Minnesota tests bridge-inspecting drones

ST. PAUL — Flying a small drone around a bridge may be safer and less costly than traditional ways of inspection, with Minnesota officials planning more tests to gauge their usefulness.

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After a summer drone test, next up will be a fall test that will include inspecting the state's longest bridge, the 7,975-foot John A. Blatnik Bridge in Duluth. If that and other fall tests are successful, Minnesota could become the first state to use the unmanned aircraft to help inspect bridges.

"We are just looking at more innovative technologies to help us," said Jennifer Zink, Minnesota Department of Transportation bridge inspection engineer.

Although no drone bridge inspectors are in use in the country, Zink said the technology could provide benefits: "Using drones could help MnDOT decrease the rising costs of bridge inspection while minimizing risks associated with current bridge inspection methods."

Four bridges, of a variety of styles, were used in a summer test, in Chisago County, Orono, Little Falls and Stillwater.

It showed MnDOT officials that a drone could be considered when a hands-on inspection is not required and could be used when an area difficult to reach needs to be photographed. Drones can provide still, video and infrared photography.

Zink said advantages of drones include less need to block a lane of traffic while a truck with a long, articulated arm suspends a basket containing human inspectors under a bridge.

The fall test, to be conducted with a drone better equipped for inspection duty than the one used in July, will answer many of the remaining questions, Zink said, including how much money drones could save.

Drones are not being studied as a replacement for human inspectors, Zink said. Safety and costs are the main reasons, she said.

In some cases, she added, human inspectors might operate drones to extend their reach from their perch in a basket under a bridge. However, any time a drone shows a potential problem or its view is blocked, a human inspector would check out the area, she said.

Drones could be used to inspect culverts and other enclosed areas difficult for people, Zink said. The drone being used this fall could sense anything, such as a bird, approaching it and immediately return to its home base. The drone also will have bumpers on its rotors to reduce any damage or injury.

Drones like those MnDOT would use probably would be 18 to 20 inches in diameter.

The Blatnik bridge will be inspected this fall the traditional way, Zink said, but a drone also will be used for comparison purposes. Being the longest Minnesota bridge, and high above the water, the Blatnik inspection could prove a significant test of the technology.

Much of the Blatnik inspection is expected to be routine, she said, where the drone likely would do fine. But since "you can see real time when it is up there," a person could be sent to look at any issues the drone camera relays. Some parts of the bridge, and other bridges, must be closely inspected in person regardless of whether a drone is used.

There are about 20,000 bridges in Minnesota and more than half are inspected each year. Local governments, which own more of those bridges than does the state, might be able to use a state-owned drone if MnDOT buys into the program.

While no states use drones to inspect bridges, the topic has long been discussed. The American Society of Civil Engineers Website reports Tufts University professors are working on a system in which drones fly around a bridge to read sensors designed to provide early warnings to problems.

"There is a huge need for better bridge-inspection techniques," the site quotes Tufts' professor Babak Moaveni as saying.

California transportation officials looked into using drones in 2008, but dropped the idea. Their report said: "Due to a number of implementation issues, the device did not perform as expected within the initial or extended schedule of events and was not deployed."

Among problems Zink sees for drones are startup costs and difficulty meeting Federal Aviation Administration rules, which federal officials say are due to be relaxed.

Tags: unmanned aerial systems, technology, uas, minnesota

Source: Minnesota tests bridge-inspecting drones

This is What Infrared Photography Does to Freckles

Toronto-based cinematographer Jon Simo created this trippy portrait showing how an infrared camera sees things compared to an ordinary camera.Simo shot the photos using a modified Panasonic GH2 that had its sensor's infrared filter removed. For the portrait half on the left, Simo placed a blue infrared blocker (which filters out infrared light) in front of his lens to show what a normal DSLR would capture. The half on the right was shot with a 720nm infrared filter (which filters out visible light) to create an infrared photo.

"Infrared photography doesn't show freckles," Simo tells PetaPixel. "You end up with this beautiful porcelain-doll like effect and it's a very unique look."

This looks like it's the opposite of what happens when you photograph subjects under ultraviolet light. Last year, artist Tom Leveritt showed how freckles and other skin features that aren't seen in normal light can be captured with an ultraviolet camera setup.

