Nature Photography How To

James Zwadlo is a London-based photographer/graphic designer/director who combines his unique vision to create an unexpected point of view with his infrared photography

 

A photo posted by James Zwadlo (@thezola) on Jan 17, 2017 at 12:33pm PST

Film photographers have long used high-speed infrared film to create interesting images in which green foliage is rendered a glowing white, blue skies range from gray to black, and other colors are often unpredictable.

 

A photo posted by James Zwadlo (@thezola) on Dec 28, 2016 at 10:17am PST

When shooting infrared photographs with film, exposure is often a matter of guesswork, focusing is uncertain, and you never really know what you got until your film is processed.

 

A photo posted by James Zwadlo (@thezola) on Dec 27, 2016 at 10:44am PST

In the digital age, much of the uncertainty over shooting infrared images has been eliminated because, unlike film, many digital cameras have CCDs that are sensitive to the “near infrared" spectrum of light. And with a DSLR you can mess with exposure settings until you see the result you’re after on the camera’s LCD in real time.

 

A photo posted by James Zwadlo (@thezola) on Dec 5, 2016 at 12:57pm PST

DSLRs can also be modified to capture infrared images, while less expensive options include thread-on infrared filters and post-processing software filters.

 

A photo posted by James Zwadlo (@thezola) on Nov 21, 2016 at 8:31am PST

Zwadlo doesn’t reveal the specific technique he employs for these striking infrared images that are part of his “Ultra Color” photos you can see on his Instagram page, but they are somewhat more complex in color and appearance than others we’ve seen.

Be sure to look at our earlier story on the otherworldly infrared images of Paolo Pettigani, and don’t forget to follow us on Instagram at @ShutterbugPix where we’re sharing our favorite photos from our followers.