Ór!

I did it! Came to me as a surprise really (and not expected) but it was done! A gold medal in Trierenberg Circuit (Austria's international photography contest) for my panorama from the theater of AbdulHussain AbdulRidha which was done back in 2017.

The thing got me by surprise for real and I'm fluctuating in feelings between happy, and indifferent. Naturally I'd be happy of course, but also indifferent because I didn't expect anything in return - my sole purpose for uploading this panorama to the contest in the first place was to show others our culture and what this great man means to us. Having my name in the beginning of the list also makes me hyper a bit! Anyway, check the end of this post (the Finale section) to see the winning panorama (which I've called "The Smile Giver" previously) embedded from 360Cities for more interactive viewing. Now, let's move on!

 Switch On

It was awesome to have a one-week vacation connected to 2 weekends, so totaling 9 days. But... Still in need of more. It is one of the strangest things, for me at least, that just when I had a vacation to have some rest (and sleeping without setting the alarm before I go to bed), I did indeed get more active (with the camera and in writing). If I had the chance to make it longer, I would. Probably I would be finishing lot of those "projects" which were hanging on my back (and still) without being touched!

One of the things that I've started in this short vacation is going back to my very old microscope and trying something a bit different from all the samples I've done before: an ant. In this trial, I've actually focused on the head, and the eyes specifically. Even though every part of this little insect is interesting for me, but I just focused on this part for the time being, and probably I might go back to this sample to discover other parts. But for the time being, let's just focus on this part; The head.

Ant Head (IR)
~ 138X

Right away, my first trial was shooting with infrared and with reversed lens technique (as I used to do). It took about 172 shots and when processed and combined, the final image didn't appear so clear actually, and I needed to put those tags on it just to let people identify the parts of the head. Notice that the mandibles are clutching to some grain.
Doing infrared here was somehow risky, because I needed to light a powerful tungsten bulb (150W) beside the microscope (literally sticking to the microscope's side) to provide me with a good infrared flux. My two 13W LEDs bulbs failed me and apparently not a good source for IR, obviously! The heat was enormous that I really was scared that the black paper covering (which I use to block stray light away from the camera lens) would catch fire. Things went safely though, yet the results as you can see above, were not good. In the image above, I've used 4X objective to keep the details of the head and the eyes visible in the scene; Otherwise, it would be hard to distinguish those features.

Ant Head
~ 136X

I can say, though, that my second trial (which was not in infrared) was successful. In my second trial here, I've changed the settings which I usually use to shoot, and instead of using the typical lens reversing technique, I've just used extension tubes (full set) in close proximity to the eyepiece. The eyepiece itself was tilted and not completely vertical as usual. This kind of setting kind of put me on ease, because the camera is not dangling vertically above the eyepiece which makes it easier for me to control (still some hardships in positioning is involved though). Here though, unlike my previous infrared attempt, I've used the 10X objective, and the total magnification power (if my calculations are correct) should be around 136X. Ironically, the work for this "normal" shoot took around 72 images (or maybe 90 I can't remember!); Way under 172 images! Yet, the composition is clear (made clear further with post-processing of course) and strangely, the microscope's own dirt or impurities which I couldn't clean off before (and show up in every shoot) didn't show up much in this slide specifically. Worth noting here that when viewed on a larger size, the details can be somewhat ambiguous to notice or understand. Probably it is always better to keep the image dimensions low for such images just for viewers to understand.
Seeing how things worked well with the new technique (using extension tubes and placing the camera on a tripod alone), I decided to try again and use an infrared filter over my 50mm and the tubes assembly. Well, didn't go well, again. However, then I thought why not using an extreme infrared filter instead of the typical B+W 092 filter (threshold=650nm)? This is what I did next as I have an untouched Tiffen 87C infrared filter (threshold about 800nm). Since it is a gel filter, I had to hang it on one of my adapter rings with some paper binders, and at this level because the front is protruding further to the front with the adapter ring and the filter on it (didn't want to scratch the brand-new gel filter), I decided to reduce the extension tubes a bit (removed the 12mm from the full set) and also I've used 4X objective to get proper view for the head.

