[Keith Alan]

While out and about town some close friends called me on my cellphone and explained that they wanted me to take a picture of a tree to hang in their living room, poster-sized (3x4') next to one by Ansel Adams. (:/)
I had just noticed that the clouds were the type of windblown high cirrus that I like, and that they were drifting towards the perfect spot behind a tree I had recently discovered in a dry creekbed.
The sun was going to set in a few minutes and I had a bit of a hike ahead of me, so the timing had me worried. I wanted to shock them by nailing the request as soon as possible.
Luckily a little voice in my head that day told me to bring Matthew's Sony F828 with me instead of my own Alpha300, so after parking in a Mexican restaurant's lot I grabbed my monopod out of the trunk and hit the trails.
Navigating the crevasses of bedrock in Leon Creek was tricky but I made it to the tree with a handful of minutes to spare before the sun dropped below the horizon.



I shot in color first because my IR filter set wasn't screwed onto the lens yet.
It's late December, so here in South Texas the colors of autumn are in their prime right now.
This is how I noticed the tree from the street in the first place--a blaze of orange fighting to survive in a sea of stone and weeds and small scrub bushes.

Switching to Infrared mode, I needed to assume a sitting rifle rest position to help stabilize the camera/monopod combo since my shutter speed was at a long 1/20th of a second, and this got dirt on the butt of my black Levi's 501 jeans.
Elbows on knees, monopod, tight face weld, it's a very stable position when you exercise proper breathing control but I still took at least 7 shots to be able to pick the sharpest one.
Turns out they were all good enough, so I went with the one with my favorite framing to eliminate cropping and the resulting loss of resolution in case my friends wanted to posterize it next to Ansel Adams.
Talk about pressure!



It only took a minute to pack up the camera and collapse my monopod. I had walked maybe 15 steps before turning around and noticing that the sun had set to the point that the tree was completely dark and that I had been dangerously close to missing the shot entirely.

Turns out that my friends loved the IR version but were thinking more along the lines of the crazy bendy Live Oak trees we have around here.
Knowing this now, I'll probably end up shooting one at night using multiple flash units and dry ice fog just to blow their minds. I don't have all day to hang around a likely tree waiting for the light to be amazing, so it's probably better to plan on getting technical and forcing the scene I want.

But I really like the Infrared version, and will probably end up printing it for a future gallery show.

Please Vote For Your Preference, IR Or Color?

[Zig]

Nice to see your stuff still doing its thang! Thanks for the walkthrough there, I really got into it.
You know, I just want to go straight for the most immediate and say "IR"...but isn't that the problem we have here(and so often) with seeing our websized versions? I have no doubt that both, as hard copy, just sing in different ways, and of course that glowing featheriness of IR is so striking. Hmm...I wonder if the decider should be: in which version does the foreground meaningfully contribute? Sorry to go all waffly here...I'd still go with the IR, after some consideration...and perhaps a wee crop of the RH side?

[Toad]

I prefer the IR because it will go well next to the Adams. The color is also very good - but the infrared always gives a shot of foliage extra impact.

[Irma]

I like the IR best... the clouds looks impressive!!!!

[matthew]

My vote also has to go for the IR photograph. I waited on this, to see if my opinion would change with a little more exposure to both photos, but it hasn't. The IR has staying power beyond the strikingly unusual way of seeing.

I also think that the IR is a better capture: the clouds are nicer, especially at the top-left of the tree, where they compliment the darker and wispy nature of the branches.

[Janika]

Interesting effect, works best on landscapes. Thanks for showing

[nia]

Hi Keith Alan, these are nice works, but the second one is a great and strong image! I loved it much more, standing extraordinary, I hope I am not too late for the comment Good Luck dear K.Alan,

Thank you,
with my love,
nia

[Zig]

(I definitely want a nia for Christmas!)

[nia]

(I definitely want a nia for Christmas!)

you made me smile Thank you but I am already here and always try to catch all your beautiful photographs
(By the way just for Christmas )

I hope and wish you had a nice Christmas,
Happy New Year,

with my love,
nia

[EnglishBob]

IR for me, I love IR pictures.

[Keith Alan]

I appreciate all your comments.
I knew the IR would be the favorite around here.

So little black and white is done these days compared to the pre-digital era, so B&W stands out.
And it seems like most IR shooters now are still playing with false colors, which I really can't stomach--it all seems so random and no attempt is made to use colors that help the photo tell it's story.

I spent several years trying everything under the sun to make my digital B&W work look interesting, when I had a camera that was perfect for IR the whole time. Took some time to make the connection and figure it all out, but now my IR stuff has become the most popular among customers.


Recently sold a print of this, and I came VERY close to throwing it into the reject folder.

Winter in Texas is when we sometimes get clouds like in the tree photo, so I shoot IR the most from Nov-Feb. On days when nothing specific is planned, I go outside and look at the sky.
If it's partly-cloudy I take the F828 with filters and my monopod instead of the DSLR in hopes of finding a scene worthy of IR.

Again, thanks for your comments--it helps to hear that the reasons why I prefer the IR version are shared by others.
Maybe I'm heading in the right direction.

[Toad]

Your story doesn't surprise me. Customers like the dramatic and IR (if nothing else) is dramatic. As far as colors being "false", that doesn't concern me. What we see in our mind is filtered through so many perceptual, cultural, and personal biases, that the difference between real and false is pretty arbitrary at the best of times.