Caught in the Crosswalk

[Don Ellis]

http://www.kleptography.com/dl/crosswalk.jpg

Modified G1 with 093 infrared filter, taken yesterday.

[Citizensmith]

OK, but the face is too dark. Instead the focal point of the photo ends up as his shoulder.

[Don Ellis]

OK, but the face is too dark. Instead the focal point of the photo ends up as his shoulder.
He's part of the faceless crowd.

Don

[Jagman]

I quite like the way the face is dark, and particularly the way the earring sparkles out of the dark.

[Don Ellis]

I quite like the way the face is dark, and particularly the way the earring sparkles out of the dark.
You may be new to the forum, but already I admire your taste. :lol:

Cheers,

Don

[neil_r]

Don,

I have never taken an IR pic but I have seen Calis (who also posts here) take some landscapes. He had to use some really long shutter speeds (he was using an unmodified Dreble, i.e. just the filter). What was the shutter speed for this?

BTW as a long standing member of the Don Ellis appreciation society you know that I think this shot is fab.



N (gifted armature )

[Don Ellis]

Don,

I have never taken an IR pic but I have seen Calis (who also posts here) take some landscapes. He had to use some really long shutter speeds (he was using an unmodified Dreble, i.e. just the filter). What was the shutter speed for this?

BTW as a long standing member of the Don Ellis appreciation society you know that I think this shot is fab.

N (gifted armature )
Neil! Nice to hear from you again... shutter speed was 1/200th of a second at f2.5. (That's why I modified the camera and that shutter speed is with a 093 true infrared filter that produces virtually black-and-white photos; with an R72 that allows a small amount of visible light, I would have been at 1/320 or 1/400th.)

Thanks very much for your comments... I'm glad you like it (you've just been elevated to a very small club). I also posted it on the Fred Miranda forum and after 436 views I got one comment from the moderator wishing he knew if it were a fashion shot or something and wanting to see the face better.

Let's guess whether or not I could have shown his face if I'd wanted. :lol: And whether it would have been more interesting than his earring?

Although I know it's a human trait to want to box things, since when do have to know what the photographer intends before we know how to look at his/her photo?

Oh, well, at least there are three of us that think it's all right. :cool:

Cheers,

Don

[marie]

Neil! Nice to hear from you again... shutter speed was 1/200th of a second at f2.5. (That's why I modified the camera and that shutter speed is with a 093 true infrared filter that produces virtually black-and-white photos; with an R72 that allows a small amount of visible light, I would have been at 1/320 or 1/400th.)

Thanks very much for your comments... I'm glad you like it (you've just been elevated to a very small club). I also posted it on the Fred Miranda forum and after 436 views I got one comment from the moderator wishing he knew if it were a fashion shot or something and wanting to see the face better.

Let's guess whether or not I could have shown his face if I'd wanted. http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif And whether it would have been more interesting than his earring?

Although I know it's a human trait to want to box things, since when do have to know what the photographer intends before we know how to look at his/her photo?



Oh, well, at least there are three of us that think it's all right. http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_cool.gif



it is alright of course
we all see things so different which is the beauty of photography and art

I see part of the face of a man who could be at war
(you say crosswalk so maybe crossfire was in my head from your title.
it does look like a man at war..to me)

it's very emotive.
great capture

then I see the whole picture (as shown here)
the contrast of the bright sleeved jacket and probably camera strap.. which states (to me)
'no, he is a man just walking past..watching out for things
maybe at war or shocked with someone or something in his life...
but in his head..


in another way his look is like a 'shocked' look

maybe just a stranger in the city:confused:

it's terrific Don
plus all the other things you explain you done to achieve the look


quote
'Let's guess whether or not I could have shown his face if I'd wantedhttp://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif '

no doubts about it
http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_wink.gif



http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_lol.gif

[smudge]

Cracking shot. Love that earing in the shadow.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I like it,..

I think you should dodge the earing a bit to make it stand out more from the shadows and make the earing contrast more with the dark features.

Very nice shot.

[Bluelens]

I love the shadowing across the face. The guy looks like a mannequin. Great work on this.

Don, your photography continues to capture me.

[IainB]

Having long-appreciated your images Don, especially the ir, I find it hard to see a flaw in this shot. I 'enjoy' not being able to see the face (enjoy in an irritated sort of way). In effect the black side of the face becomes the highlight and like a black hole, draws me in.
BTW, was it your fine ir images that had a lovely teal-green hue to them once umpon a time, or am I confusing you with another revered photographer? If you are that person, can you remind me or point me to the page where I can re-learn to create that effect?
Room for another in the fan club?
Also, thanks for the great shot of Piha from the plane on your arrival into Auckland.
Iain
(Aucklander)

[Columbus Photo]

Simply Awesome! Its all in the eye of the beholder!

[Don Ellis]

it is alright of course
we all see things so different which is the beauty of photography and art

Hi Marie,

Thanks for your personal insights, as always. I think the man is more interesting faceless because we can use our imaginations as to who he is and what he's doing. If you see a face, you tend to spend too much time evaluating it and ignoring everything else. Still, there is enough face that you can see a very strong character here.

Cheers,

Don

[Don Ellis]

Cracking shot. Love that earing in the shadow.
Thank you... it's unusual but it's become a favorite of the week for me. And I was as surprised as anyone else to find the earring in the final shot.

Cheers,

Don

[Don Ellis]

I like it,..

