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By: Michael TurnerIn order to save money, I started experimenting with "homemade" false color/UV filters. The method I found most effective, and which resulted in some excellent images, follows. I purchased a number of polarized sunglasses which I disassembled. These were originally designed as "clip-on" sunglasses and I found them easier to work with. They were made of a soft plastic; with one set being "blue-blocker" polarized and one set containing a normal set of polarized lenses. I cut and shaped the lenses in a circular pattern and fashioned an adapter for my camera (a Nikon CP4300). I made a notch on the edge of the top lens so I could rotate it as you would with a manufactured circular polarizer. This allows me to control the amount of visible light which gets through to the "image plane". I'm estimating my two custom filters block 90% to 98% of the visible light. Those are my "false-color" IR filters. Shutter times on a sunny day will vary from about 1/8 - 1/4 of a second @ f2.8, so wind won't be an issue when using them. You can also use ink on a clear glass filter, a negative from a film camera which was exposed with the lens cap on, the disc inside a floppy disc or 7 - 9 normal sunglass lenses stacked. This is a very effective method to use when first experimenting with IR photography. It's proven to be inexpensive and relatively easy to create my own filters in this manner. For those of you on a limited photography budget, this should prove ideal. Copyright © 2004 - Michael Turner & Photo-Genesis.net |