Magnetic Personality

I recently learned of a fun hack photographers can perform on the Sony DCS-F828 digital camera of 2002 vintage. I happen to have a sort-of-working F828 in my photo closet, so I thought I’d try it out.

My sort-of-working Sony Cyber-shot DCS-F828 of 2002 vintage is shown with three infrared filters.
My sort-of-working Sony Cyber-shot DCS-F828 of 2002 vintage is shown with three infrared filters.

The fact that I just learned about it doesn’t mean it’s new. It only means that I stumbled upon it on one of a million trips into Internet dreamland.

The trick is to use a neodymium (“rare earth”) magnet to move the tiny infrared-blocking filter, sometimes called a “hot mirror” filter, inside the Sony camera. The result is that you can then place an infrared filter on the lens, enabling the photographer to explore the range of the spectrum in wavelengths longer than visible light.

Neodymium magnets are cheap. I ordered mine from Ebay for $9.

Holding this neodymium magnet just above a spot on the bottom of the Sony DCS-F828 digital camera will move the tiny infrared filter out of the light path, or back into the light path, depending on which pole of the magnet is next to the camera.
Holding this neodymium magnet just above a spot on the bottom of the Sony DCS-F828 digital camera will move the tiny infrared filter out of the light path, or back into the light path, depending on which pole of the magnet is next to the camera.

Holding the magnet just above the right spot on the bottom of the lens will either move the filter out of the light path or into the light path, depending on which pole of the magnet is next to the camera. The movement of the filter creates a barely audible “click” from inside the camera, and changes the image on the monitor from black to a kind of deep purple, depending on the filter mounted on the lens.

I have three infrared filters, each blocking a slightly different part of the spectrum. The filters are labeled in nanometers (a billionth of a meter), 720nm, 850nm, and 950nm. The filters appear black to the naked eye, since they don’t pass visible light, but, unlike eclipse glasses, are not safe for viewing the sun, which emits damaging ultraviolet energy.

The idea behind infrared photography is to express a view of the world unlike human vision. Therein lies the challenge, too, since while it is neat to explore our world in a different way, it doesn’t immediately lend itself to a strong narrative. I have explored infrared a couple of times before, but I think it may be time to push a little harder and make images that have more visual value than just “this is different.”

This is a view from my front deck using the Sony F828 with the infrared blocking filter "hacked" out of the light path and a 950nm infrared filter on the lens, yielding an eery, ghost-like rendering of ordinary trees and sky.
This is a view from my front deck using the Sony F828 with the infrared blocking filter “hacked” out of the light path and a 950nm infrared filter on the lens, yielding an eery, ghost-like rendering of ordinary trees and sky.

Monochrome Challenge: In the Dark

The power was out at home this morning, so I opened up all the shades and curtains. The light was extraordinary, so I reached for my Fujifilm X-T10, set it to a black-and-white film simulation mode, and made some pictures.

This could also be called Monochrome Challenge: Powerless.

Living room
Living room
Light fixture in the living room
Light fixture in the living room
Hallway and back bedroom
Hallway and back bedroom
Dining table
Dining table
Middle bedroom
Middle bedroom
Dressing room selfie
Dressing room selfie
Back bathroom selfie
Back bathroom selfie

Monochrome Cameras: Epic Quality, or Expensive Indulgence?

There are a few digital cameras on the market today that have monochrome sensors. These sensors work the same way that color sensors work, in that each pixel, or picture element, senses the amount of light that strikes it. The key difference is that color sensors have one of three, red, green, or blue, filters above it, called a Bayer pattern array.

My wolfhound looks up at me in a recent monochrome image. I thought the tonal qualities in this image worked out pretty well.
My wolfhound looks up at me in a recent monochrome image. I thought the tonal qualities in this image worked out pretty well.

The real question is: what makes a monochrome sensor superior to a color sensor that has a decently high pixel count, basically any new camera sold today?

Sometimes  the idea of a monochrome camera isn’t even clear to consumers. While reading around the web for this piece, I came across an article on monochrome cameras from Adorama that listed two non-monochrome cameras , the Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark IV, and the Fujifilm GFX50S II. The article says the cameras “allow you to switch between monochrome and color shooting modes,” but in case you just woke up yesterday, that is every digital camera made in the last 15 years.

