Photography - Beneath the Waves

[ Photography ]

I've been experimenting with photography as a hobby since 2007. While the other sections of this website contain a variety of my photos, this section is generally reserved for the ones that I think are at least pretty good, as opposed to just illustrative of something. Because this is a relatively recent hobby you should hopefully notice a significant improvement in the newer photos.

My main interest is multispectral photography (currently in the near-infrared and ultraviolet-A parts of the spectrum in addition to visible light), so most of the photos are displayed in multiple variations unless I shot them handheld. If you're interested in the technical details of what's being represented (including how to decipher my "NIR-R-G"-style false colour notation), or how I take those pictures, there are articles available in the technical subsection.

If you're interested in seeing a much larger selection of photos related to places I've been, please visit the Drives section.

Introduction

	A Brief Introduction
	A very high-level overview of multispectral photography and the terminology used on this site. Read this if you don't really care about the technical details but want to know what the different versions of photos represent.

	A Detailed Introduction
	A more comprehensive and accurate introduction to multispectral photography and the terminology used on this site. Read this if you want more technical information and a better understanding of what the images here represent.

	Uses of Multispectral Photography
	What is this technology good for?

	Thermal versus Near Infrared
	Although some specialized imaging systems can 'see heat', most infrared technology today involves a different subsection of this large region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

Objects - Art

	Stencil Art by Raw Garbage
	One of my friends is a prolific stencil-painting artist. These are some of the photos I've taken of his work.

Places - Artifical Structures

	Bodie State Historic Park
	A large and well-preserved ghost town in the middle of California.

	The Hoover Dam
	An iconic structure at the southern tip of Nevada.

Places - Cities

	Los Angeles
	Photos from in and around this southern California metropolis.

	Seattle
	Photos from in and around my hometown.

Places - Nature Preserves

	Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
	A vast desert in the southwestern US.

	Carlsbad Caverns National Park
	A truly amazing complex of caves in southeast New Mexico.

	Crater Lake National Park
	This deep blue lake formed in the caldera of an ancient volcano, and is located in southern Oregon.

	Death Valley National Park
	Death Valley may be hotter and drier than most people prefer, but there is a lot to be seen in this desert.

	Grand Canyon National Park
	Located in northern Arizona, it is truly one of the most impressive sights to be seen.

	Joshua Tree National Park
	This National Park sits in the middle of the deserts of the southwestern US.

	Malibu Creek State Park
	This large park is right next door to Los Angeles.

	Mojave National Preserve
	An amazing (if desolate) desert in southern California.

	Redwood National Park
	This section of coastal California is home to some of the largest trees anywhere.

	Saguaro National Park
	Located in the middle of Arizona, Saguaro National Park preserves some of the most spectacular cactus species.

	Vasquez Rocks
	The most famous (for nerds) rock formations of all time.

	White Sands National Monument
	It's tempting to say 'its name says it all!', but it actually doesn't.

	Yellowstone National Park
	The first National Park created in America, and still the best of them all.

	Yosemite National Park
	An enormous forested mountain region in central California.

Places - States

	Arizona
	Photos from the Grand Canyon State.

	California
	From sunny beaches and fertile farmland, to frigid mountains, to arid deserts, California holds some of the most varied environments in the United States within its borders.

	Oregon
	Alis volat propriis. One of my favourite states in the US, other than not being able to pump my own gas there.

Plants

	The Colours of Autumn
	A short series of photos taken in late October 2009.

	Wollemi Pine
	A small tree from Australia given to me by my aunt.

Technical Information - General

	Cameras
	What types of camera can be used for multispectral photography?

	Lenses
	Some information on the lenses I use.

	Filters
	Filters are a critical part of most multispectral imaging systems that are available to hobbyists and other non-professionals. This article contains information on the ones I've worked with.

	Other Tools
	Some of the other hardware and software necessary to experiment with multispectral imaging.

Technical Information - How To

	Taking Multispectral Pictures
	Whether you are in the field or the studio, here's what you'll need to do to capture the raw material.

	Aligning Multiple Exposures in Hugin
	Hugin is a free software front-end for Panorama Tools and can be used in this important step in the process.

	Postprocessing
	Now that you have your exposures lined up and compensated for focal length, you can combine them into a final image.

	Reducing and Eliminating Hotspots
	Hotspots are a common problem for photographers shooting infrared digitally. If you can't prevent them in the field (or discovered too late that you have a memory card full of exposures with hotspots), here are some ways that you can minimize their impact on the final image.

	Virtual Filters
	False colour is only one way to take advantage of multispectral exposures. Here are a few other uses you can put them to.