These are a few of my favorite things....

You know it. I'm back playing with Infrared Light Spectrums and exploring another world of photography.

First the Infrared shots:

This one below is straight out of the camera. It looks like a mess at first glance with the putrid color of the sky and nothing really makes sense when you first look at it.

There in, lies the challenge.

However, I 'processed' it and did something called Channel Swapping.

It is a common method used in Infrared processing. 

Adobe Photoshop is probably the easiest software to use. However. I don't like 'renting' software each month. 

I have used ON1 with some good luck. I've even used a Corel's PaintShopPro with good luck.

ON1 is a memory gobbler and heats up my laptop. 

Corel does pretty well and doesn't overwhelm by computer.

Lastly, I am trying a trial version of DxO Elite Software. It has all the NIK collections, Silver EfexPro and so forth.

The DxO software has impressed me for ultra quick editing without setting my laptop on fire.

I've used the NIK software for years so I am familiar with how the program operates.

Okay.

You really didn't want to know all of that. But I can't really shoot infrared without some post process help.

This morning I walked out to check on the mules and of course took my camera along. I decided that the morning light and fog might be what I'd been waiting for with the IR Chrome Filter.

I was stunned.

This was exactly the surreal landscape I'd been waiting for.

I know, Red foliage is not everyone's forte. 

But I am not everyone. 

I am an experimenter. 

When I took Charlie for a 'hot' walk the other day, I just carried my IR converted pocket camera. I took a LOT of photos with it. Thank goodness I live in a digital age. One photo from the hike made my keeper list.

I have to admit. Infrared is not easy! You have to imagine how a shot may look after editing. The in camera shot may not always be exactly what you imagine.

Below, first image is straight from the camera.

Second image. Final.

Besides odd colors and light spectrums, I like small things.

And I like patterns:

So off I go today to look around and observe my world around us.

Well, that is ...

between storms.

The Forest Floor

The Forest is my sanctuary. It is the place I go to 'get away' and relax.
Now,
notice that I did not
say~~
That I go away and 'think' about things.

Not at all.

When I enter the woods, time and the outside world magically slip away. It is like having my own 'Secret Garden' that is hidden in plain view.

Others enter the Forest and never leave their worries and anxieties at the threshold.

Is it a bewitching spell? Or something else?

That first step through the fence, down the path, or across the meadow brings a sigh and a weight off my shoulders.

I spent my hike mostly observing the Forest Floor. The leaves have come down now, and beautiful patterns are there to admire.

This is the same photo as the one above, but I removed the colors from it and added some detail.
Patterns emerge that I wasn't seeing in color [but imagined that I might while looking through the lens].
I think this was a fun experiment.