An afternoon in IR (4 images)

[PRSearls]

I shot these in a local state park. The sky was overcast with sprinkles... very flat lighting. Comments and suggestions welcome.

PRS

1. Four Sentinels. One hundred year old pines against our native northern Illinois forest.



2. Maple Leaves. This was part of the background in the above photo. This is a two-shot pano cropped 1:1.



3. Resting. A family enjoying the lake view on a pleasant August afternoon.



4. Native Meadow. This is the back side of the earthen dam that created the lake in the above photo. Lots of native prairie plants grow here. The different variety of trees show their relative IR reflectivity. Maples the most and oaks are more subdued.

[Shadowman]

1. Nice flow effect with the leaves.
2. Interesting abstract, I see faces.
3. Very nice, has a Japanese garden feel to the setting.
4. Nicely composed, not as dramatic as the other three though; did the sun come out during this one?

[PRSearls]

Thanks, Shadowman. I value your critique. The sun did not come out on #4.

There was another scene I photographed next to those background woods. Unfortunately, it was sprinkling then and I got water drops on my filter which showed in the image. I should have caught that. Some of my best learning experiences are from my failures. I'll reshoot it later this week.

[IzzieK]

My favourite is #2 -- very interesting. John, I hope that one of the face you saw is that baby bear on the dark lower right hand corner. He's cute too.

[bnnrcn]

Hi Paul I like the first three images , the last one doesn't look like IR very much may be it is because of the lack of sunshine as you mentioned.

[John 2]

1,3,2 and then 4 for me Paul in that order but a good set all round. I have been looking at my own PS based attempts. I will post one or two but they don't have the same bite as yours. The excellent WEB site you pointed me to recommends shooting at high sun at mid day for best results. Since normal images don't do so well at that time, IR looks like being a useful addition to the armoury.

[PRSearls]

Shooting when the lighting is too contrasty for normal photography is perfect for IR. Shooting in flat lighting like these require more post processing to achieve the typical contrasty look of good B&W. My skills are not that proficient and while some may produce images that "sing," mine merely "hum." Overcast skies also don't produce the dramatic dark tones one normally gets with a blue sky in IR. This is evident in #3; there is a lack of contrast between the tree and sky. It was a pleasant composition but would have been much better with a dark sky. This is just part of my learning process of shooing in IR.

[pnodrog]

There is something about 2 that does it for me. Almost like a bridal dress and refreshingly different from most IR shots I have seen before.

[Rainforest]

What a nice set Paul. It looks like Shabbona Lake and the pretty reserves in that area. The Sentinels shot has it all for me. The "feathery" branches are very cool.

[Wavelength]

I like them all..... the human element makes 4th one very special

[PRSearls]

Thank you for your comments.