Image credits: Photograph by Jon Simo and used with permission

Source: This is What Infrared Photography Does to Freckles

NASA Images State That Pluto Had Colors

Tech

(Photo : Youtube) The dragon scale appearance of Tartarus Dorsa on Pluto that is captured by NASA's New Horizons mission.

On Sept. 24, Thursday, the United States National Space Agency released the highest-resolution images of Pluto to date.

The agency's spacecraft called New Horizons continues to transfer intensive yearlong data, according to The Market Business. The gallery includes data from the spacecraft's infrared spectrometer that mapped the distribution of methane ice on the dwarf planet Pluto.

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The data downloaded previously provided stunning imagery as well as scientific insights regarding on the nature of Pluto. Vast icy plains, mountain ranges and proof of hydrological cycle at work in the dwarf planet's atmosphere were seen and observed.

The new photographs, however, add another chapter of exploring this mysterious celestial body. One photo in particular has taken the New Horizons team aback because the featured landscape of aligned ridges, which give the surface a snakeskin-like or dragon scales appearance, can be clearly seen.

The spacecraft's Ralph/Multispectral Visual Imaging Camera captured the said photo that contains the Tartarus Dorsa mountain view, which was highlighted beautifully in the shot by the terminator line.

Aside from this, the new release has an extended color view of the dwarf planet that enhanced Pluto's natural hues with the infrared channel of the camera to emphasize the myriad colors that saturate the surface of the unusual dwarf planet.

The colorful pictures, as stated by Nature World Report, showed the exciting and high-resolution views that beamed back from the Kuiper belt -- making planetary scientists to merely have a vague idea as to what could be going on in the said dwarf planet. The photos showed rainbow of yellows, pale blues, deep reds and oranges, and many landforms have their very own distinct colors that tell a wonderful but complex climatological and geological story that has just begun to be decoded.

The mission to Pluto started in 2006, and these latest data sent by NASA's spacecraft did surely show a strange new world that tells people about other bodies in the solar system and its fringes.

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Source: NASA Images State That Pluto Had Colors

026/366: Pancakes in Infrared

The image here of a pancake cooking isn't particularly interesting in its own right, other than as documentation of our weekend ritual at Chateau Steelypips. Saturday and sunday mornings, Kate sleeps in while the kids watch cartoons and I cook pancakes for them. SteelyKid absolutely drowns hers in maple syrup, then refuses to eat them, while The Pip regularly wolfs down two plain pancakes, eating with his hands:

A pancake cooking at Chateau Steelypips.

As I said, this image isn't especially interesting, but it's here mostly as a teaser for a different thing, namely this thermal-imaging video of pancakes cooking:

You can see the initial pour, the slow warming up, and then the flip. Because what's the point of cooking breakfast and owning a Seek Thermal imaging camera for an Android phone if not to combine the two for nerdy breakfast fun?

If you don't have the patience to wait through that whole video, here's a much shorter clip of me testing the pan by sprinkling water into it:

This is one of the classic demonstrations of the Leidenfrost effect, where cold liquids on hot surfaces survive for a while as droplets supported on a cushion of instantly-vaporized liquid. You can see that in the thermal video, where the drops stick around for a bit; they actually don't skitter around quite as much as normal, possibly because the pan is a little too hot thanks to me mucking around with the camera.

So, anyway, there's your photo of the day, which is mostly an advertisement for your thermal-imaging video of the day. And now, I get to go coach SteelyKid's soccer team, whee!

Source: 026/366: Pancakes in Infrared

Energy conservation Step 1: Undergo an energy audit

By Tom Eastman

CONWAY — Stacy Sand, owner and founder of Go Green Energy Audits of Intervale, is certified and insured. She chose to become an energy auditor as a way to work with her passion for conservation of the Earth's resources.

An active member of the Mount Washington Valley community and a former Conway selectman, Sand says she wanted to do work that would start by benefiting the people who live here while still benefiting the Earth. She also has learned what she did wrong in her own homes, previous to learning energy-auditing skills, and is happy to let others benefit from her mistakes.