~45X

The final image here was somehow acceptable despite, ironically, being careless about turning that fine-focusing knob - I've taken a total of about 39 images compared to the more precise work before that which lead to about 172 images! However, I guess the zooming-out played the role for how many shots to be taken actually. Nevertheless, the overall image is relatively sharper and clearer in some details and aspects (of course after the overall processing AND sharpening). It does look like as if it is an X-ray slide for an ant!

 I'm starting to think that some subjects out there are just, simply, not to be shot in infrared. Note that all the infrared shots done so far, are done with the light pupil under the microscope being shut completely to reflect off light from the object under the microscope (whether it is an infrared shooting or a normal one). Thus, I'm thinking if there would be any changes if I let that pupil open and literally let the light pass through it - I know the view is different when shooting in normal conditions, but what about infrared shooting? Any difference? I'll try, but probably with some other sample, as people are getting scared enough already because of this ant head I'm posting for them day and night!
Now a friend of mine suggested that I must get a new microscope, an advanced one, and start to work seriously and get Pro with microscope shooting as it might be a good income venue, but I'm still not sure this is a good idea as I'm still considering it a hobby and an experimenting enjoyment! We'll see...

Ultraivialait

During this short vacation, I had the chance to go and get me some Blacklights from ACE Hardware here, as part of my efforts for shooting ultraviolet with my old B+W 403 filter in combination with my new hot mirror DR-655. So far, however, my trials been limited to the outside, under the sun and I did some trials here and there (and selfies) which were hard to work with and shoot. Mostly required a higher ISO to quicken the shutter speed (beside using a wider aperture). When working with a tripod to overcome the previous problem, there is the problem of the breeze which became quite a challenge in macro settings.

UV Selfie 1

First trials (and every other trial in fact) were shaky and hard to capture without any shake. Raising the ISO was inevitable (sometimes reaching up to 3200). In these trials, I stood to face the sun in hope to get further UV reflected off my face. Noticeably here, the eyes luster typical for the infrared shots does not show up here (naturally). Also, the skin spots that I usually see on some videos are not visible on these selfies, but then I realized that it is probably because I'm a Middle Eastern and the skin structure might differ from Europeans or other ethnic groups which show such spots when shot in UV. But I have to say that I did have my doubt as well about the accuracy of my filters as well!

UV Selfie 2

One aspect of UV photography is the colors and their balance or setting the white balance. I find it quite perplexing and not sure if there is any ""preferable" point to set WB to it. However, it is a surreal type of photography after all and I can't say there is a right or wrong about it. However, I'm asking myself whether the shades of these colors (after fixing the WB) do indeed depend on the time of the day and the angle of the sun in the sky when shooting. Anyway, in most condition I do set the WB in-camera before shooting UV, but this is just to visualize the outcome before shooting, as Photoshop (or ACR that is) would not show the image with that WB because of its limits; I still need to do the WB expansion as I usually do with infrared shots. The results, though, from the in-camera view and what shows on the monitor can vary drastically. I can use my WB Disc to calibrate the WB in-camera, but the disc does take the "mean" or "average" of the available light after all, and not a single point like the case in Photoshop or ACR; and here lies the difference I guess.

UV Selfie 3

So, sometimes to cut it out with all that perplexing color, I would sometimes consider converting to B&W, and actually I do see most of UV shots and videos to be converted to B&W instead of being left in colors. Probably because it is more... dramatic? mysterious? contrast-y? If this is really the reason I have to say it does indeed do the job, but I do prefer to convert to B&W in Photoshop itself instead of ACR to have more control with the masks and other tools. As it can be seen in UV Selfie 3, the selfie looks almost like a "low-key" shot if not for the bright background. This literally gives me some ideas for the future actually, but for the time being let's just stick to the sun and how it works. The left side of the face (my right side) was actually too dark that I had to lighten it manually by some tools and stuff. Still though, the shaky is a killer and those selfies do look, maybe, fine in small sizes, yet in their original sizes they are some catastrophes!
Away from the selfies, I've also worked with flowers in the yard, or should I say whatever left of them? Well, shooting a flower almost, always, calls for a macro procedure and so I did. The struggle was to focus (checking the monitor) under the harsh sun; Not even a LiveView cover was useful to block the sun rays and put my eyes at ease with the LiveView. The other struggle was with the breeze, and for this I had to raise the ISO. After many clicking, I've finally got one (somewhat) suitable shot to process with "minimum" shake. 

