Landscape Mt. Rainier in IR

jnguyen · 08-27-2013, 10:01 AM

Processing IR/BW images is a skill that I am still trying to master. Your suggestions on how to improve this image is greatly appreciated.

Attached Images

Parallax · 08-27-2013, 10:12 AM

The processing looks fine, but the problem I see is that it just looks like a high contrast BW picture of a snow covered Mt. Rainier. I wouldn't have guessed it was IR.
Was there snow when it was taken, or is the white on the mountain due to those areas being the hottest areas of an IR photo?

tuco · 08-27-2013, 10:26 AM

I second that. It doesn't look like an IR picture at all. Green foliage is white ( in BW) when shooting IR film and digital cameras modified to shoot IR. So to get a 1/2 second exposure at f8, I take it you put on an IR filter or something?

jnguyen · 08-27-2013, 11:16 AM

Originally posted by Parallax

The processing looks fine, but the problem I see is that it just looks like a high contrast BW picture of a snow covered Mt. Rainier. I wouldn't have guessed it was IR.
Was there snow when it was taken, or is the white on the mountain due to those areas being the hottest areas of an IR photo?

I used an IR filter to take this image. There was snow on the mountain. I took another image at f8, 2 seconds. The foliage was whiter. Below is the image taken.

Attached Images

Last edited by jnguyen; 08-27-2013 at 11:28 AM.

Parallax · 08-27-2013, 12:45 PM

I think the problem here is that, DSLRs have a filter over the sensor that filters out IR light. The front of lens filter filters out everything except IR light.
In theory, this would mean that the only light passing through the lens is of wavelengths that can't be recorded by the sensor as they are filtered out by the internal filter. Neither filter is 100% efficient so the front of lens filter lets some visible spectrum light through, and the sensor filter lets some IR light through, so the effect is basically like having a plain red filter.
That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

tuco · 08-27-2013, 01:05 PM

Lightroom ( and perhaps other editors) has a IR preset you can apply that would come closer to the IR look than this example.

08-27-2013, 10:01 AM	#1
jnguyen Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 446	Mt. Rainier in IR Lens: Fa 20mm Camera: K5 Photo Location: Washington State ISO: 80 Shutter Speed: 1/2s Aperture: F8 Processing IR/BW images is a skill that I am still trying to master. Your suggestions on how to improve this image is greatly appreciated. Attached Images

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08-27-2013, 10:12 AM	#2
Parallax Senior Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: South Dakota Photos: Gallery Posts: 19,332	The processing looks fine, but the problem I see is that it just looks like a high contrast BW picture of a snow covered Mt. Rainier. I wouldn't have guessed it was IR. Was there snow when it was taken, or is the white on the mountain due to those areas being the hottest areas of an IR photo?

08-27-2013, 10:26 AM	#3
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,026	I second that. It doesn't look like an IR picture at all. Green foliage is white ( in BW) when shooting IR film and digital cameras modified to shoot IR. So to get a 1/2 second exposure at f8, I take it you put on an IR filter or something?

08-27-2013, 11:16 AM	#4
jnguyen Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Bellingham, WA Posts: 446 Original Poster	Originally posted by Parallax The processing looks fine, but the problem I see is that it just looks like a high contrast BW picture of a snow covered Mt. Rainier. I wouldn't have guessed it was IR. Was there snow when it was taken, or is the white on the mountain due to those areas being the hottest areas of an IR photo? I used an IR filter to take this image. There was snow on the mountain. I took another image at f8, 2 seconds. The foliage was whiter. Below is the image taken. Attached Images Last edited by jnguyen; 08-27-2013 at 11:28 AM.

08-27-2013, 12:45 PM	#5
Parallax Senior Moderator Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: South Dakota Photos: Gallery Posts: 19,332	I think the problem here is that, DSLRs have a filter over the sensor that filters out IR light. The front of lens filter filters out everything except IR light. In theory, this would mean that the only light passing through the lens is of wavelengths that can't be recorded by the sensor as they are filtered out by the internal filter. Neither filter is 100% efficient so the front of lens filter lets some visible spectrum light through, and the sensor filter lets some IR light through, so the effect is basically like having a plain red filter. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.

08-27-2013, 01:05 PM	#6
tuco Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Pugetopolis Posts: 11,026	Lightroom ( and perhaps other editors) has a IR preset you can apply that would come closer to the IR look than this example.