Go Green Energy Audits is an independent contractor but will make recommendations of weatherization and retrofitting contractors that can do the work that the Go Green energy audit report recommends.

Sand also works for Tri-County Community Action Program of Tamworth, which provides weatherization services and fuel assistance to applicants.

For those interested in improving their energy efficiency as the winter approaches, she said, "A home energy audit is the first step. Making the upgrades identified in a home energy audit can save 5-30 percent on your energy bill while also ensuring your health and safety.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, she said, "Heating accounts for the biggest portion of your utility bills, so by reducing your need for heat by making the improvements recommended in an audit, you make a permanent dent in one of your biggest bills."

According to Sand, an energy audit should include:

• A complete analysis of past energy bills to determine your home's base energy consumption.

• An exterior inspection of your home, that will look for paint peeling, venting, moisture, and other factors that might affect your home's energy performance.

• A health and safety inspection — for instance, air quality, mold, electrical overloads, and  combustion appliance safety analysis.

• A comprehensive interior inspection including infrared detection of insufficient insulation, including visits to the attic and crawl space or basement; a blower door test for drafts; metering of your refrigerator; inspection of fireplaces and air vents; checking for lead based paint; and an evaluation of doors and windows.

Infrared cameras show temperature difference, so when there is a difference between the indoor and outdoor temperature, an infrared photo will show gaps in insulation, wet areas in the walls and ceiling, and air leakage during a blower door test, all of which affect heat loss and the comfort.

The average home has enough air leakage to add up to a two-foot-square hole. That's like leaving a window wide open 24 hours a day!  Finding the leaks so that you can fix them is the purpose of a blower door test. The initial test can also give a baseline, so that you can also know how much room there is for improvement.  It also tells if there is enough fresh air or whether mechanical ventilation may be warranted.

• A comprehensive computer generated report indicating expected savings for each improvement suggested and a prioritized plan of action.

Sand said residential audits average from $300-$500. "Sometimes these audits are subsidized by local electric companies if you are a high consumer of energy. Some contractors will also reduce the cost if you hire them to make the recommended improvements to your house."

Before the energy auditor visits your house, make a list of any existing problems that you know of and have copies of your utility bills, electric, heating fuel and cooking fuel, available.  

If you are planning on being the contractor or doing the work yourself, it will be very helpful for you to spend time with the energy auditor while they conduct their tests, as you will have a better understanding of what the report tells you later on.

You can Google an energy auditor, but you might also look for professional affiliations like Building Performance Institute certification or RESNET certification (for new homes). In New Hampshire, most energy auditors belong to the Residential Energy Professional Association, where their full members, who are vetted for their experience, are listed on their website at REPA-NH.org.

Programs available]]

• Weatherization Assistance Program: A low-income program available in all 50 states and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

• N.H. Electric Cooperative and Eversource Energy: The electric companies have a number of rebates, incentives, and loans to help their customers improve the efficiency of their homes  Information can be found at nhsaves.com, nhec.com or eversource.com. NHSaves  also has great ideas for do it yourself projects and actions that you can start on even before your energy auditor arrives.

Source: Energy conservation Step 1: Undergo an energy audit

Photographer Andrew Child captures Cuba's hidden colors

Crumbling concrete vibrates with color against a Caribbean sky, a defunct sugar mill still buzzing with the energy of the revolution.

In the next shot, tobacco seedlings glow green and rows of brown earth stretch to a pulsing, tropical hillside.

This is Cuba in full-spectrum, infrared color. And despite warming relations between the U.S. and its neighbors to the south, travelers will only see these sights through the lens of photographer Andrew Child.

"I was amazed by the setting," Child, 49, said of his first trip to Cuba. "It's the country, it's the people, it's the politics, and the economics. They've got one foot in Cold War-era socialism and they're experimenting with free markets. They're really in transition."

That cultural experiment has served as the backdrop for Child's photography during three recent art- and faith-based trips to the island.

Child's artistic experiment – full-color infrared photography – is a relatively unknown technique he discovered almost 15 years ago. He read that digital cameras were susceptible to infrared light, and some photographers were exploiting the flaw to produce black-and-white infrared shots.

