Trip to Oxford

[spl]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

Sue, I know you did the early shift, but now I really know how much walking you did! Full marks for the effort!

I really like your punts composition, but the way .

Ian

Thanks Ian. The punts were taken in the early morning when Oxford was pretty empty and none of the punts were yet in use so I guess it wasn't a completely wasted exercise.

I was really impressed with Mike's black and white shots in which he seemed to sort of highlight the highlights in a very effective way. Maybe he kept in the darkest shadows only or something because they didn't look washed out at all just amazing light and delicate.

[Ian]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

Thanks Ian. The punts were taken in the early morning when Oxford was pretty empty and none of the punts were yet in use so I guess it wasn't a completely wasted exercise.

I was really impressed with Mike's black and white shots in which he seemed to sort of highlight the highlights in a very effective way. Maybe he kept in the darkest shadows only or something because they didn't look washed out at all just amazing light and delicate.

Could those be Mike's infra red shots? He had a modified Canon with him for taking infra red The tell tale signs are very dark skies and white tree foliage.

Ian

[Pops]

Re: Trip to Oxford

Morning all - I've just uploaded the group photo

We were very fortunate with the weather - we had overcast conditions to start with and then the clouds gave way to lovely sunshine - though quite challenging for the photography, of course!

I'm at my inlaws today and won't have much time for sorting out pictures but I may have time for a couple more, the bulk will appear during the week.

Ian

Nice to see everyone smiling.
A nice touch would have been for forum usernames to have been added.

[Pops]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

A bit heavy on the frame I think.
I find that 2 pixels of the white and up to 18 on the black is ample but it is of course a matter of personal choice.

[Ian]

Re: Trip to Oxford

Nice to see everyone smiling.
A nice touch would have been for forum usernames to have been added.

I think most of the forum user names are there in the gallery page, Pops - who have I missed out? The second Mike, a friend of Patrick's) wasn't a member but is now

Ian

[Pops]

Re: Trip to Oxford

I think most of the forum user names are there in the gallery page, Pops - who have I missed out? The second Mike, a friend of Patrick's) wasn't a member but is now

Ian

My mistake Ian. I didn't see the names further down the page until I noted you mentioned it in another post.

[spl]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

"Could those be Mike's infra red shots? He had a modified Canon with him for taking infra red The tell tale signs are very dark skies and white tree foliage."

Oh is that what it is! I like the effect - is it like a lens that he puts on or is it a filter - you say a modified Canon so did he have some kind of a specialised camera that does only infra red shots? Does it only do it in B&w or did he convert it afterwards. I'm actually quite fascinated by it. I am sure you could achieve something similar in PS using the red component filter thingy.

[Ian]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

"Could those be Mike's infra red shots? He had a modified Canon with him for taking infra red The tell tale signs are very dark skies and white tree foliage."

Oh is that what it is! I like the effect - is it like a lens that he puts on or is it a filter - you say a modified Canon so did he have some kind of a specialised camera that does only infra red shots? Does it only do it in B&w or did he convert it afterwards. I'm actually quite fascinated by it. I am sure you could achieve something similar in PS using the red component filter thingy.

His camera has had its infra red filter removed from in front of the sensor and replaced with an IR transparent filter. I believe he gets false colour results but they are best converted to mono.

Theoretically, he could fit an IR opaque filter to the front of the lens and get normal colour photography back again I don't know if his firmware has been modified to suit the hardware mod though.

There is an IR simulator in PS CS3.

You can get dark special red IR filters (which only transmit IR light) for lenses and as long as the camera's own IR filter isn't too effective, using a long exposure you can get results like Mike's camera. His advantage is that he can use his camera without the need for long exposures.

Ian

[Mike]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

His camera has had its infra red filter removed from in front of the sensor and replaced with an IR transparent filter. I believe he gets false colour results but they are best converted to mono.

Theoretically, he could fit an IR opaque filter to the front of the lens and get normal colour photography back again I don't know if his firmware has been modified to suit the hardware mod though.

There is an IR simulator in PS CS3.

You can get dark special red IR filters (which only transmit IR light) for lenses and as long as the camera's own IR filter isn't too effective, using a long exposure you can get results like Mike's camera. His advantage is that he can use his camera without the need for long exposures.

Ian

The tale behind my 'infra Red' camera .... I'm a member of a camera club. (Aston & Erdington - we have a web site) - in April 2006, Bob Underhill, a Smethwick member, came to show us some of his digital images. Amongst those he selected were some Infra Red shots which I thought were absolutely stunning. He had had a Nikon 995 or 990 (I think) converted to IR by an acquitance/friend. One of our members who is also a member of Smethwick had also had a Nikon 995 converted by the same person. I made enquiries and unfortunately he had decided not to do any more. You can "do it yourself" ! - (there are full instructions available on the web).
With that door closed I first tried doing IR using filters, there are 2 which are suitable. The filter had to be attached in front of any lens and HAD to be totally 'light proof'' - no light could be allowed to leak in round the edges. A tripod was essential and I took many time exposures with different apertures - exposures of many seconds up to a minute.
The results were nothing like the images I had seen from Bob Underhill.
I had also tried a variety of methods in Photoshop where some images were quite pleasing but lacked the clarity of Bob's images.
Anyhow to cut a long story short the only place I could find to convert a camera was a someone in the states. Having a Canon 10D + all Canon lenses I decided to go for an EOS 350D Rebel. Although not the cheapest option it meant I could use all my lenses on the IR camera.
All the images taken, either with the filters or a converted camera appear totally Red (or shades of). There is nothing you can (or need) to do about this.
To bring out the infra red effects you just move the SATURATION slider to ZERO. That's it.
If folks are interested I'll post some examples of my early experiments with filters and with photoshop under a separate heading. I'll be pleased to answer any queries if I can
Mike

