How I got started with Infrared Photography

I first started shooting infrared images in early 2017 and have continued doing so ever since. My very first converted camera was a Sony a6000 APSC camera that had spent the previous 4 years or so acting as a backup – which in truth meant sitting in a cupboard!

I remember reading an article in one of the photographic magazines which was full of spooky, gothic, architectural images and I was interested right away. The images were all balck and white and had a quality I hadnt seen before.

It turned out there were two ways to capture infrared. It was possible to shoot using filters and a regular camera, but a much better solution was to convert a mirrorless camera, replacing one of its internal filters with one that allowed infrared light through to the sensor. Well – I had that a6000 which wasnt getting much action…so went ahead, having the necessary work done by Kolari Vision.

I packed off my old camera and a couple of weeks later my newly converted a6000 arrived. I had chosen a 720nm conversion (more on infrared “flavours” later) which produced the classic blue and white infrared look.

A couple of hours later, and a fair amount of head scratching and Googling…and thereit was on the screen – my first infrared image. I was hooked!