Newbie Chinese Garden IR


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hercules

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Jul 6, 2005
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Hi all, Happy new year .....
these are the strange looking IR photos I took during the trip to chinese gardens 2 weeks ago.
Pls give your comments and critiques & also on how to tweak/ improve/ save it....:)

I attached the original copy and the edited version in which some of the techniques were
learned from some photoshop magazines....some of the results look strange, & some even look like normal b/w pics....:eek:

If you all got any tips that you often use in photoshop for I/R adjustment ,pls teach me how to adjust it..especially the file 8 and file 7 pictures, as it looks like crap no matter what i do to it

Thank you
Gabriel Tan
(the edited version is located just beside or below each orginal pic)

http://gallery.clubsnap.com/showgallery.php?cat=533
 

Gabriel,

I noticed that some of the shots were too orangy-red and even green. This is usually a sign that you did not carry out the CWB properly or even did a CWB at all. Depending on the digital camera, a properly CWB image should look light pinkish with grey or light pinkish with cyan like some of your images. Try to do the CWB properly as it would make your post-processing easier. Most of the time, you would only need to do it right once and can use the same CWB for the whole shoot.

Some of the images showed patchy areas that seemed to be strangely out of focus. I can only conclude that there must be some movement in the foliage due to wind and that relatively long exposure times were used in those shots due to the overcast condition on that day.

As for post-processing, the amount needed depends on how well you did the CWB and the exposure of the shot. You can try to do the following:
(a) Auto-color
(b) Auto-level
(c) Shadow/Highlight
(d) Curves
(e) Contrast
(f) Hue/Saturation - edit the individual colours like red, cyan, yellow, etc to reduce the intensities as needed
(g) Channel mixer
(h) Unsharp mask
Do note that the type and amount of post-processing required is different for each image.

Since you are still learning the ropes, I would suggest that you only practice on bright sunny days with distinct clumps of clouds against a clear blue sky first. Try not to make life difficult for yourself at this stage by taking IR on heavily overcast days and in the shade. IR images taken under such conditions usually require very intensive post-processing and even then, the results might not be as good as you expected them to be.

One desirable benefit of taking IR on sunny days with blue skies is that you could get distinct blue skies after channel mixing. On cloudy heavily overcast days, it is very difficult if not impossible to do so.

Try to bring and use a tripod for all your shots unless your camera is very sensitive to IR and can be used handheld. It is best to plan your shots properly. Mount the camera on the tripod, frame and autofocus your shots without the IR filter on so that you can get an idea of what would be in focus and what would not when you finally take your shots. Then put on the filter and fire away. Remember to do your CWB properly first. I usually only do it once and could use back the same stored CWB setting even for shots on different days without much detrimental effects on the quality of the IR images obtained.

Remember that no one is born with the knowledge of how to take IR photos. All of us have to learn the ropes the hard way... through hands-on practice.

So go practise, practise, practise. ;)
 

Hi Gabriel,
6_1 and 5_1 looks quite ok, still able to PP. The rest is more difficult.
Since ur DC can't get a proper WB, think the best way would be to convert to b/w.
Did you try shooting with Cokin P007?
 

Hi tom & ark19, really thank you both for taking the time out to answer my queries...
really very valuable advice....will try it out again, when i buy the filter....:)

& as for ark 19....
i tried your photoshop IR action on my pics , the effect was different, especially for 3_1 and 6_1. the leaves have a different hue to it, more on the yellow-orangey type....
and btw... yes i was using the cokin IR filter, which i borrowed from THL for the shoot...
tanks again THL !!!
according to him, the filter i used was actually cutted into a circle shape and then fitted
into a 72mm ring.....

:and btw does any1 of you all know , what would the difference be like if i use a R72 on my FZ20??

Gabriel
 

Hi Gabriel,
Just back from a short vac .. saw your posting today.
6.2 has a good comp and I really like it.
2.1 has an IR feel though it tends toward B&W
Cannot see your exif on 6.2.. maybe this is the pix
that used slow shutter speed.
Just my opinion.

Think hv to try again on a bright sunny day to see
how IR works on your cam.
Keep shooting and posting.:)
 

hercules said:
Hi tom & ark19, really thank you both for taking the time out to answer my queries...
really very valuable advice....will try it out again, when i buy the filter....:)

& as for ark 19....
i tried your photoshop IR action on my pics , the effect was different, especially for 3_1 and 6_1. the leaves have a different hue to it, more on the yellow-orangey type....
and btw... yes i was using the cokin IR filter, which i borrowed from THL for the shoot...
tanks again THL !!!
according to him, the filter i used was actually cutted into a circle shape and then fitted
into a 72mm ring.....

:and btw does any1 of you all know , what would the difference be like if i use a R72 on my FZ20??

Gabriel

The IR action is more suitable for D70+R72.
For Cokin P007, less adjustment for the Hue is required.
You can check out my guide here http://ark19.clubsnap.org/gallery/snow/snow_00
Experiment with the Hue adjustments :)
 

hercules said:
:and btw does any1 of you all know , what would the difference be like if i use a R72 on my FZ20??
The R72 is a more predictable IR filter and works well on almost all cameras that are IR-capable. The Cokin P007 does not work for all IR-capable cameras, eg. the Canon 20D does not seem to see it as an IR filter, more like a deep red filter with little IR effects. It also does not work well with the E-300 giving unpredictable results.

For starters, the R72 is a better bet between the 2 in my opinion. It is also more readily available.
 

:thanks Thanks 2 all


:thumbsup:
 

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