Photo of the Week 2026-08-24

 

Maybe 4 or 5 weeks ago, I was listening to a camera podcast where the host mentioned a resurgence of interest in older digital cameras with CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) sensors. Apparently there are some who think this type sensor renders an image with the look of film when compared to the CMOS sensors more common in cameras today. For those interested here is a video link for more on the renewed interest in CCD sensor cameras.

 

I happen to have two 20+ year old digital cameras with CCD sensors, one has been converted for infrared photography and the other is a bit of a collector classic. Both cameras are considered Point & Shoot models with fixed (non-interchangeable) power zoom lenses with 7 & 8 MP image sensors respectively (low by today's standards). The Canon Powershot G6 was purchased used and sent to Kolari Vision in the US some years ago and converted for 720nm infrared imaging. The other, a Powershot Pro1 is the only Point & Shoot (P&S) camera Canon manufactured with a "pro" series L lens. These details may only be of interest to very few reading the post but there you have it.

 

My original intent was to take both cameras out for some shooting and compare the results with those shot on other CMOS sensor cameras. As with much on this Photographic Journey, I got distracted and wandered off on a bit of a tangent ... shooting some infrared with the G6.  

 

' rural infrared - I '

This home in rural Guelph-Eramosa Township had become a favourite subject from my 'rural winter' series and while driving home from some test shots with the CCD cameras, I decided to stop and capture the scene in IR.

(note: false colour processing in Photoshop)

 

The earlier efforts of my outing were mostly spent familiarizing myself with the cameras again and boy it was soon evident how 'spoiled' I have become having my newer cameras. Shooting with older menus, less features smaller 2" LCD screens (and older eyes) although expected, proved more of a challenge than anticipated ... but a somehow satisfying one.

 

Maybe more to come on the CCD revival in future :-)

 

DJE 

Photo of the Week 2022-01-24

 

Always working to keep the creative juices flowing, I recently combined my desire to get out and hike in the cold fresh air with an idea to try some infrared (IR) photography ... with a manual focus 8mm fish-eye lens.

 

Working in IR offers both significant challenges and broad creative opportunities. The challenges come when switching from 'normal' photography, capturing visible light in a more "what you see is what you get" process to capturing infrared light in a more "what will I be able to create from this" process. The later is more akin to B&W photography in my opinion as we don't see in IR just as we don't see in B&W. Greater familiarity with B&W photography makes that process more intuitive, while IR photography has a greater trial and error component for me at my current level of expertise.

 

 

limestone arch

downstream

down the tracks

 

 

The first challenge comes when selecting the gear that will be used for IR photography. Digital camera sensors, unless modified, are made to see only light in the visible wavelength spectrum. IR filters or a modified camera will be required to get started and there are a number of choices.Camera lenses are designed for optimum performance with visible light and may perform poorly when shooting IR images. There are plenty of online resources that offer information on these aspects of IR photography and Google is your friend if you want to get into it more detail. Alternately, you could send me a question via the comment section or by email and I'll see if I can offer some assistance.

 

Once the decisions related to camera, filter and lens have been made, it's on to the capture phase of working in IR. This is really just the process of collecting the raw materials that will be crafted into a final image. For the most part, infrared images straight out of camera (using filters or a converted camera) are not the end result in this genre. I say for the most part, because this is really a more abstract pursuit but that depends on the artist ...

... yes the "Artist", and like all art, it may or may not be for you whether photographer or viewer.

 

DJE

Photo of the Weel 2019-12-09

My foray into infrared digital has had me exploring photography with unmodified DSLR's with lens mounted IR filters requiring the use of a tripod for long exposures, and infrared modified P&S camera allowing handheld exposures, and lately an infrared modified mirrorless camera. This latest camera is modified for dual-spectrum, visible and infrared sensitivity, allowing the use of various wavelength lens mounted IR filters to attain the variety of 'looks' possible with infrared. This setup is by far the most flexible and exposures can be hand held and previewed on the LCD screen..

Along the way, 550nm, 590nm, 720nm, 850nm IR filters have been used and recently a new IR filter developed by KolariVision, the IRChrome which quite closely replicates the results obtained by using Kodak Colour IR file, a.k.a Aerochrome.

The Aerochrome look can be simulated by processing exposures made with the 550nm filter, sometimes requiring a considerable amount of work in photo editing software. Unexpectedly, I encountered a resource online that helped me develop a Photoshop action that can work on visible light (non-IR) captures. I was able to achieve some very satisfying results with this method. Following are some examples ...

' almost there ' (faux Aerochrome)

morning trail light (faux Aerochrome)

that special place (faux Aerochrome)

DJE