weekly Paul's Infrared TP 52 for 2021: Week 19 to 23 Added!

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Decided I need some distraction and what better way than to attempt a 52 project (again), maybe I will actually finish this one :thinking:
Plus as I've just delved into infrared I will attempt to do it all with the infrared camera :eek::eek:

Technique for January / February - Fill the Frame

Week 0 - Nearby
Week 1 - Fruit
Week 2 - Dirty
Week 3 - Rock
Week 4 - Tall
Week 5 - Snappers Choice
Week 6 - Pair
Week 7 - (Depict a) Film
Week 8 - Half / Halves
Week 9 - Reflection
Week 10 - Rough
Week 11 - Smooth
Week 12 - Alive
Week 13 - Easter
Week 14 - Spring / Low key
Week 15 - Snapper's Choice
Week 16 - Out & About
Week 17 - Shapes
Week 18 - Number
Week 19 - Toys
Week 20 - Artificial
Week 21 - Pattern
Week 22 - Up Close
Week 23 - Personal
 
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Cool to have trees like that in your back garden.
That is some incredibly sharp detail in the branches, yet the clouds almost have a long exposure look to them.
I checked the exif and no. So there must have been some strong winds high up in the atmosphere !
 
Right then, Ive not used my off camera flash for 4 or 5 years but thought I'd dig out some batteries and give it a go, after adding some pears to the weekly shop!
They say a picture paints a thousand words so I've included my setup at the bottom to show how simple this can be done at home for those interested, you will have to excuse the mess especially the floor as we have 2 border collies who love to tear up the garden!

Anyway, first of all, the actual shot for the week and shot using Infrared.


Week 1 - Fruit
by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

Now the setup, as I say, excuse the mess :oops: :$


IMG_4567
by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

As you can see, off camera flash is set horizontally and directed across the face of the pears ensuring they cast shadows across each other, the biscuit tin has a white A4 sheet of paper to act as a reflector to put a little bit of light back into the shadows, making them not quite so harsh.
The two white boxes (actually 2 halves of my apple watch box) funnel the light because on test shots I was getting stray light onto the brown box in the background and onto the lens causing lens flare.

After importing into lightroom to choose which of the shots I thought best, then opened in photoshop to use the heal brush where there was a dust spot that needed removing as well as some burning of the bright parts of the table in front of the pears and then into Silver Efex pro and saved.
 
When I saw it in the main thread I thought it looked like 'naked pears' - the infrared explains it! Really different and well executed.

Thanks for sharing your setup. The shadows looks so much softer than I would have expected.
 
Great image Paul, I love everything about it from the lighting to the composition to the processing...
 
Very good image! I've never thought of trying a flash with IR, interesting.
 
Clever use of the boxes as a makeshift snoot.
I'm guessing the lighter table helps reflects light up onto the bottom of the pairs a little, at the expense of having to burn it down in post (rather than using something black as the base).
An elegant still life there, which very much suits B&W.
 
Very good image! I've never thought of trying a flash with IR, interesting.

It really was a suck it and see, once I saw it would work ok I just treated it as normal off camera flash :) I may in the future try some colour gels with the IR and see what effects that may have.

Clever use of the boxes as a makeshift snoot.
I'm guessing the lighter table helps reflects light up onto the bottom of the pairs a little, at the expense of having to burn it down in post (rather than using something black as the base).
An elegant still life there, which very much suits B&W.

Yes, I thought about a black base but wanted a little bit of "reflection" as otherwise it would appear like the fruit was suspended in the dark if you see what i mean?
 
Two really nice images Paul, off to a great start (y)
 
both good images and thank you for sharing the set up for the pears they certainly look very different in infrared.
 
Lovely shot Paul, both in composition and lighting. Going to have to give your snoot idea a go.
 
Lovely shot Paul, both in composition and lighting. Going to have to give your snoot idea a go.

When I played about with off camera flash years ago before losing my photography mojo, I used to just use a bit of A4 and tape it round lol

Lovely IR image. A brave move to try and stick to IR for the 52!

Thank you and yes, as I bought the IR camera cheap as wanted to experiment with it I thought why not try and use it for the 52, time will tell! :oops: :$ :)
 
I found this one difficult due to restricting myself to shooting infrared only as my initial thought was of my dirty wellies beside a spade leaning against an old wall but green wellies with mud on just weren't working with the IR.
So ended up shooting a landscape with a dirty old bit of farm machinery and a dirty muddy track field. Hope ye like.


Week 2 - Dirty
by Donnie Canning, on Flickr
 
I found this one difficult due to restricting myself to shooting infrared only as my initial thought was of my dirty wellies beside a spade leaning against an old wall but green wellies with mud on just weren't working with the IR.
So ended up shooting a landscape with a dirty old bit of farm machinery and a dirty muddy track field. Hope ye like.


Week 2 - Dirty
by Donnie Canning, on Flickr
Nice subject, but would it look better with the horizon central I wonder.
 
Not immediately saying dirty but with the explanation I believe it works, I like a big sky so I wouldnt put the horizon central but might crop the top a little
 
Yeah, I did look at different compositions with the horizon, though not centrally as I hardly ever do that, gotta be either big sky or big foreground for me and due to the sky and the way infrared picks out the clouds against a dark blue sky that won :) plus shooting at 4/3rds I like to stick to that but if cropping want to be able to put something in a standard(ish) frame too

Just playing with cropping the sky a bit results in either a 2 x 3 format


dirty 2x3 format
by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

or

a 16 x 9 format


dirty 16x9 format
by Donnie Canning, on Flickr

The more I look, the more I think actually the last one does have the effect of both cropping a bit of the sky and bringing the horizon up by default and may indeed be the best after all (y) not sure what others think?
 
I prefer the 16x9 - there's enough sky in there but it doesn't detract from the machinery which the first one does slightly.
 
I think I prefer the original, though I couldn't say exactly why. Perhaps it's because the sky goes from grey to black left to right at the top, whereas there is cloud across the whole top in the crops.
 
I think I prefer the original, though I couldn't say exactly why. Perhaps it's because the sky goes from grey to black left to right at the top, whereas there is cloud across the whole top in the crops.

funny I did think that after I posted the 2 crops! but didn't say anything as thought I was being biased lol. At first I liked the original then thought perhaps that black sky is too detracting but now Im back to liking it as its one of the IR effects in a bright sky.
 
Fruit
That's such a lovely shot, the light is great and the pear skin looks so smooth and soft. IR is not something I have tried and didn't think it would suit my sort of photography (still life), but after seen this I'm not so sure.

Dirty
Another great shot and more what I would expect IR to be used for.
 
16x9 much better to my eyes.
 
Fruit
That's such a lovely shot, the light is great and the pear skin looks so smooth and soft. IR is not something I have tried and didn't think it would suit my sort of photography (still life), but after seen this I'm not so sure.

Dirty
Another great shot and more what I would expect IR to be used for.

For me that's what Im looking forward to, I want to try infrared but Im going to learn as I go and treat it like a "normal" camera and simply see where it takes me. I think it will be interesting to see how IR works in several different situations (y)
 
I love the picture but for me, doesn't fit the brief. Good shot though.
 
Lovely image with a majestic landscape and lots of IR impact, but sadly not really on theme enough for me...

It'll go nicely on the wall though!
 
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