"But I'm not really a black-and-white guy," Child said, sitting in his studio in Maynard. He lives in Acton. "So what I did was take two pictures: one where you filter everything but the infrared and a second where you take just a visible light shot. You add that color overlay and you get this sort of dreamlike quality."

He now shoots full-color infrared panoramas, a painstaking process that involves stitching together dozens of infrared and color images to create one continuous, full-spectrum shot. His subjects include Cuba's cities and towns, the Israeli coast, the Spanish countryside, and colonial New England.

Child's works have been exhibited at galleries, art schools and institutions throughout Greater Boston, and he is now working on a book of his Cuban photos.

To meet Child is to meet the guy next store. He refuses to wax about his work's deeper meaning, although he admits he is drawn to places that are "falling apart": An abandoned General Motors plant in upstate New York; an 18th-century schoolhouse in Stow; the graffiti-covered wall of Israel's Dolphinarium discotheque, the site of a 2001 suicide bombing that killed 21 teenagers.

"You look at that photograph and it's a nice shot of graffiti, but for me what was nice about that place was the response of the youth in Tel Aviv – it was a creative [response]," said Child.

Page 2 of 2 - The photographer is also involved with the National Autism Center, having produced a series of portraits titled, "Faces and Voices of Autism." That series is part of a permanent traveling exhibit for families on U.S. military bases.

It is an atypical career path that a younger Child might have missed, had it not been for a trip to another corner of the world: Kenya.

After abandoning dreams of law school and a career on Capitol Hill, Child graduated from American University with a degree in political science and then took off for Africa.

It was 1987, and he was teaching in a small high school in the village of Kitale, on the slopes of Mount Elgon. In a short time, he proposed to his eventual wife, Susan, and found his calling behind the camera.

"I was getting away from all the expectations – not so much that people had for me, but that I had set for myself," he said. "I realized there that I had a passion for photography."

In the 30 years since, Child has used his camera to fill a broad portfolio, including gallery exhibits and clients as diverse as Martin Guitar, Boston College, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and Tom's of Maine.

Still, it is Cuba that seems to reinvigorate the photographer's experimental roots.

"Havana has a unique blend of Cuban hospitality, beautiful architecture, Caribbean sensuality and economic potential that just keeps pulling me back," he said. "As an American, I grew up thinking of Cuba as a forbidden land. Spending time with friends I've made during my visits has dispelled some of those mysteries and deepened others."

To see more of Child's work, go to www.andrewchild.com or visit his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/andrewchild.

Source: Photographer Andrew Child captures Cuba's hidden colors

Fujifilm’s New X-T1 IR Camera Is Designed Specifically for Infrared Photography

Lifestyle • Sep 23, 2015 0 Shares 0 Comments
Source: Fujifilm's New X-T1 IR Camera Is Designed Specifically for Infrared Photography

Seeing the unseeable: Fujifilm releases infrared version of its flagship X-T1 camera

by Gannon Burgett

posted Monday, August 3, 2015 at 11:54 AM EDT

Fujifilm has thrown the photography world a curveball. Today, the Japanese photography company introduced an infrared version of its flagship X-T1 mirrorless camera, the X-T1 IR.

Similar in every other regard to its sibling, the X-T1 IR's sensor captures different light from the electromagnetic spectrum, including ultraviolet, infrared, and visible. Specifically, Fujifilm states it captures between 380nm to 1,000nm, much more than the human eye (approximately 390 and 700nm) or other sensors are capable of capturing.

Infrared photography can be used in a multitude of situations, but Fujifilm specifically notes the use of the X-T1 IR for medical and forensic purposes. Of course, photographers in general will also find the unique capabilities of the X-T1 IR fun to work with, especially astrophotographers.

With the exception of the sensor's new capabilities, all other features remain the same, including its 16-megapixel X-Trans II CMOS sensor, weather-sealed magnesium alloy body, 2.36-million dot EVF, 1.04 million dot high-precision 3" tilting LCD monitor and other features.

The Fujifilm X-T1 IR is set to ship October 2015 for US$1699.95. To dig into the specs and details, head on over to our X-T1 IR's landing page.

