Digital Infrared Photography With The Fuji S20 ProThere's More To Life Than Color Image Files! Page 2

Digital Infrared Photography With The Fuji S20 Pro
There's More To Life Than Color Image Files! Page 2

Get FAT, Like Atkins
In order to use Hitachi's 4GB Microdrive your camera must first accept CompactFlash cards Type II (the thick ones) and support the FAT 32 system. FAT (File Allocation Table) keeps track of where each image is stored and is available in three versions, the most advanced being FAT 32, which supports memory cards up to 2TB (terabytes). Fuji's FinePix S20 Pro accepts Type II cards; the format used by Microdrives, but uses the FAT 16 structure that only supports a maximum partition of 2GB. Even if you put a 4GB card or Microdrive into a FAT 16 camera, it would still only see 2GB.

This bridge leads from the Nature Center at Barr Lake State Park into their wetlands preserve. With IR, the mood of this photograph is different than a straight color image might be. The JPEG file was captured at ISO 200. Exposure was 1/5 sec and f/2.8 at 9mm (digital).

One of the first things you have to do when shooting IR is to forget everything you know about lighting and the best time of day to make images. Infrared images are fun because they capture parts of the invisible spectrum, allowing you to see things that only register simply as heat creating otherworldly images. To give foliage that famed infrared "glow" you need to shoot at a time of day when there's more sun on the images than not; this puts you shooting at midday! Not the best time to make conventional images, but the "golden hours" for infrared. If you need a rule of thumb, try this: The best time of day to shoot IR is when it's the worst time of day to shoot normal images.

This pseudo panoramic IR image was created from an original Fuji file that was both cropped and "stretched." I stretched it by first increasing the horizontal dimension of the Canvas (Image>Canvas Size) then selecting the image and dragging it sideways using the Free Transform tool (Edit>Free Transform) until it gave the overall photo a "widescreen" look without too much distortion. The original image file was captured at ISO 200 in gray scale mode at f/2.8 and 1/3 sec with the Fuji FinePix S20 Pro mounted on a Joe Farace Signature Edition Tiltall tripod.

Filters And Holders
When I first looked at the FinePix S20 Pro I saw what looked like filter threads on the front of the lens, at least until I turned it on and the sharp Fujinon 35-210mm (35mm equivalent) lens extended its proboscis. In order to use filters, I needed the optional adapter ring that lets you use Fuji's wide conversion and tele-conversion lenses or 55mm screw-in filters. Modular filters, such as Cokin's "A" series will work, too, as well as larger sizes. Since I didn't have the adapter, I used that most dexterous of all filter holders--my fingers.

In order to use filters, you needed an optional adapter ring that also lets you use Fuji's wide conversion and tele-conversion lenses. Since I didn't have the adapter, I used that most dexterous of all filter holders--my fingers.