another image from my infrared camera – its a surprise every time
Yellow Brick Road
another image from my infrared camera – its a surprise every time
Infrared Photography
Into the Great Wide Open
This is why I shoot infrared.
This image came straight out of the camera looking this way – not kidding. No Photoshopping done here. The only post-production work was tightening up the sliders a bit in ‘Levels’.
In fact, I compose in infrared. In other words, I see the image in infrared on the display while I’m shooting.
In case you’re not familiar...I’ve had one of my cameras converted. A company called Life Pixel did it for me a couple of years ago.
Life hasn’t been the same since.
I Heart Trees
(One of the infrared images I took a few weeks ago at a park in Austin, Texas.)
The branches in this particular image left a negative space in the shape of a heart…and I decided coloring it in would be a good way to express my love for trees.
Just for fun.
Infrared Inspiration
I was fortunate enough to get to spend a few minutes at a lovely park this weekend…and luckily I had my favorite camera on hand.
This is just the kind of scene I love to photograph with my infrared camera!
Life is in the Details
While browsing the internet I ran across the site, Action for Happiness, a movement for positive social change-bringing together people from all walks of life who want to play a part in creating a happier society for everyone.
One of the topics on the site is: “The 10 Keys to Happier Living”, and I’ve taken one of those topics and posted it here:
Notice the world around You
Ever felt there must be more to life? Well good news, there is! And it’s right here in front of us. We just need to stop and take notice. Learning to be more mindful and aware can do wonders for our well-being in all areas of life – like our walk to work, the way we eat or our relationships. It helps us get in tune with our feelings and stops us dwelling on the past or worrying about the future – so we get more out of the day-to-day.
Why take notice?
The key to taking notice is ‘mindfulness’. Mindfulness is often defined as “the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present”. Two critical elements of mindfulness are that:
- It is intentional (i.e. we are consciously doing it); and
- We are accepting, rather than judging, of what we notice.
In other words, mindfulness is “openly experiencing what is there.” It is about having as full as possible awareness of what is around us – what we can see, hear, touch and taste. And what is happening inside – our thoughts and feelings. Crucially it is about observing all this but not getting caught up in thinking and worrying about what we are observing. It then gives us more control of what we decide to give our attention to.
A growing number of scientific studies are showing the benefits of mindfulness in many aspects of our lives including our physical and mental well-being, our relationships and our performance at school and at work. And it appears to have benefits for everyone, from children through to the elderly. One researcher even suggests that once learned, mindfulness has a ‘transmitting’ quality. Its benefits increase over time and with practice and can spread to many areas of our daily lives.
Yet mindfulness is something that, in today’s busy, multi-tasking world, few of us do naturally – but it’s something everyone can learn and benefit from. It’s simple, yet can feel hard until you learn how. That’s why it takes practice.
To read the complete article and to find more information on the action for happiness movement…go to: actionforhappiness.org/10-keys-to-happier-living
*Image taken with my converted (infrared) camera.
There’s a Place…
There’s a place where the town ends,
and the fields begin.
It’s not marked but the feet know it,
also the heart that is longing for refreshment
and, equally, for repose.
Someday we’ll live in the sky.
Meanwhile, the house of our lives is this green world.
The fields, the ponds, the birds.
The thick black oaks – surely they are
the invention of something wonderful.
And the tiger lilies.
And the runaway honeysuckle that no one will ever trim again.
Where is it? I ask, and then
my feet know it.
One jump, and I’m home.
“Boundaries” by Mary Oliver.
Infrared photograph of a place at the edge of town – taken with my converted camera.
If you love it so much, why don’t you marry it??
Its funny how inspiration can sometimes come right out of the blue (pun intended).
I was daydreaming in the studio the other day (I do this a lot) and I got to thinking about how much I enjoy working in encaustics. There is something very relaxing about the process. And I really, REALLY love the aroma of melted beeswax.
I also love photography.
Very much.
Infrared, particularly so.
‘If you love it so much, why don’t you marry it?’ (remember that from elementary school?)
Hmmm….
May I introduce…the newest addition to my family…”Infrared Encaustics”.
A match made in heaven.
The Oak Tree
The Oak Tree. By Matsuo Basho
The oak tree:
not interested
in cherry blossoms.
not interested
in cherry blossoms.
These images were taken from the parking lot of a hotel in Austin, Texas recently.
I love how the (infrared) camera interpreted the scene.
A Day Among the Trees
I’ve passed this stand of cedar (?) trees along the interstate so many times, I can’t even remember…and each time I say ‘next trip I will stop!’.
It seems the time of day was never quite perfect, or I’d already passed the exit that I needed to take and it would just be too much trouble to go all the way back …or I wasn’t by myself (and few people understand my need – or the time it takes – to photograph).
This time the sun was cooperating, I was by myself and I took the time to turn around and go back to the exit I’d missed. Because I also remembered (and learned the hard way) that sometimes when you ‘go back’ the subject is no longer there!
I always refer to this stand of trees as a ‘pod’ for some reason – they almost look to have a social order.
Taken with my converted (infrared) camera.
Blue Cowgirl Dreams
shot while on location…
hmmm…wonder where that might be??
Infrared photograph of a store window reflection – street scene in a historic downtown – somewhere.
Hope you’re having a great Memorial Weekend too!