Source: Seeing the unseeable: Fujifilm releases infrared version of its flagship X-T1 camera

Photographer Andrew Child captures Cuba's hidden colors

Crumbling concrete vibrates with color against a Caribbean sky, a defunct sugar mill still buzzing with the energy of the revolution.

In the next shot, tobacco seedlings glow green and rows of brown earth stretch to a pulsing, tropical hillside.

This is Cuba in full-spectrum, infrared color. And despite warming relations between the U.S. and its neighbors to the south, travelers will only see these sights through the lens of photographer Andrew Child.

"I was amazed by the setting," Child, 49, said of his first trip to Cuba. "It's the country, it's the people, it's the politics, and the economics. They've got one foot in Cold War-era socialism and they're experimenting with free markets. They're really in transition."

That cultural experiment has served as the backdrop for Child's photography during three recent art- and faith-based trips to the island.

Child's artistic experiment – full-color infrared photography – is a relatively unknown technique he discovered almost 15 years ago. He read that digital cameras were susceptible to infrared light, and some photographers were exploiting the flaw to produce black-and-white infrared shots.

"But I'm not really a black-and-white guy," Child said, sitting in his studio in Maynard. He lives in Acton. "So what I did was take two pictures: one where you filter everything but the infrared and a second where you take just a visible light shot. You add that color overlay and you get this sort of dreamlike quality."

He now shoots full-color infrared panoramas, a painstaking process that involves stitching together dozens of infrared and color images to create one continuous, full-spectrum shot. His subjects include Cuba's cities and towns, the Israeli coast, the Spanish countryside, and colonial New England.

Child's works have been exhibited at galleries, art schools and institutions throughout Greater Boston, and he is now working on a book of his Cuban photos.

To meet Child is to meet the guy next store. He refuses to wax about his work's deeper meaning, although he admits he is drawn to places that are "falling apart": An abandoned General Motors plant in upstate New York; an 18th-century schoolhouse in Stow; the graffiti-covered wall of Israel's Dolphinarium discotheque, the site of a 2001 suicide bombing that killed 21 teenagers.

"You look at that photograph and it's a nice shot of graffiti, but for me what was nice about that place was the response of the youth in Tel Aviv – it was a creative [response]," said Child.

Page 2 of 2 - The photographer is also involved with the National Autism Center, having produced a series of portraits titled, "Faces and Voices of Autism." That series is part of a permanent traveling exhibit for families on U.S. military bases.

It is an atypical career path that a younger Child might have missed, had it not been for a trip to another corner of the world: Kenya.

After abandoning dreams of law school and a career on Capitol Hill, Child graduated from American University with a degree in political science and then took off for Africa.

It was 1987, and he was teaching in a small high school in the village of Kitale, on the slopes of Mount Elgon. In a short time, he proposed to his eventual wife, Susan, and found his calling behind the camera.

"I was getting away from all the expectations – not so much that people had for me, but that I had set for myself," he said. "I realized there that I had a passion for photography."

In the 30 years since, Child has used his camera to fill a broad portfolio, including gallery exhibits and clients as diverse as Martin Guitar, Boston College, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, and Tom's of Maine.

Still, it is Cuba that seems to reinvigorate the photographer's experimental roots.

"Havana has a unique blend of Cuban hospitality, beautiful architecture, Caribbean sensuality and economic potential that just keeps pulling me back," he said. "As an American, I grew up thinking of Cuba as a forbidden land. Spending time with friends I've made during my visits has dispelled some of those mysteries and deepened others."

To see more of Child's work, go to www.andrewchild.com or visit his Facebook page at www.facebook.com/andrewchild.

Source: Photographer Andrew Child captures Cuba's hidden colors

Fujifilm’s New X-T1 IR Camera Is Designed Specifically for Infrared Photography

Clothing • Sep 19, 2015 0 Shares 0 Comments
Source: Fujifilm's New X-T1 IR Camera Is Designed Specifically for Infrared Photography

How Converting My DSLR to Infrared Made Me Fall In Love with Trees

My name is Luka Gorjup, and I'm a 29-year-old photographer who was born and raised in Ljubljana, Slovenia — you know, that tiny beautiful country in Central Europe that many mistake for Slovakia?