[Ian]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

The tale behind my 'infra Red' camera .... I'm a member of a camera club. (Aston & Erdington - we have a web site) - in April 2006, Bob Underhill, a Smethwick member, came to show us some of his digital images. Amongst those he selected were some Infra Red shots which I thought were absolutely stunning. He had had a Nikon 995 or 990 (I think) converted to IR by an acquitance/friend. One of our members who is also a member of Smethwick had also had a Nikon 995 converted by the same person. I made enquiries and unfortunately he had decided not to do any more. You can "do it yourself" ! - (there are full instructions available on the web).
With that door closed I first tried doing IR using filters, there are 2 which are suitable. The filter had to be attached in front of any lens and HAD to be totally 'light proof'' - no light could be allowed to leak in round the edges. A tripod was essential and I took many time exposures with different apertures - exposures of many seconds up to a minute.
The results were nothing like the images I had seen from Bob Underhill.
I had also tried a variety of methods in Photoshop where some images were quite pleasing but lacked the clarity of Bob's images.
Anyhow to cut a long story short the only place I could find to convert a camera was a someone in the states. Having a Canon 10D + all Canon lenses I decided to go for an EOS 350D Rebel. Although not the cheapest option it meant I could use all my lenses on the IR camera.
All the images taken, either with the filters or a converted camera appear totally Red (or shades of). There is nothing you can (or need) to do about this.
To bring out the infra red effects you just move the SATURATION slider to ZERO. That's it.
If folks are interested I'll post some examples of my early experiments with filters and with photoshop under a separate heading. I'll be pleased to answer any queries if I can
Mike

Example pix - yes please Mike!

Ian

[Patrick]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

"Could those be Mike's infra red shots? He had a modified Canon with him for taking infra red The tell tale signs are very dark skies and white tree foliage."

Oh is that what it is! I like the effect - is it like a lens that he puts on or is it a filter - you say a modified Canon so did he have some kind of a specialised camera that does only infra red shots? Does it only do it in B&w or did he convert it afterwards. I'm actually quite fascinated by it. I am sure you could achieve something similar in PS using the red component filter thingy.

As a matter of interest some time ago (2 possibly 3 years ago) I posted this image on the forum. it was taken with a unmodified Olympus E10 fitted with an opaque IR filter exposed in bright sunshine with an exposure of something like a minute. The Olympus responded very well in fact equally as well as Mikes Canon 350 modified, but suffered from the problem of the very long exposures making the use of a tripod essential. The modified Canon can be used hand held, much more convenient.
I tried the IR filter on my Canon 10D when I first bought it and it does not respond well used in this way.
So when the new 40D is available I shall be buying one and the old 10D will be off to the States for conversion.

Patrick

[spl]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

Thanks Mike for your very full explanation and how interesting it is. I think Patrick's picture is superb too and as I am not in the market at this stage to buy another camera (and also don't fancy carrying the extra weight around as mine is quite heavy enough already) I think I will try and get one of those filters despite the limitations they impose. I am also going to experiment with PS now that my interest has been properly arosed.

[Mike]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

Thanks Mike for your very full explanation and how interesting it is. I think Patrick's picture is superb too and as I am not in the market at this stage to buy another camera (and also don't fancy carrying the extra weight around as mine is quite heavy enough already) I think I will try and get one of those filters despite the limitations they impose. I am also going to experiment with PS now that my interest has been properly arosed.

I'm going to put some images on the forum - probably a separate section called InfraRed. I'll put some up I got using the filters - I would suggest you look at these before you go spending dosh. I'm not saying these will be the best that can be got from such filters but it might just be an idea to have a look first
Mike

[Patrick]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

Thanks Mike for your very full explanation and how interesting it is. I think Patrick's picture is superb too and as I am not in the market at this stage to buy another camera (and also don't fancy carrying the extra weight around as mine is quite heavy enough already) I think I will try and get one of those filters despite the limitations they impose. I am also going to experiment with PS now that my interest has been properly arosed.

To find out if your camera is sufficiently sensitive to IR, in a darkened room point an infra red remote control at the lens , press and hold a button and expose (long exposure) a frame on the camera, if a white dot is visible then go buy your filter.

Patrick

[Ian]

Re: Oxford market mural with Caz

I'm going to put some images on the forum - probably a separate section called InfraRed. I'll put some up I got using the filters - I would suggest you look at these before you go spending dosh. I'm not saying these will be the best that can be got from such filters but it might just be an idea to have a look first
Mike

Let me add an infra red category to the gallery now - have a look shortly. I will probably create it under a new top category called Special Effects.

Ian