I’m gonna assume everyone here is familiar with the electromagnetic spectrum and visible light. Everything that lies within the visible range, our eyes can see. Anything outside of that visible range is either ultra-violet or infrared and our eyes cannot naturally see those.

There are three major classes of infrared: near infrared, mid-wavelength infrared, and long-wavelength infrared. In infrared photography, the class we’re concerned with is the near infrared. This class roughly lies anywhere between 700nm and 1,000 to 1,200 nm.

700nm is the deepest red color that the human eye can see. Any longer wavelengths cannot be naturally conceived. Most digital cameras are capable of just barely seeing the near infrared light, although most have an IR (infrared) blocking filter right in front of the sensor.

To determine whether your camera can see infrared light, just point a remote control towards your camera lens same way you’d do to turn on the TV, and then press any button and look through your viewfinder. You will notice a red light that your camera can see but which we as human beings cannot, thus confirming that your camera is actually capable of taking infrared photos.

Now, since our typical cameras can just barely see the near infrared wavelength range you can either get a camera that doesn’t have an (IR) infrared blocking filter installed in front of the sensor, have the IR filter removed which is something I personally would not recommend so as not to permanently damage your gear, or you can just simply get an infrared filter which is generally not that expensive (such as the popular Hoya R72 infrared filter, but do some research to make sure which one suits your camera best).

An infrared filter looks rather dark due to the nature of its role which is summarized in absorbing almost all visible light that we ordinarily see, only permitting the near infrared wavelengths through the lens and onto the digital sensor. This gives rise to a problem metering and focusing with the IR filter on your lens, so you’re gonna have to frame your shot, focus, and take your light readings prior to placing the IR filter on. Then you take a couple test shots, determine what adjustments you need to make, and then just carry on from there.

That was just a little introduction to infrared photography. Now that you have an idea about all that, today I’m showcasing the stunning wonderful infrared photography of Martin Finlayson.

Jaw-dropping infrared photography of Martin Finlayson

Martin Finlayson is a solutions architect from Farnham, UK. He has been fond of photography for the last 30 years, but it was only the discovery of HDR photography back in 2008 that really got him back to his hobby big time.

Martin’s favorite subject matter is landscape photography which he USUALLY tries to represent in a natural way. He has recently modified his venerable D70 for infrared photography, and he has been using it to experiment with false color and monochrome work, which as you’ll see in a second is quite extraordinary.

For more beautiful infrared photography (as well as other types of photography) from Martin Finlayson, please check out his flickr photostream right here.