Why Now Is the Perfect Time for Infrared Photography

Generally speaking, photographers aren’t homebodies. It’s not that we don’t enjoy taking pictures of the cat or what we ate for lunch, but it’s hard to make a living memorializing a grilled cheese.

I’ve been looking for something new, something different, a rose-colored filter to put over my lens to transform my neighborhood into a visually exciting existence. My search led me out of the visible spectrum into an unseen world called infrared photography.

If you’re not familiar with it, here’s how it works.

Our eyes can see but a slice of the electromagnetic spectrum. If you want to get a tad nerdy about this, our visible detection is between 380 and 700 nanometers (nm). The color violet is at the lower end (380–450 nm) followed by blue, cyan, green, yellow, orange, and red bringing us home at 625–700 nm. And for decades I was just fine with this lineup.

But now, I need something different.

Infrared begins where visible leaves off, at 700 nm. Beyond this mark, there’s an entirely different world. This is the playground of infrared photography.

Even though our eyes can’t see into this universe, our cameras can. Actually most digital sensors see UV, visible light, and infrared. Camera manufacturers install IR-blocking filters over…