I think you should dodge the earing a bit to make it stand out more from the shadows and make the earing contrast more with the dark features.

Very nice shot.
Hi CDS,

Thanks for the comment... I did exactly what you said during the initial enhancement, but in comparing it with an un-dodged version, I decided to leave it alone. There's really no reason the earring would be brighter than it is since it's in the shadow -- unless it's one of those LED earrings that have their own power. :lol:

I was surprised it was so bright already.

Cheers,

Don

[Don Ellis]

I love the shadowing across the face. The guy looks like a mannequin. Great work on this.

Don, your photography continues to capture me.
Thank you... it's an unusual shot but one I liked as it "developed." I think we're in the minority here, but I've always thought of that as a good sign. :cool:

Cheers,

Don

[Don Ellis]

Simply Awesome! Its all in the eye of the beholder!
Welcome to The Club... :cool:

Thank you...

Don

[Don Ellis]

Having long-appreciated your images Don, especially the ir, I find it hard to see a flaw in this shot. I 'enjoy' not being able to see the face (enjoy in an irritated sort of way). In effect the black side of the face becomes the highlight and like a black hole, draws me in.
BTW, was it your fine ir images that had a lovely teal-green hue to them once umpon a time, or am I confusing you with another revered photographer? If you are that person, can you remind me or point me to the page where I can re-learn to create that effect?
Room for another in the fan club?
Also, thanks for the great shot of Piha from the plane on your arrival into Auckland.
Iain
(Aucklander)
Hi Iain,

Always room for another club member... thank you and welcome -- and you're welcome for Piha. It was a striking capture out of a tiny airplane window.

Yes, my early shots featured light-green hues. Here's one of my favorites from Bali...

http://kleptography.com/images-irbali/crw_9828.jpg

Other photos of this sort are in these two galleries:

http://www.kleptography.com/gallery-irbali.htm
http://www.kleptography.com/gallery-ir72.htm


Here are some reflections on my infrared journey…

Creating Localized Green Hues

Stock G1 and R72 near-infrared filter (this is the first key because the R72 allows in a small amount of visible light)… and tripod, of course.



Shoot RAW, P mode at ISO 50 and AUTO White Balance.
Convert in BreezeBrowser to 8-bit TIF using CUSTOM White Balance (a simple matter of clicking the eyedropper on anything that’s medium gray in the photo -- this also means converting photos one at a time).
Auto-Contrast (Photoshop CS).
Set a black point if one is required.
If more contrast is required, either use 10% Contrast or a MILD S-curve in Curves.
Resize and sharpen.
Shutter speeds on a bright day will be around 1/10th to 1/20th of a second. If you shoot in JPG, you’re in trouble for creating anything interesting -- unless you plan to convert to straight black and white or you prefer magenta and orange photos.

Boosting the Shutter Speed

Monochrome Infrared

Modified G1 (no hot mirror -- proper name: “internal infrared cut filter”) and R72 near-infrared filter.

Once I had the camera converted, I slapped the R72 on it and discovered that my localized green hues were gone, replaced by an overall green tone (boring). And the overall contrast in the photo was down -- although this can be partially corrected in Photoshop.

So, on to the next phase…

Going for Speed and Contrast

Black-and-White Infrared

The next obvious step was trying a true infrared filter that allowed no visible light in -- the B+W 093 with the modified G1. (B+W is a brand name, by the way, not shorthand for black-and-white.)

Bang… black-and-white, contrasty photos right out of the camera. I can even shoot JPG if I want (I don’t), because there is no “converting with CUSTOM white balance” procedure to go through -- which allows mass RAW conversion in BreezeBrowser.

You will lose a stop or two with the 093 but you’ll still have near-normal shutter speeds; for example, the 1/200th of a second in the first photo in this thread.

Aftermath

After receiving the modified G1, there were a few days of mourning for the lost greens, but this was soon replaced by the joy of shooting normal shutter speeds and capturing motion.

Having said that, I never forgot my first love -- and I did have an unused R72 on the shelf -- so I purchased a used G1 a couple of weeks ago that I will use unmodified. I’ve already done a couple of test shots and the greens are back -- as is the tripod.

Finally

I had another G1 modified for Leela and purchased another 093, but instead of taking black-and-white photos, the camera produces images with an overall green tone. I’m beginning to think that G1s are as individualistic as the people using them. The only difference I can see between our cameras is that her G1 has had the firmware upgrade applied, while mine is still on the original. This has been partially borne out by my new camera, which also has the original firmware 1.0 and produces photos that I expect. My next step is to take her G1 to Canon and ask them to roll back the firmware version.

Is that more than you wanted to know? Probably… but at least I got it all down in print at one time and I will try to find a spot for it on my website. So thanks for the push.

Cheers,

Don

[IainB]

Brilliant, Don. Thank you for the time and effort in providing this. I shall continue to enjoy your images, and, as a fellow G1 owner (yes, do also have the 20D) I feel proud that this humble camera is capapble of so much in an artist's hands. Keep us posted, so to speak!

[cmM]

I like this shot. Very nice!

[marie]

[QUOTE=Don Ellis]

Yes, my early shots featured light-green hues. Here's one of my favorites from Bali...

http://kleptography.com/images-irbali/crw_9828.jpg

Other photos of this sort are in these two galleries:

http://www.kleptography.com/gallery-irbali.htm
http://www.kleptography.com/gallery-ir72.htm



* beautiful
:)