Jemapela Photography

My work at Camera Clinic as a camera technician not only has me repairing digital SLR cameras but sometimes also modifying them for special applications such as infrared (IR) photography.

Although my interest in photography is primarily in portraits, I also have some interest in infrared (IR) photography. With IR-converted digital cameras, it is possible to shoot IR portrait images without the hassle of very long exposure times and the inconvenient use of a tripod.

These are some simple IR portraits I shot in 2009 using an IR-converted Nikon CoolPix 5700 and an IR-converted Canon PowerShot SX100IS camera. I modified both these cameras and also several other cameras at my workplace Camera Clinic.

Infrared image of Averal and I.

Infrared close-up image of dark brown Asian eyes.

Infrared portrait image.

As interest in infrared (IR) photography grew, I did more IR conversions on digital cameras at Camera Clinic. In October 2010, I did about 10 IR conversions mostly on digital SLR cameras.

Using an IR-converted and focus corrected Canon EOS 5D Mark II with Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM and Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lenses, I shot a few infrared portrait images in RAW+JPEG formats. I also used the IR-converted Canon EOS 5D Mark II to record IR videos. Shot with custom white balance, these images shown are the JPEG images out-of-camera and have not been digitally manipulated or enhanced.

Infrared portrait using an infrared converted Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

Infrared portrait using an infrared converted Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

Contrary to popular theory or belief, IR-converted digital cameras are not completely free from the hot spot problem that is very common with unconverted digital cameras. Through my experience converting digital cameras and testing them with several lenses, faint hot spots can still occur with a very few lenses.