First Infrared Pictures with the Hoya R-72 IR Filter

I dig the outrageous contrast between the black and white ends of the histogram. The IR filter turned this serene city park into something incredibly dramatic. For comparison, here’s a plain Jane non-IR photograph of Natalie, same place same time. You can see from the light on her face that it was a bright, sunny day.

Technical Stuff

I took these on a whim freehand with a Nikon D40 camera, a Nikon 35mm/F1.8 lens, and a Hoya R-72 infrared filter. The D40 is unusual in that it’s sensitive enough to near-infrared light that it’s actually possible to use it to take handheld IR photos. Apparently that would be a pipedream on many other DSLRs.

Infrared pictures are red out of the camera. I converted them to black and white with Google Picasa’s Filtered B&W effect, filtering on green after using the Auto Contrast and Sharpening effects. Filtering on red produces interesting results that are a touch less dramatic, but still interesting and contrasty. Compare the trees above with this version filtered on red.

Since this was a quickie experiment I used automatic mode on the camera. That worked better than expected. The first two photos are at F2.8. The last one pointing into the sun is at F6.4. (WARNING: Don’t look at the sun through an IR filter. It looks black, but it passes near-IR rays that I’ve read can blind you in seconds. I just aimed without looking through the viewfinder.)

For some reason the camera cranked up the ISO to the 600-700 range, rather than using its maximum aperture. I used NeatImage to reduce the ISO noise. Shutter speeds for the first two pictures were a longish 1/30s, which is why the pictures aren’t sharp. For serious IR work I’d use a tripod. The next time I try shooting handheld I’ll use manual exposure and set the aperture to F1.8 with a shutter speed one stop faster.

One thing I quickly learned is that the viewfinder is worthless for IR photography. There’s so little visible light (as opposed to near-IR light) passing through an IR filter that the viewfinder is completely black. I had to aim the camera, take a picture, look at the LCD, and then re-aim and take another picture until I got it right. A camera with LiveView might help with composition. For tripod use it seems that most people compose the picture and then mount the IR filter.

Photos taken at Everett Recreation Center, Maryville TN after Katie’s recital.

Previously – Infrared Photography Links