What a corny title! Don’t laugh. It just crossed my mind out of nowhere, heh. This post is a compilation of infrared shots I’ve made over the past few weeks, so just sit back and enjoy! I have more over at my Flickr collection, Infrared, and specifically a set, Streets of Singapore, in a different light.
The equipment I’ve used for my infrared shots are simple: a sturdy tripod and a Hoya R72 filter (cuts off all wavelengths of light below 720nm). Regarding custom white balance, I will usually meter a patch of green foliage before I shoot. If you’ve done that before, you will just need to keep the custom WB and that saves you the trouble of re-establishing the custom WB again. Of course, patience is golden – given that each shot takes around 8~25 seconds of exposure and I have long exposure noise reduction on, total waiting time can be up to a minute.
Orchard Road Infrared #1
Orchard Road Infrared #2
These two photos were taken along Orchard Road, Singapore, the heart of the shopping district in the small island nation.
They look even better when viewed on black: first photo, second photo.
Post processing in photoshop includes playing around with the channel mixer to create a false-colour image, as well as some minor adjustments in hue, curves and contrast.
ERP Gantry - Infrared HDR
Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) Gantries are guardians of the roads that lead into the Central Business Area (CBD) of Singapore. In a bid to reduce traffic congestion in town, the government has constructed many gantries over the years to control and manipulate traffic flow.
Don’t ever think you can drive past with an empty card with no value – if you look closely, there are little cameras in the second overhead gantry behind the first one :) teehee. Snip snap and your car plate will be on the desktops of the traffic cops.
To achieve the infrared-HDR effect, the RAW file is first processed using Photomatix Pro 3, exported as 16-bitt TIFF file and then sent to CS3 for post-processing (which includes conversion to black and white).
Dunearn Road - Infrared HDR
Dunearn Road services an upscale residential area with many schools along it’s vicinity – making it notoriously known for traffic jams during peak hours. In addition, the road is also the heart of Singapore’s petrol pump economy, where petrol kiosks attempt to outcompete each other by madly slashing prices. Combined with the queue for cheap petrol, the road gets even more congested at certain hours.
Of course, the 30-second exposure did no justice to the traffic congestion :P oh, and like many other roads in Singapore, Dunearn Road is heavily obscured by trees – the government’s initiative to lower pollution and improve air quality over the many years since independence.
To achieve the infrared-HDR effect, the RAW file is first processed using Photomatix Pro 3, exported as 16-bitt TIFF file and then sent to CS3 for post-processing (which includes conversion to black and white).
Bukit Timah Road
Bukit Timah Road is part of one of the longest road in Singapore – it links Woodlands Road, running from the Woodlands customs checkpoint, to Upper Bukit Timah Road, zooming past the luxurious homes and condominiums – all the way to Rochor Road which ends at where Suntec City is, smack middle of the Central Business District.
Bukit Timah, known as the Tin Hill in Malay (direct translation), is an upscale residential area with many schools within it’s vicinity – making it notoriously known for traffic jams during peak hours. In addition, the road is also the heart of Singapore’s petrol pump economy, where petrol kiosks attempt to outcompete each other by madly slashing prices. Combined with the queue for cheap petrol, the road gets even more congested at certain hours.
Of course, the 30-second exposure did no justice to the traffic congestion :P oh, and like many other roads in Singapore, Bukit Timah Road is heavily obscured by trees – the government’s initiative to lower pollution and improve air quality over the many years since independence.
Anything else I can do for you?
If you would like to know more tips or help for infrared photography, feel free to leave a comment – or if you would like to make it personal, contact me instead.
If you’re into infrared photography, feel free to plug your own works here. I will be more than happy to link ;)
damn those photos look cool!
OMG! They are awesome photos! Yea! Me luv it. :D
Check out abdusfauzi’s latest blog post » Outward Bound School, Lumut – Day 4, Day 5, Day 6
Its so weird seeing photos of orchard road! I used to live there!! Astrid Meadows or it might have been Tanglin Park! I was young lol!
Oooh! Great pictures!
And oooh! Orchard Road. Every time I see your site I am reminded of my trip there haha :P
Check out Aki’s latest blog post » WordPress Design Award
I love your photos!
it looks like your 1st photo has spirits walking on the street..xD
my favourite is the last one – Bkt Timah Road
@lix: Thanks! Heh!
@abdusfauzi: Thank you too!
@Han: Oh yea, how can I forgot! You lived in Singapore for a couple of years in your childhood years, am I right? Orchard Road has changed a lot since then, you should drop by one day and see how things have changed.
@Aki: You’re referring to the trip to Singapore in 2004? Woah, looks like you can still remember quite a lot stuff, teehee!
