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?

	Image Naming Conventions
	If you want to be able to decipher the names I use for image variations, this is a good place to start.

	Thermal Imaging Examples
	Now that I actually have a thermal imager, here are a few of the interesting things I've found.

	Thermal versus Near Infrared
	The infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum is a big place. This is an attempt to differentiate between two very different types of imaging system.

Animals

	Various Insects
	Assorted photos of insects that don't fit well into other articles, but that I think are interesting.

Natural Phenomena

	Annular Eclipse - 2023
	Some photos and a short time-lapse video of the "ring of fire" annular eclipse.

Objects - Art

	GARBAGE MEN INVASION
	Raw Garbage and THE GARBAGE MEN in Greenwood, 13 April 2012.

	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.

	Street Trash
	Raw Garbage and the Garbage Men at the Fremont Solstice Parade and Festival, 16 June 2012.

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.

	Big Bend National Park
	An unreal and stunning location in southwest Texas.

	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.

	Everglades National Park
	A swamp in southern Florida that occupies an area of over 6100 square kilometers.

	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.

	Long Key State Park
	One of the Florida Keys, almost entirely reserved as a natural environment.

	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

	Blackberries
	This plant - which is ubiquitous in the Northwest - has blossoms which are very interesting ultraviolet photography subjects.

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

	Poppies (Papaver)
	The papaver genus of the larger poppy family.

	Various Trees
	Assorted photos of trees that don't fit well into other articles, but that I think are interesting.

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

Technical Information - Equipment

	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.

	Lighting
	Some of the lighting methods I've used for infrared and ultraviolet photos.

	Ultraviolet Safety
	Working with sources of ultraviolet light can be extremely hazardous. Be sure to take the proper precautions.

Technical Information - General

	Basic Greyscale Images
	Greyscale images in their most basic form as they are captured by imaging sensors of various kinds.

	Calculated Greyscale Images
	Greyscale images created through mathematical relationships.

	Statistical Greyscale Images
	Greyscale images created based on statistical analysis of the image cube.

	Three-Channel False Colour
	Three-channel images are one of the foundations of false colour.

	Gradient-Mapped False Colour Images
	Gradients are the second basic tool of false colour images.

	Luminance/Colour Images
	Applying the colour of one image to the luminance (brightness) of a second is one way of creating "second order" false colour images.

	Decorrelation Stretch Images
	Decorrelation stretching ("DCS") is a mathematical technique that can reveal subtle differences which are not apparent in the original image.

	False Colour From Filters (and Simulated Filters)
	Quirks of imaging systems, combined with the behaviour of specific filters, can result in surprising (and sometimes pleasing) colour variations.

	Secrets of Photoshop's Colour Blend Mode Revealed (Sort Of)
	More than you've ever wanted to know about how the "Colour" layer blend mode in Adobe Photoshop® works. Note: it's probably not the way you think it does. Now with complete accuracy (2011-06-04)!

	Your Eyes Are Terrible At Seeing Blue
	...whether you know it or not.

	Colour Isolation Using Filters
	In which is becomes apparent that how we (and our cameras) perceive the colour of objects depends very much on what we consider "red", "green", and "blue".

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.

	Colour Isolation
	An experimental technique for reducing the overlap between colour channels in an image to help improve the appearance of and distinction between colours.