Cathedral Rock from Chapel Trail (Infrared)

[Jim Peterson]

Cathedral Rock from Chapel Trail (Infrared) ©2019 James D Peterson. The desert territory around Sedona, Arizona, is unlike any other. In addition to our famous red rocks, we also have a unique blend of low and high desert flora. That makes sense, since Sedona is in the transition zone between the two types of desert. But in any case, an infrared photo gives our desert plants a chance to show off their invisible (to the naked eye) glow.

Image ©2019 James D. Peterson

 

[AlanLichty]

The IR makes the desert almost seem lush in this scene. Nicely seen.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Very nice image. Does the brightness indicate how much IR is being emitted in each case?

 

[Scott Stevens]

Fantastic

 

[JimFox]

Congrats on the Daily Featured Post Jim!

@Jim Peterson

 

[Amy Nelson]

Congratulations! Very nice IR capture....love the cacti.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Very nice Jim. Congrats on the feature.

 

[Jim Peterson]

Very nice image. Does the brightness indicate how much IR is being emitted in each case?

Thanks, Ben! The answer to your question is "yes... more or less, sorta". Foliage generally reflects IR wavelengths more than other things in an image. However, that's not the end of the story. In postprocessing, I adjust the hue and luminance of each color separately so that when I convert to black and white, I can more precisely control the brightness of different image elements (usually the sky and the foliage).

Also, in this case, I blended back in just a hint of the "original" color (i.e., the adjusted color image before the b&w conversion). To my eye, that enlivens it significantly.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Thanks for your explanation. much appreciated.

 

[Dean]

Neat shot Jim.. it is amazing how the plants glow. I have never seen anybody make Cathedral rock look so small
Congrats on the DFP.
Regards,
Dean