Infrared landscapes are one of those rare subjects that I prefer to shoot with a digital camera.
This preference feels reasonable, as the best infrared analog media was discontinued too long ago. The special film handling and toxic chemical processes involved for some of those glamorous IR films were also actively discouraging.
I’ve also received positive reinforcement: my early digital infrared efforts (with a 4 megapixel Leica/Panasonic Digilux and an IR filter) got me into a fancy photography show in a San Francisco hotel ballroom with both a magazine AND a wine sponsor! As the ‘winner’ of the competition, I even received gallery representation! The credibility this earned me among my colleagues was vast. As a happy result, digital infrared has a special place in my heart.
That 4 megapixel camera wasn’t sufficient for long, so after taking it for some travel adventures to confirm I enjoyed using it, I had a Sony Alpha 5000 customized to only see in infrared. The modification to the body worked, but certain lenses create destructive reflections within the camera that ruin IR photos, so I struggled until I found a lens that produces clear images. I opted for false color infrared, which gives me the finest control over midtone contrast, as each color can be adjusted separately with software. As a bonus, during the multi-step conversion from blue-foliage to high contrast monochrome, I cycle through exotic variations of my false color configurations. Some of these interim steps are interesting to me.
I recently decided to maximize the camera’s blue channels in hopes of fine tuning my highlights. Due to this shift further away from any sensible white balance, I found myself with more dramatic interim transitions. In the midst of my multi-step channel swapping from yellowish skies/blue foliage to the reverse, a step that was once green/purple now instead gives me teal skies with rose foliage.
It is novel enough that I haven’t desaturated the images yet. There is something about them… The tones are different than (discontinued) Kodak Aerochrome’s cooler pinks; the dominant color is more berry ice cream.
I’ll be exploring this combination a while longer, and then hope to remember how to get to the blue/gold combination I had in mind while shooting at these locations.