UV Bloom I

As seen in UV Bloom I, the final image had been cropped in panoramic style just to remove the excess of unneeded details (specially from the background). The background also had a serious work to blur it as I was using f/8, and this is natural with most of the work in macro photography; In fact it is even advisable to use more than f/8 but since I'm having troubles with the shutter speed I thought I should just keep it at f/8, aiming also to keep the bloom in acceptable sharpness since my vision was shaky in that situation. Worth noting that UV Bloom I was also edited using LAB technique to enhance the colors, and consequently, I had to reduce the saturation for some of them. Anyway, starting from that point I began to test various editing techniques, like in infrared photography, with channel swapping. Of course I could've just turned everything to B&W but I think it would kill the beauty of the bloom somehow here. 

UV Bloom II
Red/Blue channel swap.

UV Bloom III
Red/Blue + Blue/Green channels swap.

Probably, if not in B&W, the last version of this processed image, UV Bloom III, would be the typical look for UV images. There are other techniques I wanted to try, like merging a normal shot and a UV shot, but goes without saying how many hurdles are involved here making the job next to impossible, specially with the breeze going on and off. I'll just satisfy myself with this trend right now. 
Now, I do have my hopes with the new acquired blacklights, and I've made a test already to see if they are reliable enough. I admit that I'm impressed, but still some practical work is needed here. Despite being faintly lit to the naked eye, but with the camera and the corresponding filters (and despite the lens being coated with anti-UV coating), the exposure times were relatively fast at relatively lower ISOs. Promising. Also, I've made a quick sun-screen test, and I've finally achieved the look that I was aiming for; The black skin under UV while looking normal in regular shooting (just like in the video below).  


With this, I'm already planning for a new shooting project, involving my poor brother of course. However, I might as well do it alone. With this now, I can satisfy myself with those selfies as no black spots or freckles show in my face (or my brother's), probably because we are Middle Easterners and our skin is just adapted to sun differently. I guess such freckles would show more on a fair skin like that for Europeans or so. The sun-screen test was just what I need to give my mind and heart a rest that I am indeed shooting UV (with the help of blacklights of course!).

Bulbul

Life was not all about photography in this little vacation I had. I had the chance to write a bit. But I don't want to post all the "eggs" in one "basket" so I'm posting here a poem I've written about 2 weeks ago (in fact it was finished along with my previous post here). This piece was inspired by our little Bulbul (probably related to the Nightingale), who despite being unable to fly because of its broken wing, it does give out melodies (and I would join sometimes) - specially for seeking some freedom out of the cage.

Aman Aman

Not black and white but splashing colors,
worldly, such a never ending course.
No left, no right, nor wrong or even just,
aman aman, nor my mind I can trust.

Aman aman, O trembling bulbul,
tweeting loudly in a funeral?
How does your spirit work I wonder indeed,
for seldom a smile had been in my need.

Seldom does it shine, if would, it could,
for sorrows I never understood.
O bulbul to whom the tweet and the dance?
or maybe a salute to some past romance?

Salute me by the morn or by noon,
whether under the heat or the moon.
Take this core where it never had befitted,
in hope! May my grinning face be permitted.

When the blooms of May may surrender,
and off life bereft be the tender.
Lull me O bulbul, and put me to sleep,
Aman aman, my eyes need not to weep.

