New Member - Band Shots from Download Melbourne

[Dave Chambers]

These photos were taken with a Canon 5D (converted full spectrum) with a Samyang 14mm lens no on lens filters. I will be ordering some filters soon so play around with different spectrum's however I wanted to play with the camera first before using filters. I really like the effect especially when converting to black and white.

 

I have found that I can get about 2 stops extra in low light which helps a lot in darker venues. I am really looking forward to playing with pass filters now :-)

[Cadmium]

Dave, Great photos!

[Andrea B.]

I love them!!!

And BTW, shooting unfiltered is one of my favorite things to do. I've gotten some great artsy stuff that way (in my little humble op).

 

But, Dave, I need to remind you about something. :D :D :D :D :D

 

In Sunlight, we have an approximate UV/Vis/IR mix of 3/47/50%. The IR predominates -- and by a large enough amount that you can definitely see IR effects in unfiltered sunlight photographs, brighter foliage, unusual looking skin and eyes. I don't know at all whether IR predominates in this stage lighting, but it certainly appears to do so. Therefore, tah-dah!!, you must take note that you can possibly photograph [added word->] partially through clothing in IR or in an unfiltered Visible+IR mix. More so if the clothing is damp or wet.

 

^{ADDED LATER: I overstated it! The effect isn't "see through". It's more like that you get a translucent effect. In a subsequent post I made the analogy of seeing one layer at a 75% opacity over another layer. So I've tempered the observation here by adding the word "partially" above and "translucent" just below.}

 

You probably already know all this, but we like post these little reminders for any readers who might not know this. We don't want to see any photographer accidentally getting in trouble for see-through translucent clothing shots unless all subjects are informed & on-board with it. B)

 

Anyway make a few experiments to figure out how much you might reveal under such lighting. I'm sure the band guys won't mind helping out with this. Does IR or unfiltered IR see-through occur with certain kinds of fabrics? Under certain kinds of lighting? Sorry that I have no guidelines on this to offer. I can only say that I have made some unfiltered beach shots full of people in swim suits and beachwear with no problems. But I tested carefully first on a willing wet & dry swimsuited person. But also, I might have been just lucky. :P

 

Can't wait to see some bands in IR only.

[Andrea B.]

I forgot to add.....(sorry I'm always forgetting to add....)

 

You can get some IR-LED lighting panels or flashes for a boost in dark venues. Might want to try those someday. I have a very small IR-LED flash for close work. Nice thing is that the flash isn't seen. Although as with any Visible flash, don't aim for anyone's eyes. And actually you can just use ordinary camera flashes for unfiltered or IR work as they put out enough IR to help in darker scenes.

 

(UV flash of any type, different story, do NOT use on people.)

 

****

 

The 6th shot down is my fav in this series. The dread toss. But omg where's the guy's other leg? Love it.

 

(that's Korn!!!! I've actually heard of/heard them. haven't seen them though. my ears can't take concerts anymore.)

[Andy Perrin]

I've done tons of photos of people in IR, with no see-through effects with normal fabrics. I won't guarantee anything because undoubtably somewhere out there is a Worst Case Scenario where the lighting, skin tone, and clothing material are just right to produce such effects, but I don't think it's LIKELY to happen by chance. (If you search, certainly you can find pics online where people have deliberately made it happen.)

[Andrea B.]

Good to have additional commentary about this, Andy. Thanks.

 

The times where I have gotten a bit of IR translucency were so random that I'm not able to pinpoint what made it happen. And it's not like you get full transparency or anything. It's more like a seeing a one layer set to 75% opacity over another instead of 100%.

 

I probably should go back and add a footnote above to make sure I wasn't being too dramatic. :D

^{{Done.}}

 

Here is an example of IR "see-through" translucency in Autumn Leaves. Scroll down to 3rd photo. http://www.ultraviol...-autumn-leaves/

That Autumn leaf example makes me wonder whether natural fabrics like linens or cottons might be more prone to this?

[Andy Perrin]

I think it is also a question of how you process the image. If you want to bring out transparency, you can play games with the exposure curve, but you can do that in visible light also.

[Dave Chambers]

Thanks for the kind words on the shots and loving the tech information coming along as well.

 

Translucent clothing is more with cotton and really hot lighting however you do also have to play with haze/dehaze, convert to BW and high overpass. It can work with other fabrics however 100% cotton is best, my friend did this as a self portrait so it always stuck with me lol. Anything that cuts visible and the beginning of IR will give a greater effect especially with hot lighting as it is getting towards the xray spectrum. Cotton definitely can go see through though, as an example a person with a light white cotton top and dark nipples will show more easily than somebody with lighter coloured nipples (sorry not trying to be crude). This is where you need to be very careful in these scenarios though given the bands I photograph I shouldn't hit that issue as they all wear black lol

 

The one legged pose was me just looking through viewfinder for about a minute waiting for the right shot because I hate taking burst photo's doesn't feel like a challenge then :-) I noticed that when he goes into the down motion that he lifted onto one leg a bit so I hoped that it was coming, couldn't really see given it was a 14mm lens but knew he was coming down.

