Theatre of Land and Light

Technical Information

The infrared photography I undertake involves photographing the invisible light spectrum known as Near Infrared, which is the next wave length of light beyond the visible red. It should not be confused with heat-sensing infrared, which is the Far Infrared light spectrum.

A series of techniques are used to capture my images, including using a virtually opaque dark red filter in front of the lens to block out all visible light and allow only infrared light to be captured. This combination ensures a true infrared image and should not be confused with images that are digitally modified to achieve an ‘infrared look’. For example, the varying tones of deciduous and evergreen trees and the luminescence of algae in tidal flats cannot be replicated digitally.

The subtleties of infrared photography include compensating exposure over or under normal light readings to allow for atmospheric conditions, such as haze and overcast skies, altitude, angle of the sun (ratio of infrared to visible light increases as the sun sets lower in the horizon), and so on. In addition, things that would normally appear as mid-tones in regular black and white photography may appear vibrant white (such as foliage) or deep black (such as blue sky and water) in infrared photography.

As such, one must pre-visualise what the scene would look like in the infrared black and white medium and know what items in the landscape reflect more or less near infrared light than what you would normally associate or expect.

I initially began taking my images using a high speed infrared film, specifically those images taken in Norway, which with it's level of grain and high contrast dramatically added to the surreal look of the images. However, the manufacture of this film by Kodak ceased in 2007. As such, I've converted a top end digital format camera to capture infrared light and the results have also been quite dramatic. The two formats are slightly different in their look, though both have their appeal.