Ethereal landscapes
Vipul Chejara uses his D5100 and an infrared filter to shoot his other-worldly images
Photography was first introduced to me after I had to cut back on my favourite hobbies of painting and cooking when I started a new job four years ago. I found taking photographs was not only relaxing, but also helped me socialise away from the office, and make new friends.
I think I’m able to shoot landscapes quite well, but I’m still learning how to shoot single-subject images, like solitary trees, with deep contrast. I’m currently using a Nikon D5100, mostly with the 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, in combination with a Hoya R72 Infrared filter. Composition and contrast are what I concentrate on with my black-and-white images. Adding a touch of infrared deepens that contrast in my images. Shadows seem to go darker and the lights go lighter. Focusing, however, is the hard part. I have to deal with the very dark infrared filter. How can I get more artistic black-and-white images through infrared with subjects like trees, fields and so on, to make it a signature style for myself?
N-PHOTO SAYS…
Vipul, you’ve done an excellent job of creating some ethereal infrared landscape photos here. We especially like your image above [01]. There’s a lot of space in the frame, and the ominous clouds add interest and drama. You’ve done well to frame the subject in the bottom-right of the frame, too. However, the brighter area of grass and shrubs to the left is a bit distracting, and leads the eye away from the subject. Ideally you want the hilltop to be the only thing that’s brightly lit. This means waiting for the clouds, and hoping that a shaft of light will hit the buildings when everything else is in shadow. Your tree shot [02] is great as well, but the sky is a little flat. This would make a perfect panoramic shot, and if you’d cropped out the hills on the left, it would have become more minimalistic – a style it looks like you’re almost achieving already. We also really like the simple crop and tight composition of the image above [03]. Keep it up!