Infrared for Everyone

[Andy Finney <andy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I was interested to see the comment from Laurie Ann Smith suggesting 
that IR is best left until an intermediate level. It started a train 
of thought which helped me greatly to clarify my feelings about the 
medium, and especially why I like it so much.

I now understand that a key is the separation of the experience at 
the time of taking the image and the resulting photograph. In our 
modern world of point and shoot - which to a greater or lesser degree 
all those of us with auto or semi-auto cameras do - we are taking 
images which represent what we are actually seeing. Taking an image 
in infrared requires a degree of visualisation, because you can't 
really see what the final image will be like. You should imagine what 
the final shot will be like and use this to help you frame the shot.

The extension of this is that all photographers should shoot infrared 
as an aid to seeing any final image in their mind's eye and so 
improve their visualisation. The same thing would apply to shooting 
very long exposures, or time-lapse movies.

I once tried to interest a couple of card companies in my images. One 
said he really liked them but was worried that the general public 
would perceive them as being 'wrong' in some way. I have to believe 
that, even if some people think they're wrong, many will appreciate 
the 'difference' and even 'surrealism' of the effect.

Alternatively: the sentiment in the Benny Hill quote (from the 
1960s). When asked if photography isn't an expensive hobby, he 
replied 'Only if you use film'.

Andy Finney
 From the flood-plains of Southern England
www.invisiblelight.co.uk
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