 

I took some photos at an open range zoo the other day and really liked the effect so will take it to South Africa when I am helping on a safari, I want to have the UV Pass filter for that as I am sure the markings on the animals will come out. I just don't want to take the same photo that a million other people have taken, I really don't care if I get nothing as it is part of learning. I figure if it comes out well then you are just guessing why however if you have the successes and not so successful shots then you can build a very solid foundation of knowledge. I have worked commercial and it bored me so this is a lot of fun and I can really do what ever and it doesn't matter.

 

The technical knowledge blows me away on this forum, there is so much information that is going to help so much. My biggest challenge is filters though as one of my lenses is a Samyang 14mm which does not have a lot of filter system options. I might just go IR with that lens as my other 2 lenses have 77mm filter threads.

[Dave Chambers]

Also to let you know I have some lights that I use (LIFX) that connect to the internet so I can control colour and colour temp as well as intensity however it also has IR capability so I am thinking of playing with that as well to see what it gives, though for live music venues LEDs seem to give off a heap of IR. I would say between 1-3 stops extra light depending on the venue.

[Andy Perrin]

That is interesting about the cotton. Like I said, I don’t think it would happen by chance very often, though, unless you got unlucky.

 

“Anything that cuts visible and the beginning of IR will give a greater effect especially with hot lighting as it is getting towards the xray spectrum.”

 

I don’t know what you meant by that — X-rays are at shorter wavelengths than UV, and nowhere near the IR. After near infrared (NIR) you get to shortwave IR (SWIR). Definitely things are more transparent in SWIR but our cameras aren’t sensitive to it at all.

[Andrea B.]

Dave, I'm happy to hear that you are aware of the revealing potential of IR.

And, Andrea agrees with Andy that we don't see it too often. But still...

 

BTW, readers, this is not about anything prudish, but rather that proper permissions must be obtained for any photographic work which might reveal anything ordinarily kept private. {{I'm sure most of our members know that, but for any amateur IR photographers out there - now you know too.}}

 

Yes, note that X-Rays are shorter wavelengths than UV and IR wavelengths are longer than Visible or UV.

 

Not surprised about the cotton and its potential IR translucency. Perhaps someone will set up a nice experiment about IR and fabrics and translucency. I'll add it to the Experiment list (which I never can find time to do myself).

 

Dave, for that Samyang 14, you might want to look into adding the filter on the rear. This would allow for a smaller diameter, less expensive filtration if it can be done. I don't have any specific pointers about how to gear up rear filtration. Step-rings, extension tubes, blue tak and glue (!) are all options which have been used to implement rear filtration.

 

Safari is a great place for some very cool UV and/or IR work. We will look forward to seeing some photos from that.

[Guest]

Cool shots Dave. If you have an in with the stage manager/crew you could also set up some radio-controlled IR strobes on the stage rigging ahead of time. That would give you great lighting, lighter gear to carry, and a lighting option only you have control over :D.

[Andy Perrin]

Perhaps they are X-rated rays?

[Dave Chambers]

 

Yes, note that X-Rays are shorter wavelengths than UV and IR wavelengths are longer than Visible or UV.

 

I realised that this morning that my theory was completely wrong :-) told you I didn't listen enough when studying.

 

Thanks everybody for the kind words - the material effect is great for when wanting to show faces but have a bit of mystery about it. I agree that it is important to understand impact of things that we do as photographers and accidentally exposing (pardon the pun) somebody is an invasion of privacy. It is not often people think of the side effects of taking "a great shot" the one that is popular at the moment is steel wool spinning; I even saw a recent photo where somebody did this over our summer in a really dry area with houses near by and even sheep graze in that paddock so I am sure they appreciated all the pieces of melted steel shards.

[Dave Chambers]

Cool shots Dave. If you have an in with the stage manager/crew you could also set up some radio-controlled IR strobes on the stage rigging ahead of time. That would give you great lighting, lighter gear to carry, and a lighting option only you have control over :D.

Easy enough to arrange it is just a matter of cost :-) I have some LIFX lights (they have IR function) that I can use as well to light selected areas, especially around drummers as it tends to be a fairly dark spot on a lot of local stages. Those lights are cool because I control them with my phone. I would love it if they release a black light like that as well.