@WanCing: The reason why the people are blurred in the first photo is because I was using a long shutter speed. People will inevitably move around when the shutter stayed open during that period of tim,e that’s why they turned out blurry. The last photo is one of my personal favourite too! I just need to adjust the contrast a little more to give it more punch ;)
Wow, that’s beautiful!!! Are the tree colors originally pink first or what’s its original color?? I love it when you use infrared, I will try that on my next photo hunt!
Check out Destiny’s latest blog post » The Blizzard Storm
Oh, those photos are just beautiful. I especially admire the Orchard Road ones. The trees are gorgeous! I like how you used a longer shutter speed, that effect is nice! I have been trying to practice that technique my self! :)
Check out Latrina’s latest blog post » Reclaiming our childhood.
Whoa! Awesome shots!! I love the ERP one. There’s an ominous cloud on top of gantry, precisely portending to how evil that gantry is. Puhahaha.
Also loving the Orchard Road #1. The colors are too cool!
Check out Ivy’s latest blog post » How I Organize My Friends
agree with the comments…when i do get a DSLR later this year…i might need to dig up your tutorials here for my own experimenting hehehe ;)
Just want to comment on the photos, it’s kinda amazing that infrared can turn the ordinary places into a whole new different world. But looking at the white trees, It feels like winter… :D
@Destiny: Nope. The trees are originally green (as seen by the human eye) but the appear whitish in IR photos because leaves reflect strongly in the range of IR wavelength. If you’re intending to venture into IR photography, be sure to check that your camera is IR sensitive before grabbing an IR filter ;)
@Latrina: Thank you! Actually using a longer shutter speed is kind of inevitable if I want to keep the noise level low. A personal preferrence of mine is that I will try to shoot at ISO100 unless that’s impossible (like shooting in the evening or on cloudy days). A low ISO100 means low sensitivity of the sensor, so you need a longer exposure to make sure that the image is bright enough. Oh, you’re into IR photography too?
@Ivy: Oh, the undisputed evilness of the ERP gantries! The clouds are not very visible in the original photo but by converting the original photo to a HDR image, the clouds just popped out!
@med: Wow, that’s some good news! What brand are you looking into?
@Oridusartic: Thanks for dropping by! Yeap, infrared photos make a common scene look so different (and surreal) – that’s one of the reason why I ventured into this niche field of photography.
not sure yet…either canon or nikon for now ;)
I’m looking into getting a DSLR myself. It’s just a matter of saving up. Your photos are beautiful, Teddy. You’re such an inspiration. :)
awesome!!
Check out tra’s latest blog post » scholarship UPDATED!!!
@med: I see. If you’re getting one, do check online for new models because the shopkeepers will not be telling you about the new models unless they’re already released, since they’re pretty eager about clearing the older ones first. They’re evil.
@Brandy: You can always get a second-hand dSLR, Brandy! It’s going to be a lot cheaper and still very much reliable and functional as a new one – you can check eBay (be sure to check for the reputation of the seller) and since you’re in the US, shipping shouldn’t be a very big problem. Thanks for your compliments, Brandy!
@tra: Thanks!
I found out 1 thing that could actually give me enough inspiration to pick up IR photography – the ability to exclude all human and cars. Totally awesome, you make Sg looks like Brunei, hahahahha. jk. =p
Anyway, awesome IR HDR! Love it to bits. =p
Check out ingSiang’s latest blog post » Chinese New Year 2009 : First Day
Yeap, but that’s if you keep the hot filter in your dSLR intact (most people will, unless you’re ready to get another one for regular photography). The hot filter in the camera keep transmission of lights at IR wavelengths very low, necessitating an absurdly long shutter speed. Usually I shoot with a 5 or 8 second shutter speed, but that’s enough to exclude vehicles. To remove people, 20 seconds or more might be needed (and that will require either a ND filter on your IR filter or you can just wait for the sky to get a tad bit darker).
Thanks for your compliments, heheh!
that gives me an idea. I can probably pick up a stack of ND filters, :P something like erm, 8 stop ND x 5, hahaha, that’s 40 stops of light cut off, woot! xD
Check out ingSiang’s latest blog post » Chinese New Year 2009 : First Day
A stack of ND filers? WOAH, you’re insane, lol! You would get a great deal of vignetting and chromatic aberration because of the number of filters you’re using, haha. Plus, it will be so dark that you’ll probably have to stick to a super long shutter speed.
Very, very interesting idea!
Yeap, will surely do that ;) Glad to know you are online..so I guess you should be feeling better already :)
Yeap, I’m feeling a lot better now. Thanks for your concern! I will be taking a flight back to Singapore on early Thursday morning :)
[...] photography works – if you’re interested in the previous infrared photography post, click here. Hope your Monday was [...]