More Near-IR cameras from FujiFilm

For a while I have used a near-infrared camera made by FujiFilm called the FinePix IS Pro. This is based on the FinePix S5 Pro, which is in turn based on the Nikon D200 which, for me was useful as I have some Nikkor lenses that fit. (Recently I have been using a converted compact camera, simply because it is convenient, but the Fuji is more versatile. An example shot from Cordoba is above.) It has no blocking filter so you can use any filter combination you want and in my case that included a yellow filter for false-colour IR tests (not 100% satisfactory) and trying a variety of filtration methods. [See this blog post on the subject.]

I had thought that this camera was an experiment that Fuji wouldn't repest but it turns out I was wrong as I came across their X-T1 IR camera. This was first introduced in August 2015, which shows how on the ball I was, or how secretive Fuju are about this device. At 16 megapixels it isn't really up to current specs of course but, based on their web site, it is currently available. Fuji are marketing it carefully to "technical experts, law enforcement, medical research and scientific communities" and I would assume the EULA places restrictions on use as with the IS Pro. In theory the usage can include Fine Art.

So this isn't enough to make me want one, but it does indicate that there is a small market for out-of-the-box IR cameras as well as conversions.

The FujiFIlm web page for this camera is at www.fujifilm.com/us/en/consumer/digitalcameras/ir-camera which is interesting as it's in the 'consumer' web space even if the camera's market isn't.

I wonder what else I'm missing.

Well, the FUJIFILM GFX100 IR (Infrared) Large Format Mirrorless Digital Camera for a start. No complaints about resolution here because this chap weighs in at 100 megapixels (and maybe even 400!) and has up-to-date features such as 5-axis stabilisation. In this case Fuji say that this camera "will not be made available to general photographers or customers for personal use" and was launched at the end of 2020. Unlike their other IR cameras this one doesn't respond to UV as well.

Web page is www.fujifilm.com/us/en/news/digital-cameras/fujifilm-introduces-GFX100IR-infrared-camera and fujifilm-x.com/global/special/gfx-ir-camera/.) I found retailers offering this by doing a web search but at a list of over £11 thousand I think I will have to pass.

Professor Wood's House

I was delighted to receive an email recently from someone with a personal connection to the house that Professor Wood lived in.

I knew the building was in East Hampton, and I knew the road as it was noted on his letterhead. But try as I might I was unable to pin the building down based on the two photographs I have of it. This one was the one published in the Century Magazine in the Midwinter Number of the Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, published in February 1910 and was (as far as I know) the first infrared photograph to be published.

From my new contact I now know exactly which house it is. I'm told the building has been modified, which you'd expect after a century or more, but essentially what you can see in this photo (and the one in this earlier blog post) remains the same. The driveway from the road has changed, which is why I couldn't track it down with Google's Street View.

I hope to get a photo of the house as it is now so we can compare. I will let you know.

Infrared Artistry: Re-visualizing Your World with Tony Sweet

On July 30th 2022, at 4 pm UK time, Photographer Tony Sweet will be giving a Zoom presentation on our favourite subject, infrared photography. To quote the blurb ...

Infrared photography is becoming ever more popular. The inherent surreal properties of black-and-white infrared are always surprising and redefine the visual world. This talk will also touch on the world of faux colour infrared. Through ample illustrations, Tony Sweet will breach the curtain between the world we see and the one we imagine in black-and-white infrared and in colour infrared photography. Example images will illustrate the effects of angle and quality of light, times of day, and weather conditions. Questions are encouraged throughout the presentation.

This event is organised by the Digital Imaging Group of the Royal Photographic Society and is free to group members. Other RPS members, and anyone else, pays £3 to access the talk. It takes place using Zoom and everyone is welcome. Here's a link for booking: rps.org/DIGONLINE35/. See you there!

The Wood Effect ... on sea

The Wood Effect, whereby foliage shows up 'white' in infrared photographs, is a well-known feature of such images, often mistaken for snow.

Leaves are not the only things to exhibit this, as I found once when photographing young pine cones.

I presume that the young pine cones have an outer layer like a leaf with cells that reflect the infrared light, but this was a bit unexpected.

This next photo shows some seaweed (on the coast of Bardsey Island in North Wales) and this also exhibits the effect.

The black dots in the water are seals by the way.

A final thing that looks different to what you would expect in infrared photography is red wine, which appears transparent. A photo to demonstrate that is for another post sometime. Cheers.

Hello Again

It's been a while since I last posted here. The main reason is that we moved house and then started having 'things' done to the place. Thje good news is that our new location, on the English south coast, has lots of opportunities for infrared shooting ... so more on that as and when.

While you're waiting, please check out the revamped Invisible Light web site, which you can find on a couple of URLs but atsf.co.uk/ilight is the SOA for them all. A lot of the photos from the old site have gone, although eventually most of them will return. At this point There's a small set of galleries for the different techniques together with a bibliography, a list of interesting web sites and a brief history of infrared photography. The techical section is there as well, with some examples of thermal imaging amongst other things. Please check it out.

Incidentally, I've been told that the subscription facility doesn't work. It's probably better to click the Follow link but I have to admit that the intricacies of Blogger are a bit opaque!

Paolo Pettigiani

Paolo Pettigiani is a photographer based in Turin. Since 2015 he has beeon working on a project called Infraland, using a full-spectrum converted camera and a 590 nm filter to shoot faux-colour infrared images.

Infraland transforms ordinary places into surreal landscapes unbound by human perception ...

A set of his photographs were published in the Observer newspaper last Sunday (Feb 6th) but you can see his whole project on his web site. With photosets on New York, the Dolomites, Dubai, the Maldives, Alps, Bolivia and Peru. It's a nicely-designed site with some lovely images: well worth a visit.

I am of course rather envious that he managed to get his photographs into the Observer.