Skip to main content

Infrared Wildlife Photography In Black and White

A Giant Aldabra Tortoise in black and white Infrared
In the last post, i introduced my new found interest in playing with invisible light and the potential of differed creative possibilities when it comes to IR colour photography. So today i thought i would touch alittle on the black and white side of infrared photography, which i find, is equally as expressive. 

Unlike the typical Black and White photos that we are accustomed to looking at, when an image is converted or captured using IR you immediately notice that the B&W depths and contrasts feel more pronounced. Trees and clouds stand out as white, whereas the depth of the sky transforms into a darker black, giving the image a very unique effect.

 I also discovered that if you are attentive to small details, Black and White IR can also reveal a number of once completely invisible elements, imagine having the possibility of seeing invisibility! Here's how... if you look closely at the face of the tortoise above, you will notice a white powdery substance surrounding its mouth. This residue is from some grass that it was possibly feeding on sometime earlier during the day. The whitish powder which was completely invisible to the naked eye, now became visible in this Infrared image. This is because grass is an excellent reflector of IR and so it stands out and glows quite nicely. Actually, depending on the reflective whiteness of the grass particles, one can even try to estimate the time and decipher whether it was feeding quite recently or many hours ago.  
So  as you can see, this once invisible element, has now been made visible, offering an interesting forensic insight into this tortoises, or for that matter any other animals daily routine.  

So contrasts and invisibility are just two of the immediate advantages i have touched on in Black and White Infrared Photography, i will be expanding on another advantage soon so stay tuned!

Seeing you soon,
Shazaad Kasmani
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lions Mating Up Close In Kenya

This lion and lioness are mating really close to the road.
Post a Comment
Read more

The Roughness Of A Lions Tongue

A lions tongue has numerous tiny spines called papillae Pet lovers with a domestic cat at home will relate to this story quite well, as they would have had their hands or fingers licked by their cat's tongue at some point or another. A lion’s tongue is no less different in design to that of a house cats, with the exception that its sheer size and heaviness would make a lions tongue as rough and harsh as sandpaper! But why is the lions tongue so rough and how is this beneficial? The reason for its roughness is that the surface of the lions tongue is covered in many tiny spines called papillae, which are further divided into 3 types namely; Filiform, Fungiform and Vallate papillae. The cats filiform papillae which is located on the tongues dorsal surface, is the main reason for the roughness, and these can also be compared to barbs since they face backwards in the direction of the throat.  Having a barbed tongue is beneficial to the lion for a number of reasons. I...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Unique Looking Guitar Fish

Guitar Fish resting on the sea bed One of the most interesting characteristics about the guitar fish is its unique body shape. It seemingly looks like a cross between a shark and a ray - with its flattened ray like head yet it has a long shark like body with dorsal fins - but this fish is actually a classification of its own and has about 50 subspecies.  The guitar fish prefers to remain tranquil on the sea bed, partly covering itself with sand to camouflage itself for any unsuspecting prey such as crabs or small fish that may come past it. Reaching sizes of approximately two meters in length, they are quite docile so can easily be approached by underwater photographers.
4 comments
Read more