Infrasible…

Well, it was hard to think of something for this blog post this week, so I chose to continue with some of my activities post the "strolling" period which I've made many posts about (I think I did 7 posts?).
The weather, of course, has gotten hotter, and for sure no strolling out at this time. It would be somewhat (just "somewhat") nice if I can go strolling at 5 a.m. where the sun is still about to rise and shine and there is a little (hot) breeze tickling my face, but for sure that won't be the case if I decide to walk around for some long distances and taking pictures. Not to say, it is not Ramadhan now and people would be active or starting to be active in early morning getting ready to go to work and such and probably I would be easily spotted and, honestly, the last thing I need in my life right now is such stupid problems (from such people).
So anyway, I've had some ideas to do and try, and for this reason this post might come out as short as it is something I'm still trying to experience and experiment with as much as possible, providing that I get the proper subject and the power to do so!

Infrasible

As the title suggests here, the little project here has something to do with infrared photography and it is something I really wanted to do for a long time. Though not as exciting as doing it to ultraviolet images but still something artistic to work with nevertheless.
My aim was simply to merge infrared images with images made with visible light. Typically, people or photographer would take more about merging ultraviolet images with images shot with visible spectrum to mimic the vision of some creatures (or bee vision). However, I don't hear or read much about people saying anything about merging infrared images with visible-spectrum images.

سَعَفْ
(palm leaves)

So, my first target was a palm tree outside in the yard. The process here involves shooting 2 images of course, and this is a challenge on its own and of course it calls for a tripod. The process here involves changing the filters on the lens without as minimum of a movement as possible, and being outside already there is always the challenge of the breeze (which ruined some of the shots already here). For shooting Palm Leavesi I've used the wide 20mm to add more depth to the abstract and make it look like a jungle (this palm tree was a target for a pinhole shot later on). First shot was taken using the IR-Cut filter (Kenko's) and then IR shot was taken using Neewer's IR950 (i.e. threshold 950nm) and IR730 filters. Unfortunately, things were quiet in the beginning but the breeze started shaking the palm leaves when I started using the IR730. For this reason, shots taken with that filter didn't quite overlap perfectly with the "normal" or visible-spectrum image which had been taken with the IR-Cut filter. Anyway, such series can be useful for other purposes later on.
I won't be talking about the details of the editing here, with all the crops and alignment (which wasn't quite perfect because of the slight movement even in Palm Leaves) but to explain the process in simple terms here:

What we are doing here is that we are stacking the 2 images, the infrared one (not color -corrected) and the normal one, and align them, with the infrared one being on top preferably. Using the Blending Options of the infrared layer we turn off the Green and Blue channels and keep the Red one on; This way, the red channel from the infrared layer will take over the red channel from the lower (normal image) layer. It is important though that the two images, in the RAW phase, must be edited (if needed) in the same manner when it comes to contrast and exposure but without correcting the white balance of the infrared image. As for the normal image, correcting the white balance seems be a must even though I was using the IR-Cut filter. Also, when shooting the two images, the metering was done from about the same spot of the image but because we are dealing with different spectra here, it seems editing such issues in RAW is a must.

Still Fire

Generally speaking, using different IR filters of different threshold values wouldn't change the outcome significantly as it seems and probably only some changes in the level/saturation of the red tones in the final composite image. Anyway, seeing the troubles of working outside, I thought of checking if I can do something inside and I had in my mind that specific corner at the balcony door where the sun rays shine through around mid-morning.
Here again, for Still Fire, I've used my 20mm but I'm forced to because of the space available. In fact, I've crammed myself! If I had more space, I would be shooting this with 50mm and put the aperture at f/1.4 to blur the background. The lowest f-number for my Voigtländer 20mm is f/3.5. It added a slight blur to the background that might be seen on close-up view but not much from a distance.
Of course merging the infrared and the normal shots is not the end of the story, there would be still much to do to enhance the overall looks and add a mood (if any) to the image. One of the things that perplexed me in Still Fire is whether I should remove the cyan tint completely (in the background mainly) or not. However, I've decided to keep it but reduce its saturation a bit. 