This one went quiet, for the time being, even though I've put it in some contest on Writing.com to be reviewed. I've based the poem on simple quatrain style (a a b b) and tried my best to keep the syllables count at (9 9 10 10) successively. With the help of Verse Perfect of course. In this poem, beside all these metering stuff (which I don't quite understand because I'm not a poet myself and I didn't study those already), I tried here to take one word from the last line in each quatrain and include it in the first line of the next quatrain after. Mentally, I was performing a chaining up for ideas in my mind and that how it felt like.
It seems most, if not all, of my poems are either melancholic or nostalgic. After all, this is how I started writing them in my late teens. Should I change? Yet, how? What I write is really how I feel, and it was the main vent (and still is) for my feelings which I seldom take out of my brain and away from my tongue. Left to say, there is indeed a third poem which I've written this week but I'll keep it for the next post.

Finale

As I've promised by the beginning of this post, here is the panorama which got the gold medal in the Panorama theme on Trierenberg Circuit, embedded from 360Cities - so people with smartphones might be able to view this panorama while moving their phone to move around the panorama itself (I suppose, if not, check the main website for this one).

The Smile Giver

Now, after this gold medal, I'm not sure where to go. But I'm just satisfied with how things went on with this panorama specifically, since I've participated in the contest just for it solely and to show it to people outside to let them, at least, wonder who is this man in the portraiture and what does he mean to us. I consider this gold medal as a surplus and a sweet reward over my real intentions. As a next step, I might (just might) think of participating with this panorama specifically in other contests, and maybe get it exhibited as well. It's a rush of serotonin that I lingered for in such a long time now and I really need it amid my frequent anxiety and panic attacks; Something to tell me, that things will be alright, sooner or later, but let's hope so soon as I can't bear much to later…

The InfraWeek...

This week been somehow a busy week with my infrared filter. After some trials that were done last week with the infrared filter, and after learning some new methods to process infrared RAW files, I've been planning for new shots and even visiting old shots for re-processing.
Before I delve deeper into this matter of the infrared venue, I do like to thank all visitors for peaking up my Flickr profile to more than 2000 hits in a single day! This is a first time to be that way. I think my own personal record was something a bit more than 1000 hits in a single day before!

Click to Enlarge

Infra

One of the main problems in processing infrared images (beside working with unconverted camera) is the fact that the white balance is limited when working in ACR, or even in Canon's DPP. Canon's DPP though was somehow a good tool before but currently and with my new acquired shots from last week, it didn't make much difference. Anyway, I've gone through some articles online and I've discovered a free software provided by Adobe, namely the DNG Profile Editor.
I won't get into the details of this tool and how to use it, but in a brief sentence, all I can say is, it makes a profile to be used in ACR, and it would maximize the range of the white balance in some way. This step alone, made me re-think about previous shots and the possibility of shedding them under a new light.

Frozen Coal
Cropped from original.

One of these old shots was a shot taken in the beginning of this year, in winter specifically, when we were still using coal trays or something like that to enjoy some traditional tea! Anyway, the shot that was taken and processed in the traditional way and even back then, swapping the channels (of Red and Blue to give an alien feeling to the image) did not yield or give much sense. Right now, though, the story is completely different and swapping the channels after fixing the white balance in the RAW file can yield a promising result. I say "can" here, so don't take it for granted!

InfraCoal

However, the coal shot was an "indoor" shot and not outside, thus I had to dig in my archive and see if there is anything like that taken with infrared. I've found one shot, for which I needed DxO to deal with its distortion and other criteria and this one, too, did a good job in swapping the channels.

Infraarbeitplatz

Despite this promising result from a previous shot, but it didn't really work out for much of the shots taken back when I just had the filter. Some of them didn't work out as before and some of them were better rather in red shade like the Ciudad en Rojo.

Ciudad en Rojo
Canon EF 18-55mm @35mm, f/8, 3.2sec, ISO100.

Anyway, after looking back at my stock of infrared shots, I've decided to increase the stock a bit more just to work with processing more images of this kind. This is my preferred method of learning (specially in Photoshop), and reading alone won't do me any good!
For this reason I've decided to take my camera to work with me and try to find something just to shoot with my infrared filter.

