merged by Photomatix and a B&W conversion with Digikam

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07-04-2022, 05:32 AM - 1 Like	#31
baro-nite Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: North Carolina, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,294	Originally posted by newmikey Here are a few shots from a newly-converted K-5. Just getting started with IR and I chose the K-5 to get converted to 630Nm because it is relatively cheap to get, takes all my my lenses (used on the KP) and feels so darned familiar in my hand (yes I owned it as well as the IIs version after and loved both cameras). Welcome to the IR K-5 club! The one with the windmill is a particularly good job with channel-swapped color, unreal and believable at the same time. ---------- Post added 2022-07-04 at 08:34 AM ---------- (No channel swap, obviously!)

07-16-2022, 06:40 PM	#32
bicycle Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2021 Location: Minnesota, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 187	K3-3 with IR Filter. Seem to like to try the filter on days with big puffy clouds. Bob

07-16-2022, 11:19 PM	#33
Theov39 Pentaxian Join Date: Nov 2015 Location: Sydney Posts: 594	Originally posted by newmikey Here are a few shots from a newly-converted K-5. Just getting started with IR and I chose the K-5 to get converted to 630Nm because it is relatively cheap to get, takes all my my lenses (used on the KP) and feels so darned familiar in my hand (yes I owned it as well as the IIs version after and loved both cameras). Software used is Darktable for the intial conversion from PEF using a RB channel swap, Digikam to do some level and curve stuff. Lens used was the DA16-85mm. Amazing photos! Is that in the Netherlands? Except for the first photo, the country scenes remind me of my childhood there.

07-16-2022, 11:44 PM - 1 Like	#34
newmikey Site Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,287	Originally posted by Theov39 Amazing photos! Is that in the Netherlands? Except for the first photo, the country scenes remind me of my childhood there. Thanks and yes. These were shot around my town in the North West of the country near Alkmaar.

07-17-2022, 05:51 AM - 1 Like	#36
baro-nite Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: North Carolina, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,294	Originally posted by newmikey On the sunflower I also changed the yellow foliage to back to green with DT's color zones tool. Creative use of PP tools and an amazing result -- I am going to have to try that! IR also tames contrasts that don't work well in regular (visible-light) photography, so this technique opens a lot of possibilities. Zoom lenses tend to have more problems in IR than primes (I say this not from experience, just from research).

07-25-2022, 10:33 AM - 1 Like	#37
newmikey Site Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,287	Excited as tomorrow my used Tammy 10-24mm arrives. It is said to exhibit better sharpness and less hotspots than the Sigma 8-16mm but let's see if it can beat the Samyang 8mm Fisheye I used on these:

07-27-2022, 04:28 AM	#38
baro-nite Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: North Carolina, USA Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,294	3-shot shift panorama with the Laowa 20mm f/4 Zero-D Shift. I'm disappointed with its corner/edge performance in infrared. It's a brilliant performer in the visible spectrum however.

07-27-2022, 04:50 AM - 2 Likes	#39
newmikey Site Supporter Join Date: May 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,287	The Tammy has arrived and it has indeed surprised me in a positive way. Mind you, in visible light on my KP, the Sigma 8-16 still beats it hands-down but on my 630Nm K-5 it is way better. Absolutely no visible hotspots and very passable sharpness except for the extreme corners which is to be expected from a UWA. For a mere €130 I think I've scored bigtime. A few samples: And a few B&W shots of today which were just an experimental combination between a tonemap from a 3-exposure bracket merged by Photomatix and a B&W conversion with Digikam