Playing with Infrared

Ice Forest

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

Hello all! I'm back from my camping trip and enjoying having a real mattress to sleep on again. I had a wonderful time, and came home feeling the deep, soul-cleansing relaxation I haven't felt in a very, very long time. Spending three days outdoors with cool breezes, green leaves, and birdsong greeting you each morning is healing, know what I mean?

Only a few of us were able to stay until Monday, and so the last day of our trip was quiet and calm. I was determined to take some photos in early morning light, but was deterred by rain on Sunday morning. Success came on Monday, when I slipped out of my tent just before sunrise and headed to Conservation Island with my sister and mother-in-law. The best moment - when we rounded the corner to the first sun-drenched swathe of ferns and all gasped at how beautiful it was. My sister and mother-in-law picked wild blueberries and helped carry my gear while I worked - swapping between the Diana camera and the D70, the polarizer and the infrared filter... I have so many photos to share with you! Here are the first few:

The Green Path


Wild Blueberries

Vacation, all I ever wanted...

Here are some more vacation pics for you! There are a ton to go through, and I've got the Pawtucket Art Festival this weekend (come visit me!), so they'll be trickling onto the blog slowly over the next couple of weeks. First up, an infrared photograph of the Adirondacks, as seen from Mount Philo near Burlington, VT.

IR Adirondacks


Next, another photo from L'Isle Verte

L'Isle Verte Shoreline Through the Viewfinder

Rome Point

I went for a walk today with my husband, sisters, brother-in-law, and nephew at Rome Point in Rhode Island. It was a lovely day for a walk, but we noticed the beach smelled, well, fishier than normal. The culprit of the smell was something none of us had seen before - thousands upon thousands of dead sea stars had washed up on the beach. While most of them were pretty thoroughly dried by the time we got there, the smell still lingered. It was a bit icky, but really amazing, too. I'd never seen so many sea stars in one place before. We suspect a recent storm may be what caused the problem. I didn't spend much time photographing the scene, but here's a shot that illustrates the scale of it all.



In lighter news, prior to reaching the sea stars, I tried my hand at taking some more infrared photographs. I didn't have my tripod with me, but an obliging rock was at hand, and I quite like the perspective it captured.



What do you think?

Leaves!!

I am thrilled with the warm weather we're finally having here in the Northeast. The leaves are actually starting to come in on the trees, giving me a chance to experiment some more with my infrared filter. I only had an hour or so to roam about with my camera today, but I got at least one IR shot that I liked!



Happy May!

Springtime

The weather in New England has been very strange this year. The winter was unnervingly warm, and so far this spring has been quite cool. Spring has started, however, and it's refreshing to see the sprouting flowers and to hear the spring peepers singing. I'm definitely ready for spring. My interest in the geometric and stark scenes of winter has waned, and I'm looking forward to the organic and vibrant photographic subjects to be found in the months ahead. Seasons are nice like that, just when you're starting to get bored with them, they change.

I'm also excited about trying out my new infrared filter some more. I did manage a few shots during the winter, but green things were hard to come by. There are other dramatic effects you can get with an infrared filter besides altering how growing things look, but since I'm just starting out I want to begin with the basics. For a rough example, here's a shot I took this winter using the infrared filter:



You can see how the green looks white and the blue sky looks much darker than "normal". It's a fun tool. I'm looking forward to getting some more experience with it, and hopefully coming up with some really interesting shots!

In the meantime, I'm keeping myself busy getting ready for my upcoming exhibit at One Yoga Center! Hope to see many of you there!