雙火
(double fire)

Right after shooting Still Fire, I've moved outside as there is a plant growing in the yard and I was eyeing this plant for any type of shots for days. Of course, I was originally escaping the conditions outside that would cause the plants to shake while shooting 2 shots and changing filters and all of that but the case here was a bit different even though the location was a bit problematic like in Still Fire because I had to get low and cramp myself in a small corner somewhat (and get blinded by the sun a bit). Here though, for Double Fire, I've used 50mm and f/11 to discard the surroundings as much as possible. The location of this pot was in the corner and the planet was a bit stiff or something that made it almost unshakable by the breeze. Here though, I've decided to remove the cyan tint completely as I thought it didn't fit the scheme as in Still Fire. Anyway, seeing how the shot was a bit boring and had so much crop to remove parts of a pipe and another pot beside it (even though I was using 50mm which has a narrow field of view), I've decided then to do some art and mirror the image. In the process, I've tried to put more emphasis on the red tones and make it pop out against the dark background. One thing though that I've should have done before finalizing the image is to push the 2 mirrored images closer to each other to reduce the bulge at the center a bit. Anyway, it's not something I would be uploading to the stocks… or… may I!?

These images were also subjected to swap in channels (Red/Blue) and I think the results were fair and worth checking them out. Makes me think of uploading both versions to the stocks though I'm not sure of the acceptance as I don't see a specific focus or point in such images (they were tests after all!).
The next step now is to find other targets if possible and/or work on doing ultraviolet composite images as I didn't try to do much of these as well. Unlike the case with the infrared images, the ultraviolet images are supposed to be merged in the blue channel (I suppose). On the other hand I'm thinking of typing a blog post for my Arabic blog specifically about this process and try to post it there before the end of June, in order to keep my word and promise for posting at least once a month!

Well, as I've mentioned just now, I will be probably typing a blog post for my Arabic blog, thus I might be absent for more than one week from posting here. This might as well give me some time to work on some new images or projects if possible (and if I get the power to do so). I do have few images here and there I might as well be posting and talking about (in connection to the infrared shots here) but I'd rather keep it for later.
One of the challenges I'm also trying to calculate for is using my "super" ND filter (10 stops) in some way, preferably indoors. I had this idea in mind for a while but now the weather is hotter and I doubt I can do much about it so the challenge is intensified now as I try to think of some creative way to use this filter in the "comfort" zone of my own home! We'll see…

Finale

So, this is my "short" post about merging infrared and "normal" images and I'm still looking for some more opportunities to apply this technique. So for now, I might be absent from this blog for more than one week in hope that I would be over with my Arabic blog post by then, and again with the hope that I might take some more images. Also, I might also check my latest images to see if there is anything worth uploading to the stocks as I didn't upload in ages. I miss shooting panoramas as well but my choices are pretty limited in recent times. I hope I won't get to the day when I would forget how to use such gear.
On a side note, I've downloaded all my images on Photobucket and contacted the admins to delete my account there completely. I used Photobucket a lot in the past when the very beginning of this blog to link images from there (I'm not sure why really). Anyway, those old posts surely will have broken links anyway. I'm surprised though that some images that I've never uploaded there appeared there as if it was linked to my Facebook or something? It's creepy I have to say. I came across some memories as I've done that and I have to admit, some of them added some water in my eyes a bit (yes, felt like crying).
Lately, I've been extremely exhausted, spending about 80% of the day in my bed (specially around weekend times). I'm really losing the appetite for socializing at all (as well as for food). Been listening to motivational stuff here and there and yet I feel stuffed and stuck. Nothing makes much sense anymore right now. I want to get up, to do things, to go out, but seems wherever I head, there is some block on the way and I don't mean just any obstacle, but simply, block. Heck, I don't even have people to talk to like before, but few small chattering here and there and mostly online. I might be an introvert, but guess what, even introverts got their own social needs at some point. All that goes amid strong flashbacks of past failures on many fronts of life. Suddenly, I'm here. done nothing in the expansion of 20 years of my life.
It feels like suffocating slowly, and I might as well sleep in one of these days, and never wake up again… I wonder if there would be anyone who would be missing me anyway. Such a useless life.

Palmitaria 2