Re: new pics (including some HIE night shots)

[Eckhard Stephan <eckhard.stephan@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Charles Olson wrote:
> 
> Since I'm pretty new at IR, this is probably going to sound
> stupid, - - but - - isn't IR photography supposed to show stuff
> that we can't normally see - - like black sky and white leaves
> and grass?  IR shots of electric lights pretty much produces the
> same stuff we normally see - - electric lights!  Doesn't it?

In a certain sense, yes. I must also admit that for a subject like this
a "normal" colour slide or print film would have been the obvious choice
(BTW: I also did some shots on colour Infrared film, but thanks to some
"expert" at my lab the pics were fogged by the developing machine...).
There were mainly two reasons why I did those HIE night shots: 1. Since
I am quite new to photography myself, using HIE at night was simply some
sort of a technical challenge for me. 2. I wanted to know, how HIE
reacts to the different light sources on the fair (neon lights, "normal"
bulbs, coloured bulbs...). At least on some of the pics you could watch
this quite well. Take e.g. the one with the "Revolution" ticket counter:
The neon lights, which probably only emit light in the visible spectrum,
are clear and look indeed very normal. The horizontal line of bulbs on
the upper part of the ticket counter and the spotlights behind it, which
seem to emit visible light as well as IR light, are heavily "overblown".
The film's lack of an anti-halation layer still increases this effect.
Again, one can hold different opinions on this look. Some people
(including me :-) ) love it, others don't. In any case, this is an
effect you will never get with normal b&w film. Besides that, if I had
used e.g. Ilford Delta 400, I would have know quite well what I'd get
before - which is'nt half as thrilling as shooting the scene with HIE
;-). 

> Sorry but I don't see the  unique aspects of night shots in Las
> Vegas or anywhere else.  Please help me to better appreciate what
> you've accomplished.
> 
> Chuck

...hopefully now you do. Sorry if I sound like a photo course teacher -
perhaps IR photography is a bit more technical than other branches...
:-)

Best wishes,

Eckhard



-- 
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*          Eckhard Stephan             * 
*          Freiburg (Germany)          *
*     eckhard.stephan@xxxxxxxxxxx      *	
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