It is beautiful, indeed. We have the seaside,the Alps, the karst, lakes, vineyards and many many excellent athletes. And we have beautiful forests — lots of them. In fact forests cover approximately 66% of our land. In terms of relative forest cover, Slovenia ranks 3rd in the European Union, just after Finland and Sweden. This is probably the reason I have deep respect for trees and nature.I really like trees. I cannot name all sorts and species, tell them apart by their leaves, branches, etc… but I have always been fascinated by their greatness and uniqueness. Although I always liked photography, I didn't get the opportunity to dive into it until I was 22. I was saving up for my first DSLR for a really long time and my mother also helped me out a bit so I could finally buy a Pentax K200D in 2008.

I remember thinking to myself that I just have to buy a camera with two kit lenses and this is all I would ever need. I was really happy, carrying my camera around everywhere I went and constantly shooting things I saw. I was really happy with my gear. Eventually I switched to a Nikon DSLR because it was more suitable for my work, but I kept the Pentax K200D and had it converted for infrared photography.

It was in my second year of studies at the University of Ljubljana that I came across infrared photography. I did a research paper on it, found it to be appealing, and decided to try it out for myself. After spending quite some time researching and gathering data, I decided to buy an 830nm IR filter to replace my camera's low pass filter.

Remember, I live in Slovenia, so sending a camera to a specialized shop to have a conversion done was out of the question. And since I don't even know at which end to hold the soldering iron, I reached out to my great friend Tadej for help. He owns a custom car and oldtimer restoration shop in Ljubljana and I have shot many amazing project cars for him. His favorite tools are an angular grinder and a welding torch, but he is also one of the most precise people I know and I knew he would treat my camera with great care.

So, I bought an 830nm filter. I prefer black and white infrared photography and I wanted my camera to shoot monochrome only, so I didn't opt for other wavelengths filters. Since IR filters are opaque, one cannot see through them. I wanted the convenience of handheld shooting and being able to see through the viewfinder, so I've had my filter cut into dimensions of my camera's sensor.

Tadej and I finally got together one afternoon to make the conversion. A few hours of disassembling, soldering, cleaning dust and superglueing later, the camera was converted. It was already late in the evening so I could only try if it works by shooting a glowing lightbulb. The pictures showed something, so apparently we managed to make it work!

The next day my dive into infrared photography began. I started discovering infrared and I have tried to shoot almost anything, from portraits of tattooed people, animals, fine art nude, architecture, to of course, nature. Nature is one of the most obvious choices in infrared photography as the foliage reflects a great portion of IR and the effect is more pronounced. I was curious what I am missing out by not being able to see past about 700 nm, so I observed the world around me with my eyes and compared the things I saw with the infrared photos I took.

From all the photos I have taken in cities and nature, the common denominator is always trees. I got fascinated by the shapes and patterns their branches make, by their greatness and also by the sense of loneliness they project to the observer. I fell in love in the infrared rendering of glowing foliage, radiant tree crowns and surreal scenes that remained hidden to my naked eye. I especially like how trees enrich the urban environment, therefore many of my photographs depict urban forests.

We always hear that the best light is at sunrise or sunset but for infrared photography the best light is supposed to be when the sun is really strong. Well, there sure is lots of light then, but shooting infrared in harsh sun is much like shooting landscape in dull light. Everything is evenly lit and nothing stands out.

I try to challenge myself with infrared photography and use light as it is, in every time of the day, in every weather and in every place. And that's how I fell in love with infrared photography and trees.

About the author: Luka Gorjup is a Slovenian portrait, wedding and automotive photographer, now living in Germany, who likes discovering his surroundings with infrared photography. He has a bachelor degree in Graphic and Interactive Communication Studies and is currently working on his Masters thesis in the same field of studies. You can find more of his work on his website.

Image credits: All photographs and text in this article are created and owned by Luka Gorjup and are copyrighted

Source: How Converting My DSLR to Infrared Made Me Fall In Love with Trees

Canyon Ferry #TBT

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Source: Canyon Ferry #TBT

How Converting My DSLR to Infrared Made Me Fall In Love with Trees

My name is Luka Gorjup, and I'm a 29-year-old photographer who was born and raised in Ljubljana, Slovenia — you know, that tiny beautiful country in Central Europe that many mistake for Slovakia?