I don't know where I got this glass dolphin; it might have belonged to Dorothy Milligan at one point. Anyway, I photographed it with some Christmas lights to illustrate an image that was mostly made of color.
I don’t know where I got this glass dolphin; it might have belonged to Dorothy Milligan at one point. Anyway, I photographed it with some Christmas lights to illustrate an image that was mostly made of color.
You can see how profoundly different an image of color can appear in monochrome.
You can see how profoundly different an image of color can appear in monochrome.

The article added that, “…you’ll be able to capture low light images far better than you could with a color sensor.” But who, in 2023, has a problem capturing images in low light? I routinely roll past ISO 12,800 with little in the way of noise.

I asked a photographer friend who had a monochrome Leica what he liked about it, and he said it made, “…nice files, with really crisp, dark blacks,” but then said, “the color Leica images converted are fine.”

He later sold the camera, saying he didn’t shoot with it enough to justify owning it.

Ah, there’s another point: the Leica M11 Monochrom (that’s the way they spell it) lists for $9195. No, that’s not a typo.

I got out a few cameras and played around with both their built-in black-and-white options, and options in Adobe Lightroom for converting color images into black-and-white, an activity I try to do several times a year. I had fun, and made some images I liked.

Then, along comes the elephant in the room: sharing, displaying, or exhibiting your images, color or monochrome, somewhere that matters. I see a very pointless chase unfolding before me: faster, bigger, better images, shared and diluted by cluttered, heavily monetized social media sites on which potentially brilliant 46-megapixel, super-clear, high-ISO gems get posted to Facebook or Instagram, compressed by their servers and never shared at resolutions higher than 2000 x 1400 pixels, which is equivalent to 2.8 megapixels.

I have a buddy (who lives in another state) who seems intent on chasing the photographic dragon, and it seems that all that camera power and photographic prowess is squandered on the ever-increasing views on smartphones.

The other side of that, though, is harder to see and appreciate, and that is the experience of making pictures is fun and exciting even if the images aren’t fully exploited on the other end.

My bottom line: monochrome cameras probably have a place in a few photographer’s lives, but for most of us, including me, shooting in a color camera’s monochrome mode is more than enough for the occasional creative excursion.

And if you do enjoy pushing the limits of camera technology, find a way to really take advantage of it by printing, publishing and displaying those amazing images.

Wheatgrass waves in the breeze on a recent photowalk.
Wheatgrass waves in the breeze on a recent photowalk.

Late Summer Monochrome

The small dog casts a long shadow.
The small dog casts a long shadow.
Balloons can be pretty without their colors.
Balloons can be pretty without their colors.
This little girl was at the family reunion.
This little girl was at the family reunion.
I spotted this in a museum, so it is technically someone else's art.
I spotted this in a museum, so it is technically someone else’s art.
Mirrors in a deep blue sky are bold in black and white.
Mirrors in a deep blue sky are bold in black and white.
I don't know who else is listening, but I am.
I don’t know who else is listening, but I am.
Knock knock.
Knock knock.
My tiny dogs looks very small at the start of this long hallway.
My tiny dogs looks very small at the start of this long hallway.

Monochrome Challenge: A Walk in the Park

Robert Stinson photographs Mackenzee Crosby during our photo walk in Ada's Wintersmith Park last week.
Robert Stinson photographs Mackenzee Crosby during our photo walk in Ada’s Wintersmith Park last week.

With the recent death of my wife of 17 years, Abby, I had a few days off to unwind and organize.

Robert discusses composition as we make our way through Ada's WIntersmith Park.
Robert discusses composition as we make our way through Ada’s WIntersmith Park.
It has become a "thing" in recent years to write your name or initials on a lock and lock it to the fence on the bridge over Wintersmith dam, probably to the annoyance of City officials.
It has become a “thing” in recent years to write your name or initials on a lock and lock it to the fence on the bridge over Wintersmith dam, probably to the annoyance of City officials.

Fellow photographers Robert Stinson and Mackenzee Crosby met last week for a bite, then a photo walk in Ada’s famous Francis Wintersmith Park.

Mackenzee photographs one of the drain pipes at the base of Wintersmith dam.
Mackenzee photographs one of the drain pipes at the base of Wintersmith dam.

I make pictures with a lot of different photographers as a photojournalist, which is very fun, but I also like stepping out of that box and being a different photographer sometimes.

Robert and Mackenzee look up for me as we photograph the base of Wintersmith dam. The water shapes on the face of the cement remind me of ancient native American pictographs.
Robert and Mackenzee look up for me as we photograph the base of Wintersmith dam. The water shapes on the face of the cement remind me of ancient native American pictographs.

