My journey into infrared photography

When I first discovered infrared photography, I was completely baffled.

I remember seeing those wild, almost otherworldly photographs with incredibly dark skies and foliage glowing bright white. Then I started seeing infrared images with beautiful pink and magenta foliage, and I was hooked. I just couldn’t figure out how people were creating them.

The moment it clicked

Once I discovered that photographers were actually modifying their cameras — converting the sensor to capture infrared light, sometimes using filters over the lens and sometimes having a filter permanently installed over the sensor — my mechanically inclined brain got even more excited.

But I was also incredibly hesitant. I started asking myself all the questions I’m sure many people have when they first discover infrared photography:

• Should I convert one of my nice cameras that I love so much?
• Will I ruin it forever?
• Should I just use the cheapest camera I own?
• And if I do that, will I actually be happy with the results?

There was so much to learn, and honestly, that uncertainty was part of what made the journey so exciting.

Starting cheap was the right call

I eventually decided to take the cheap route. I had a Nikon D70, so I had it converted to 720nm infrared.

Chasing color with 665nm

From there, I wanted to explore a little more color, so I decided to have my Nikon D750 converted to 665nm infrared. That opened up an entirely new creative world for me.

With the 665nm conversion, I could still create those dramatic black-and-white and blue-and-white infrared images, but I could also produce the pink and magenta foliage that originally caught my attention when I first discovered infrared photography.

To this day, I’m still not sure which conversion I like better. And I think that’s part of the beauty of infrared photography. They each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Having more color opens up an entirely different creative palette, but there’s something incredibly special about the deeper infrared glow you get from 720nm. Those images can have an almost heavenly quality to them.

The journey never really ends

And I’m still learning. I’m still hunting through old lenses, sometimes finding that a decades-old lens performs better for infrared than a much newer one. I’m still buying and selling modified camera bodies, experimenting with different wavelengths, trying different lenses, and discovering new ways to create images that I couldn’t capture with a conventional camera.

That’s really what I love about infrared photography: there is always something else to experiment with. I’m still on the journey, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop exploring it.

Come along for the ride

If you’re just discovering infrared photography yourself, I hope you’ll stick around. I’ve made plenty of mistakes, tried a lot of different equipment, and learned a tremendous amount along the way. And I absolutely love sharing what I’ve learned.

Thanks for taking the time to read my journal. I hope you’ll follow along as I continue exploring this strange, beautiful world of infrared photography.