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Part of the reason why I enjoy digital infrared photography so much is because there's an element of surprise when I'm out shooting.
The best example was my trip to Lincoln Woods in late winter...
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A late start on Winter
This winter was not kind to the boom. I had a bad cough for the first month and then major snowfall kept me indoors from December to February.
If you know me, then you know that that's a long time to go without shooting. I didn't want to risk getting sick again, so I cursed the cold and looked ahead to warmer days.
Early February here in RI hasn't been that cold (I think I just jinxed it), so I poked my head out, didn't see my shadow, and over the past few weeks, have been venturing out with my camera.
One sunny day before work, I was looking for a place to try some winter digital IR photography. I figured I'd try Lincoln Woods because there's a pond in the middle of it so I could capitalize on the bright sunlight and (relatively) wide vistas.
I've experimented with IR in the past, but nothing could prepare me for the interesting results that I was going to get.
As I got to the pond, a haze obscured the sun and the wind started to pick up off of the frozen pond. "Great," I though to myself, "The sun's going away and my face is frozen. Looks like another waste of time at Lincoln Woods."
I thought about packing up my crap and going to work early, but something told me that I could make it work. Against my better judgement, I setup my tripod and fired up my cammy. Luckily it was still bright enough for me to go IR.
I observed the ice fisherman for a while and thought, "What a bunch of assholes. I'm freezing." While looking at them, I realized that there were huge cracks in the ice along the beach. The cracks were not deep enough for me to see water, but cracks just the same and they made me slightly nervous.
I liked how they ran towards the shore and lined up nicely with some trees, so I stepped out onto the ice, composed my shot, and fired.
As I waited to see the results on the back of the G3, I could hear the cracking and moaning of the water against the ice I was currently standing on. Again, I thought about packing it in, when suddenly, the LCD showed me the photo. The ice was an adobe red color! I guess I've never shot ice in IR before
because I'd never seen this before! Energized by my new found information, I walked around Lincoln Woods for hours and found several footpaths that follow the edge of the pond very closely.
My Lessons Learned
Ice looks pretty damn cool in infrared
Focusing can be a real bitch with digital infrared
People aren't very friendly at Lincoln Woods
Ice fisherman must be drinking whiskey to want to spend hours trying to catch minnows
Try new stuff everyday!
Infrared in winter - it's definately a learning experience. Just be sure you're wearing your long underwear if you're going to try it.
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