It is beautiful, indeed. We have the seaside,the Alps, the karst, lakes, vineyards and many many excellent athletes. And we have beautiful forests — lots of them. In fact forests cover approximately 66% of our land. In terms of relative forest cover, Slovenia ranks 3rd in the European Union, just after Finland and Sweden. This is probably the reason I have deep respect for trees and nature.I really like trees. I cannot name all sorts and species, tell them apart by their leaves, branches, etc… but I have always been fascinated by their greatness and uniqueness. Although I always liked photography, I didn't get the opportunity to dive into it until I was 22. I was saving up for my first DSLR for a really long time and my mother also helped me out a bit so I could finally buy a Pentax K200D in 2008.

I remember thinking to myself that I just have to buy a camera with two kit lenses and this is all I would ever need. I was really happy, carrying my camera around everywhere I went and constantly shooting things I saw. I was really happy with my gear. Eventually I switched to a Nikon DSLR because it was more suitable for my work, but I kept the Pentax K200D and had it converted for infrared photography.

It was in my second year of studies at the University of Ljubljana that I came across infrared photography. I did a research paper on it, found it to be appealing, and decided to try it out for myself. After spending quite some time researching and gathering data, I decided to buy an 830nm IR filter to replace my camera's low pass filter.

Remember, I live in Slovenia, so sending a camera to a specialized shop to have a conversion done was out of the question. And since I don't even know at which end to hold the soldering iron, I reached out to my great friend Tadej for help. He owns a custom car and oldtimer restoration shop in Ljubljana and I have shot many amazing project cars for him. His favorite tools are an angular grinder and a welding torch, but he is also one of the most precise people I know and I knew he would treat my camera with great care.

So, I bought an 830nm filter. I prefer black and white infrared photography and I wanted my camera to shoot monochrome only, so I didn't opt for other wavelengths filters. Since IR filters are opaque, one cannot see through them. I wanted the convenience of handheld shooting and being able to see through the viewfinder, so I've had my filter cut into dimensions of my camera's sensor.

Tadej and I finally got together one afternoon to make the conversion. A few hours of disassembling, soldering, cleaning dust and superglueing later, the camera was converted. It was already late in the evening so I could only try if it works by shooting a glowing lightbulb. The pictures showed something, so apparently we managed to make it work!

The next day my dive into infrared photography began. I started discovering infrared and I have tried to shoot almost anything, from portraits of tattooed people, animals, fine art nude, architecture, to of course, nature. Nature is one of the most obvious choices in infrared photography as the foliage reflects a great portion of IR and the effect is more pronounced. I was curious what I am missing out by not being able to see past about 700 nm, so I observed the world around me with my eyes and compared the things I saw with the infrared photos I took.

From all the photos I have taken in cities and nature, the common denominator is always trees. I got fascinated by the shapes and patterns their branches make, by their greatness and also by the sense of loneliness they project to the observer. I fell in love in the infrared rendering of glowing foliage, radiant tree crowns and surreal scenes that remained hidden to my naked eye. I especially like how trees enrich the urban environment, therefore many of my photographs depict urban forests.

We always hear that the best light is at sunrise or sunset but for infrared photography the best light is supposed to be when the sun is really strong. Well, there sure is lots of light then, but shooting infrared in harsh sun is much like shooting landscape in dull light. Everything is evenly lit and nothing stands out.

I try to challenge myself with infrared photography and use light as it is, in every time of the day, in every weather and in every place. And that's how I fell in love with infrared photography and trees.

About the author: Luka Gorjup is a Slovenian portrait, wedding and automotive photographer, now living in Germany, who likes discovering his surroundings with infrared photography. He has a bachelor degree in Graphic and Interactive Communication Studies and is currently working on his Masters thesis in the same field of studies. You can find more of his work on his website.

Image credits: All photographs and text in this article are created and owned by Luka Gorjup and are copyrighted

Source: How Converting My DSLR to Infrared Made Me Fall In Love with Trees