After an unusually hot and sunny February in the UK, the weather switched back to the more usual cooler rain and cloud at the end of last week. I decided to pop up to Black Down on the Mendip Hills in the drizzle for some fresh air and to see if I could create an image in the invisible infrared spectrum in wintery overcast conditions.
Towards the end of my walk I came across a large muddy patch which required a diversion to avoid getting bogged down. As a result I found myself on a different path to the one I had planned and shortly after joining this new path I spotted this tree on the brow of the hill. Something about its shape immediately grabbed my attention. With the drizzle and low cloud having now lifted, the hill beyond came into view as I approached.
I knew this was a composition worth investigating and, come the summer, would work well in bright sunshine with the tree full of infrared light reflecting leaves. I wasn't so sure how the current gloomy overcast weather would work in infrared however, but I had a feeling it just might. A quick glance at the live view screen on the back of my camera confirmed it indeed did work and a few minutes later I had made an exposure. The image was a little flat, as is often the case with infrared, but I could see its potential. A few hours later I had the finished image saved to my archive and was making a short list of locations I could visit in similar conditions.
