Infra Red Colour Images

After a sea of NON Infrared pictures placed into the contest, I saw this one. A genuine Infrared image. Exceptionally garish and a bit lurid but nonetheless it packs a punch. I love the centre lead in lines of the path taking you right into the trees so you are almost swallowed by them. A whacky dreamstate image so well done for getting the desired reaction from me.

I keep coming back to this image because it has been coloured so nicely. Infrared works well with buildings and always makes grass look white because it reflects so much IR light. I have to say the colouring has been a bit sloppy but nonetheless it works for me! You only notice if you look closely. The overall tone and feel of the image is lovely. It looks very much like a painting so well done.

What a classy Infrared image this is. Taken and edited with the utmost care and precision. The image gives the viewer a feeling of foreboding and it has an eerie quality about it. Its full of mystery and intrigue as to what has happened to it in the past. I've never taken an IR image in mist, as those weather conditions do not normally lend themselves well to IR shots but here it has worked wonderfully. It shows a great deal of skill. As the photographer himself has written maybe it has slightly too much blue in it, but then again if it was warmed up a bit you would lose certain aspects of what makes this great. For those of you out there looking to move into the realm of IR photography this is what you need to aspire to. I wish there could be two first places.

I had a very difficult job splitting this image with the 2nd place image. In the end this one gave me a happier feeling as the colour tones used are uplifting and joyous. I adore the candyfloss pinks which work so beautifully with the blue/ grey tints of the bandstand roof and the sky. It gives this image a Wonderland/Charlie and the Chocolate factory feel and I can imagine walking down this path picking off sweet things to eat. The composition is great with the path leading you straight into the bandstand which is just nicely off centre. A wonderful Infrared image and a well deserved 1st place Winner.

Another striking IR image with the gorgeous contrast of the plant against the deep blue sky. It's a very uncluttered shot and very clear which is another wonderful feature of IR photography. The photographer has done little in post processing other than channel swap which I think works very well and has really made the most of the tall plant to show it off without being distracted by anything else.

Not sure if the photographer would agree with me but when I first saw this image it made me think of a post apocalyptic scene straight out of a film. On the left hand side you have the dead tree and further in you have the old rusty barn and a falling down shack with no roof on one side and in the distance you have what could be man's last attempt at clean energy. But if an image can speak to me like this its has to be pretty good. The lack of too many different colours all help with this scenario.
I initially thought it could do with a bit of de-noise but again that would look wrong with the type of image I see here and noise adds to the drama of this shot.

This image smacks you in the face with the bright gold tones of the foliage, one thing that reflects a lot of IR light and the photographer has certainly used it to its full potential here. Again there are subjects here that lend themselves very well to IR photography like the white line in the road and the leaves and the water. The sky has gone over a bit and it's looking bit a weird with a purple/green hue but a few more little tweaks and this will be a smasher.

This was one of the last images to be submitted into the contest and it threw me off track. The second I saw it I was hooked and drawn in by the detail and quality of the image. Infrared photography has the ability to cut through haze. As you can see here it has gorgeous clarity. I love the fact the photographer has included people in the shot and at a distance which works well. Close up IR of people can make you look pretty awful, it makes us very pale and gives people orange lips, milky pale skin and black eyes! Because of the very nature of IR it can see partly deeper into the skin and it shows up veins very prominently. Infrared is used a lot scientifically so weird images and this side of it is purely for the pleasure of the photographer if he or she likes it . You could say it's like Marmite you either love it or hate it. I love this particular image. Credit to the photographer and thank you for putting in such a great genuine Infrared image.

I like the varied subject matter here you have buildings, foliage and water all of which are great for this type of photography. However I'd like to see some separate colours as it all seems a bit blue and green and nothing that has been given the chance to stand out. Have a go at some more in depth editing and this will go from being a good IR image to a great one. Editing IR can either be huge fun or a bit frustrating but let your imagination run wild and have some fun with it.