I made this image in 2018 as part of my early experiments with Infrared photography but I’ve only just gotten around to editing it.
Back in 2018 I didn’t have a dedicated infrared camera, so I was using an infrared filter screwed onto the front of the lens of my DSLR camera. The problem with this approach is that digital cameras have a filter in front of the sensor to block infrared light as it can cause colour casts to colour images. A little gets though however, but the consequence is that very long exposures are required. Another challenge is that you cannot see the live image through either the viewfinder or the rear LCD screen. The process is to compose and focus without the infrared filter, then attach it to the lens. And there lies a third issue. Infrared light behaves differently than visible light as it passes through the lens and focusses at a different point within the camera. Your carefully focussed image is now out of focus. The solution is to manually adjust the focus of the lens a little, make your exposure then check the focus on the image on the back of the camera and repeat if necessary.
A rewarding, but frustrating experience, especially if you are working with a rapidly changing scene as I was here with the outgoing tide. It was for this reason I had a camera modified to replace its infrared blocking filter with a visible light blocking filter. No more screw on filters and I can compose and focus just like a normal visible light camera and use normal shutter speeds.
While editing this image I was reminded of just how much I loved the look of these long exposure infrared images, especially of the coast. I’ve dusted off my screw on filter and put it back into my bag. Watch this space as they say….