One of the first trials at work is a little plant which looked like a palm tree (but it's not). I leave the classification of this plant for the professionals! Anyway, it was a shot in a hurry as the background and the distance were not suitable really.

Paulo Palma
Canon EF 50mm, f/2, 1.3sec, ISO100.

Naturally, some infrared shots would turn completely or partially to black and white. I think this is the magic of infrared photography. Somehow, the result can be unpredictable. Anyway, there is a major difficulty with unconverted camera (i.e. camera with modified sensor for IR photography). As I will show later, this was a problem in some shots which required a fast shutter speed in a breezy weather. However, in Paulo Palma, the weather was relatively stable and not much of a breeze in the air, but surely had a problem framing the image while the sun striking on my neck and on the LCD! I've used a wide aperture relatively (and hence the shallow depth) just to ensure a faster shutter. Otherwise, it could have taken up to 3 or 6, or even 10 seconds for this shot.

One of the major hassles while working with IR images is the noise level even when ISO is set to the lowest. Next, comes the soft focus. These two matters makes it uneasy for me to upload such images on the web, and specifically into stock agencies. Thus, imagine when you are forced to increase the ISO under such conditions. The noise are simply "ridiculous". However, the noise can be less pronounced and just get more attention when channel swapping is formed, that is, replacing the places of the Red and the Blue channels in the RGB mode. At this point, the typical noise reduction plugins in Photoshop won't do much good, but the major trick is to play around with Hue/Saturation to twist the colors and make the noise virtually negligible. Then comes the next trick of adjusting the contrast to suppress some grain, and then we have the change in the color space by using the Assign command in Photoshop (not Convert). The Assign command, for some reason, does reduce (or maybe re-distribute?) the noise level, sometimes to a great extent. This is some of what I've learned doing long exposures last summer on the beach!

Infra Columnae
Canon EF 50mm, f/1.4, 6^-1sec, ISO200.

InfraDoor
Canon EF 18-55mm @22mm,
f/16, 8sec, ISO200.

Despite the general look of the infrared shots, which tends to be in black and white, but the fact is lot of shots I've done were low saturated and just close to the black and white level. This is done by virtue within the processing of such shots, specially via Hue/Saturation when I try to reduce the noise by such an adjustment layer. The fact is, IR photography got a potential for various aesthetic settings or processes just like, or almost like, the HDR technique. The hard part, might be, to predict the final look of the shot. With HDR and its processes, you can imagine what's the final image is on location (specially if it is some metallic surface). However, this is still not so evident for me when I work with IR. Shots like Infra Columnae and InfraDoor were so various and I didn't know whether they would be colored slightly, or I'll be needing channel swap, or simply turn everything into black and white. The main puzzle is how to settle down the white balance. Usually, I do like to set the white balance from any green surface in the image if there is any but that doesn't mean I would like it. I suppose the green surface is the first choice because the green color is in the middle of the spectrum, not sure about this theory though! InfraDoor specifically is a subject for an HDR shot and it got me back to my old habit of still life and abstracts by geometrical means, like I used to do before around my work place - anyway this might be a subject for another post some other day!

Then one day came a challenge that took me 2 days to perform. It's a small bloom that was barely 1cm (~0.394in) in height. Not only I had to get so low with the tripod, but approaching the bloom and getting closer to it was critical. The first day, I tried to get to it by the end of the day before leaving my work place but the sun was so harsh that, beside my personal troubles, the LCD was barely visible and I had nothing to cover it (things to put on my purchase list as it seems). Thus, I had to come the next day and try to get to it in the early morning time just before the sun strikes that spot specifically.

Truncartis Parvis
Canon EF 100 macro + ET, f/8, 30^-1sec, ISO200.

