Springtime at Turkey Creek Tank (Infrared)

Jim Peterson

Well-Known Member
Springtime at Turkey Creek Tank (Infrared). These are the (false) colors of an infrared photo captured recently along a trail outside of Sedona, Arizona. I processed the image to resemble the look of Kodak’s old Aerochrome color infrared film (though the foliage here doesn’t quite have the deep red hue that the film, long since discontinued, would have given us). The new leaves on these ancient cottonwoods have the characteristic infrared glow. The tree on the left appears to be nearing the end of its life, possibly due to a relative absence of water after the dam creating this tank was breached many years ago.

Tech info: Nikon D3200 camera (modified for infrared with 590nm filter), Nikon 10-24mm lens at 17mm, 1/250 sec. at f16, ISO 200.

Image ©2020 James D. Peterson Comments welcome!

Springtime-at-Turkey-Creek-Tank-Infrared.jpg
 

AlanLichty

Moderator
Fascinating colors from this processing. I will confess that I have not had experience with using either infrared film or worked first hand with a camera using modified sensors so I will be an easy mark for being amazed at images like this one :)
 

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
What a great Intro photo Jim!

I sure like this false color photo. Those trees are really cool, and that foreground worked out great!

I have toyed with the thought of getting a camera converted to IR. And since I have started doing Astro, I have thought about converting one to Full Spectrum so that I could use it for both Astro and IR. The problem is I was initially going to convert one of my older camera bodies for IR, but if I go Full Spectrum so I can use it for Astro too an old camera body would not be any good at all because for Astro I use my newest camera because I need the extra MP's and IQ of it. So I am in a bit of a dilemma at this point as to what I would convert.
 

Jim Peterson

Well-Known Member
What a great Intro photo Jim!

I sure like this false color photo. Those trees are really cool, and that foreground worked out great!

I have toyed with the thought of getting a camera converted to IR. And since I have started doing Astro, I have thought about converting one to Full Spectrum so that I could use it for both Astro and IR. The problem is I was initially going to convert one of my older camera bodies for IR, but if I go Full Spectrum so I can use it for Astro too an old camera body would not be any good at all because for Astro I use my newest camera because I need the extra MP's and IQ of it. So I am in a bit of a dilemma at this point as to what I would convert.
Thanks, Jim (Fox)! RE converting a camera: There's no simple solution to your dilemma, in my experience, unless you have deep enough pockets to buy another fairly recent body (possibly used) to convert. However, I can tell you this: if you can forgo doing night photography, then you can get very impressive IR results from a very humble (by current standards) camera body that has been converted. My first IR conversion was my ancient and much-used Nikon D200, which was introduced in 2005 and has a very obsolete 10 MP DX CCD sensor. I got it converted about 6 years ago; it's what got me started with IR. I don't use it much any more, but I got plenty of fine images from it and would gladly keep shooting with it if I didn't have anything else.

But I do now (have something else): a converted Nikon D3200. It was Nikon's first DX camera with the highly regarded 24MP sensor that has been in many of their models since (with, no doubt, some incremental improvements as the models evolved). It was their most humble, entry level DSLR when it was introduced. I bought it as a back up body, but ended up using it quite a bit more than I expected because it gave me excellent images. I had it converted to IR about 3 years ago, and it has served me remarkably well since then. It won't work well for night or very low light photography, but is really good for pretty much everything else IR.

My suggestion (for you or anyone else considering a conversion): see if you can find a good, used, recent-model body for your conversion from the same brand that you already shoot. BUT BEFORE YOU BUY IT: check the camera-specific notes on the lifepixel.com sales page to make sure there are no potential gotcha's with the body you're considering (https://www.lifepixel.com/product-category/our-services/infrared-camera-conversions). Some of the lenses you already own might work well for IR (not all do), which could save you some money...

My D3200 is one of those bodies with a gotcha. It has an internal IR light source that's part of a shutter monitoring mechanism. The IR-blocking filter that comes installed on its sensor keeps the IR source from fogging photos. But when you replace that filter with one that passes IR, then that IR source becomes a problem if you're shooting long exposures at high ISO values. So that camera is not suited for night photography. But I absolutely love it nonetheless.
 

JimFox

Moderator
Staff member
Thanks, Jim (Fox)! RE converting a camera: There's no simple solution to your dilemma, in my experience, unless you have deep enough pockets to buy another fairly recent body (possibly used) to convert. However, I can tell you this: if you can forgo doing night photography, then you can get very impressive IR results from a very humble (by current standards) camera body that has been converted. My first IR conversion was my ancient and much-used Nikon D200, which was introduced in 2005 and has a very obsolete 10 MP DX CCD sensor. I got it converted about 6 years ago; it's what got me started with IR. I don't use it much any more, but I got plenty of fine images from it and would gladly keep shooting with it if I didn't have anything else.

But I do now (have something else): a converted Nikon D3200. It was Nikon's first DX camera with the highly regarded 24MP sensor that has been in many of their models since (with, no doubt, some incremental improvements as the models evolved). It was their most humble, entry level DSLR when it was introduced. I bought it as a back up body, but ended up using it quite a bit more than I expected because it gave me excellent images. I had it converted to IR about 3 years ago, and it has served me remarkably well since then. It won't work well for night or very low light photography, but is really good for pretty much everything else IR.

My suggestion (for you or anyone else considering a conversion): see if you can find a good, used, recent-model body for your conversion from the same brand that you already shoot. BUT BEFORE YOU BUY IT: check the camera-specific notes on the lifepixel.com sales page to make sure there are no potential gotcha's with the body you're considering (https://www.lifepixel.com/product-category/our-services/infrared-camera-conversions). Some of the lenses you already own might work well for IR (not all do), which could save you some money...

My D3200 is one of those bodies with a gotcha. It has an internal IR light source that's part of a shutter monitoring mechanism. The IR-blocking filter that comes installed on its sensor keeps the IR source from fogging photos. But when you replace that filter with one that passes IR, then that IR source becomes a problem if you're shooting long exposures at high ISO values. So that camera is not suited for night photography. But I absolutely love it nonetheless.
Well... I have to say Jim that you make a lot of sense! That's probably the way I should go, just convert one of my older bodies to IR, or just pick up a cheap used one just for that purpose. I will have to give that a thought. And thanks for the warning that not all cameras are created equal for IR conversions, I will check that out before I do it to. Maybe I will make that a summer project. Once things start to get back to normal a bit here we have monthly camera swapmeets that are a great way to find old used equipment.
 
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