[Leica] My modest infra-red attempts (M8, B+W 092, Noctilux)

[Rei Shinozuka]

Thanks Philippe.  My very first Noctilux picture went up on the LUG about 15 years ago!

-rei

Ridgewood, NJ
via iPhone

> On Sep 19, 2016, at 2:00 AM, Philippe Amard <photo.philippe.amard at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Definitely going for the first series I am.
> The colours are sweet and the content appeals more to me.
> 
> Nice experiments.
> Thanks for sharing
> Amities
> Philippe
> 
> 
> 2016-09-18 19:08 GMT+02:00 Rei Shinozuka <shino at panix.com>:
> 
>> When the giants of the LUG talk, I listen!
>> 
>> A couple of weeks back there was a buzz of interest about IR photography
>> and the M8.  Well, gee, I still have one of those in my closet, and the
>> last time I dabbled with IR it was SFX200 in my Rolleiflex 15 years ago, so
>> I went out and ordered a B+W 092 filter to give it a whirl.
>> 
>> I'll bet you any reasonable person would say, "well you've got a 35 asph
>> lux, why not set it at f8 and bring back some keepers?"  Of course,
>> thinking exactly that, I went back to my safe place and chose the Noctilux
>> at f1.0 for my inquiry.  And the voices continued: "The Noctilux is
>> optically inferior especially at f1.0, it's too long -- more so on an M8,
>> and you'll never be able to focus it.  Oh yes, and don't even think of
>> trying it on human beings."
>> 
>> My improvident impulses prevailed, the results of which I've put on the
>> gallery:
>> 
>> From this weekend, in upstate NY with friends:
>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/shino/InfraOktoberFest2016/
>> 
>> From last weekend, moments from freeing the B+W 092 filter from its UPS
>> box, my very first attempts at exposing and focusing with the 092 filter.
>> 
>> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/shino/IRTest-M8-Noct-BW092/
>> 
>> Comments:
>> 
>> Exposure: the M8 meter worked reasonably well with the 092 filter, I
>> occasionally had to dial it up +1 stop.  Exposures with the 092 at f1.0
>> ended up at 1/60 sec @ 160 or 320.
>> Focus: using the focus scale on the lens was a non-starter for me, too
>> complicated and the numbers too darn small.  What I did end up doing was to
>> locate a point approximately 3/4 or 2/3 of the distance to my subject and
>> focus on that with the rangefinder.  After a little practice, this proxy
>> focusing method worked surprisingly well even at f1.0.  And you always have
>> the screen to check and adjust.
>> Composition: Non-issue--love the optical viewfinder!
>> Processing: Minimal.  I use Digikam on Linux.  The originals tend to look
>> like sepia prints.  I try to reset a white point, then adjust curves to get
>> back contrast, then dial back some saturation.  Images with sky look
>> dramatic, with Star Trek orange skies, terrestrial objects more subdued.  I
>> didn't do any sharpening or channel switching or anything sophisticated on
>> these sets.
>> 
>> Thanks LUG for the inspiration and fun!
>> 
>> 
>> 
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> 
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