I'm putting Truncartis Parvis here for comparison with shots that were taken with infrared filter later. In Truncartis Parvis there were two main problems: first, the low light level as the sun wasn't shining on the spot (ironic), and secondly, the breeze which required faster shutter speed to stop the motion of the tiny bloom. I didn't bring my speedlite with me that day thus I had to depend on the simple flash on-camera. Because I couldn't get so close to the bloom, I had to use the macro 100mm lens with extension tubes added gradually to it. By using 12, 20, and 36 tubes gradually I was able to make some estimate about the relative size of the bloom within the frame. Truncartis Parvis (which means the small jungle by the way) was taken with all tubes (i.e. 68mm) added to the macro lens. Thus, I was trying to hit some balance between the 3 variables: ISO, speed, and aperture. I didn't like the idea of raising the ISO too high for such a "normal" shot thus I had to put down the aperture to f/8 (after trying f/16). They say in macro photography, it's better not to go below f/8. However, such balance was even harder to achieve and I had to give up with the ISO when I started taking infrared shots with that setting (remember the sun was not striking the place, yet).

Glowing Bloom (Gold)
Canon EF 100mm macro + ET, f/4, 15^-1sec, ISO1600.

As you can see above, in Glowing Boom (Gold), the shutter speed was barely acceptable amid the breezes in the weather, and this is only achieved with ISO1600 and  shallow depth of f/4 with maximum flash output. Probably it would have been an easier task if my speedlite was with me but I had to deal with the situation as it is and yet the shot was of a surrealistic approach somehow. The noise level, however, was a novel on its own right.
The shot above was done without channel swapping (and of course with some processing on the side to suppress the background noise). Hence the "(Gold)" part in the name. After Red and Blue channels swapping, it appeared as beautiful as the first as it seems...

Glowing Bloom (Blue)
Canon EF 100mm macro + ET, f/4, 15^-1sec, ISO1600.

It is amazing how the infrared filter clears off the differences in tones and colors and makes the petals as if they are made with one color (compare with the one taken without filter above). At the end and just before I take off, I've decided to do one last trial but this time with one less extension tube just to include more background into the frame. Ironically though, I've decided to crop the final image into a square to reduce the background!

Gecenin Çiçek
Canon EF 100mm macro, f/5.6, 10^-1sec, ISO1600.

That was "some" of the trials done with the infrared filter for this week, but not the end of it. I need to study the artistic chances and venues behind this filter. It is cumbersome to use it of course with an unconverted camera, yet it does help in long exposures anyway!

Conclusion

Potentially, there is so much to be done in the IR field. Something behind the typical vivid and surreal landscape shots that we usually see under this category of photography.
However, I do find myself debating myself about the aesthetic prospect of such shots. Usually, what I read in articles online about IR photography is that the grains (or noise) and the fuzzy focus is something natural and even characteristic of this type of photography. There are even some Photoshop tutorials that deal with photo manipulation; that is to edit a normal photo and make it look like it is taken under IR, and one critical step in the overall process is to add grain or noise to the whole image (beside reducing the saturation). However, do people accept that, or do agencies? I'm reluctant about uploading such images to stock agencies. I did already upload to some of them but it's just a test and I'm very doubtful about their acceptance for such shots with such high grain level. This, somehow, makes IR photography a highly fine-art branch I believe, and agencies wouldn't love this type of photography much, unless some of them do know what does it mean to take IR shots with all that noise and defocus.
The almost-random aspect of processing IR shots makes it as vivid and wild as HDRs but let's say with different tones. You can do crazy things with the HDR techniques and lot of people hate the halos produced in over-tone-mapping HDR images, and IRs also got the same potential. If you check Infra Columnae back up above again, you'd notice that the image is almost black and white except of a spot that shows clearly as green. I'm pretty sure some people won't like it that way; just a matter of how the human brain works I believe.
In the near future, however, I do need to work more with such filters specially to see how does it change the skin tones. I've done some simple trials on myself but these are not enough and I need more. First though, I have to know what kind of relation there is between studio (or let's say the speedlites) light and this kind of filters.
After all, it is just something to get my mind busy and away from my collapsible life for the time being. I do miss doing lot of things; panoramas specifically. Anyway, got to wait for winter to arrive. This summer I'm literally melting down my body, and mood...