An odd observation about that: photographers relax by being different photographers, airline pilots relax by flying their Cessnas and Piper Cubs, writers relax by setting aside their novel and working on their poetry instead.

Mackenzee flashes a smile at something funny and/or sarcastic Robert said. This image has everything in it I love about my vintage manual-focus 85mm f/2.0 Nikkor.
Mackenzee flashes a smile at something funny and/or sarcastic Robert said. This image has everything in it I love about my vintage manual-focus 85mm f/2.0 Nikkor.

Robert, Mackenzee and I are three very different photographers from each other, though we share some common ground, the love of image-making and self-expression.

Robert and Mackenzee prowl the creek bed below Wintersmith dam.
Robert and Mackenzee prowl the creek bed below Wintersmith dam.
Tree roots mimic snakes in the creek.
Tree roots mimic snakes in the creek.
Mackenzee runs her Fujifilm X100V at the creek. I had the chance to review her camera last year, and concluded it was an amazing piece of hardware.
Mackenzee runs her Fujifilm X100V at the creek. I had the chance to review her camera last year, and concluded it was an amazing piece of hardware.
Robert holds his iPhone upside down to get the lens as close to the water as possible.
Robert holds his iPhone upside down to get the lens as close to the water as possible.

For this occasion I decided to shoot in monochrome, both because the type of images I was making were less about color and more about light and composition, and because both cameras I was using, the Nikon D7100 and the Fujifilm X-T10, both have excellent monochrome rendering capabilities.

Robert leans on a tree as the three of us explore the creek below Wintersmith dam.
Robert leans on a tree as the three of us explore the creek below Wintersmith dam.

My Fuji wore the 16-50mm kit lens, and the Nikon wore the 1980s-vintage 85mm f/2.0 Nikkor. I especially love the look of images made with the 85mm, and it’s good to keep my manual focusing skills sharp.

Robert uses caution. The light in this image is amazing because the air was so clear and the flora had not yet filled out for spring.
Robert uses caution. The light in this image is amazing because the air was so clear and the flora had not yet filled out for spring.

At one point we did an old familiar challenge: each of us picks another one to pose for a portrait. Mackenzee photographed me, Robert photographed Mackenzee, and I photographed Robert.

This is my "portrait" of Robert.
This is my “portrait” of Robert.
Robert photographed Mackenzee and me as we review some images over a cold drink at Starbucks after our photo walk.
Robert photographed Mackenzee and me as we review some images over a cold drink at Starbucks after our photo walk.

Film Simulation Bracketing

An intriguing feature in my Fujifilm X-T10 is film simulation bracketing. When turned on, shooting one frame creates three JPEG files of the shot, each set to one of Fuji’s film simulations. You can choose which three film simulation modes you want in the menu. In this case, I told the camera to create one of each: vivid, sepia, and monochrome…

Vivid
Vivid
Sepia
Sepia
Monochrome
Monochrome

You can set the camera to use any of its nine film simulations. These frames are straight out of the camera, unedited. As you can see, a feature like this has some interesting potential.

Monochrome Challenge: Snow

Our patch of southern Oklahoma just received more snowfall that in the last ten years combined. Our mighty Irish wolfhound Hawken couldn’t wait to romp around in it.

The mighty wolfhound looks at me as if to say, "Come on!"
The mighty wolfhound looks at me as if to say, “Come on!”
Snow clings to my pecan tree.
Snow clings to my pecan tree.
I have seen and photographed this trail over and over, but it's never looked like this.
I have seen and photographed this trail over and over, but it’s never looked like this.
Snow hangs on branches on the trail below the pond.
Snow hangs on branches on the trail below the pond.
Last night's snow was the third winter storm in our area. The first one was an ice storm.
Last night’s snow was the third winter storm in our area. The first one was an ice storm.
Last night's snow created this unusual figure on our neighbor's trailer.
Last night’s snow created this unusual figure on our neighbor’s trailer.
Snow was deep enough to completely cover my shoes.
Snow was deep enough to completely cover my shoes.
This is our front porch after the first of two snowfalls this week.
This is our front porch after the first of two snowfalls this week.

Film: My Time at The Daily Times

I worked for a short time at The Daily Times in Ottawa, Illinois,  in 1988, with a very talented young photographer named Harold Krewer. We often challenged each other to feature photo shoot-offs, and it raised us both up in quality, and it was very fun.

Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 105mm f/1.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 105mm f/1.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5

Film: My Time at The Shawnee News-Star

This is the tiny, filthy, smokey darkroom I shared with Ed Blochowiak at The Shawnee News-Star for two and a half years.
This is the tiny, filthy, smokey darkroom I shared with Ed Blochowiak at The Shawnee News-Star for two and a half years.

I was the swing-shift photographer at The Shawnee News-Star from November 1985 through April 1988. I was partnered with a talented former Vietnam Air Force member Ed Blochowiak. Between us we made some great images and won some awards. Ed spent his entire career at the News-Star, and, sadly, died just two months after retiring in October 2016.

Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 35mm f/2.0
Photo by Richard R. Barron 24mm f/2.0
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 24mm f/2.0
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 24mm f/2.0
Photo by Richard R. Barron 105mm f/1.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300 mm f/4.5
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 180mm f/2.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 300mm f/4.5
105mm f/1.8
Photo by Richard R. Barron 24mm f/2.0

Film: Ada Cougar Football State Championship 1988

Richard R. Barron | The Ada News

I had been at The Ada Evening News (now, The Ada News) just six weeks when I photographed the Ada Cougars winning their 15th state championship in December 1988 at Oklahoma State University’s Lewis Field.

Most of the action and trophy photos were published in the sports section that Sunday. I was looking through a box of black-and-white negatives from that month and decided to write my column about scanning film, and scan many of these images, which have not been published since that time.

Richard R. Barron | The Ada News
Richard R. Barron | The Ada News
Richard R. Barron | The Ada News
Richard R. Barron | The Ada News
Richard R. Barron | The Ada News
Richard R. Barron | The Ada News
Richard R. Barron | The Ada News

Monochrome Challenge: After the First Freeze

Despite colder weather, Hawken always wants to splash into the pond up to his chest and get a big drink.
Despite colder weather, Hawken always wants to splash into the pond up to his chest and get a big drink.

My readers will recall that after the first hard freeze of the year, Hawken the Irish wolfhound and I expand our walk to include a large area of woods to the west of our home. If we exhaust all the trails in a single walk, which we often do, it comes to about three miles round trip. We are never bored.

For this edition of the Monochrome Challenge, I brought my tiny, seldom-used Olympus FE-5020.

Bare tree branches are set against a deep late-autumn sky. I used the red filter setting in Lightroom to give the image some additional pop.
Bare tree branches are set against a deep late-autumn sky. I used the red filter setting in Lightroom to give the image some additional pop.
The sun shines through a portion of woods onto tufts of wheatgrass.
The sun shines through a portion of woods onto tufts of wheatgrass.
We walk past this cross on our longer winter walks. I don't know who or what is buried beneath it.
We walk past this cross on our longer winter walks. I don’t know who or what is buried beneath it.
Sunlight filters through trees onto tall weeds on the far west end of our hike.
Sunlight filters through trees onto tall weeds on the far west end of our hike.
We often take a route that includes going past this pumper jack, which, probably due to low oil prices, has been inoperative for a couple of years.
We often take a route that includes going past this pumper jack, which, probably due to low oil prices, has been inoperative for a couple of years.

Kathy’s Influence

A wooden cross marks a grave of some kind. I found this while walking Hawken, our Irish wolfhound, deep into the woods.
A wooden cross marks a grave of some kind. I found this while walking Hawken, our Irish wolfhound, deep into the woods.
The Fujica ST-605n was my first single lens reflex camera.
The Fujica ST-605n was my first single lens reflex camera.

Abby and I rewatched Three Days of the Condor recently, and enjoyed it immensely.

When I was about 16 I saw this movie, starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway. Dunaway portrays Kathy, a photographer who gets tangled up in the intrigue. In her apartment, Redford, whose character is Joe Turner, looks at some of her images on the walls; deep, rich, low-light black-and-white images. He remarks that the photos aren’t really autumn, but they aren’t really winter. They are in between – November.

Kathy: Sometimes I take a picture that isn’t like me. But I took it so it is like me. It has to be. I put those pictures away.

Joe Turner: I’d like to see those pictures.

Kathy: We don’t know each other that well.

Joe Turner: Do you know anybody that well?

Kathy: I don’t think I want to know you very well.

This scene made a huge impression on the early years of my own photography.

Snow blows across U.S. 191 near Monticello, Utah.
Snow blows across U.S. 191 near Monticello, Utah.

Late Fall Monochrome

The Monochrome Challenge continues with these late autumn images.

Richard R. Barron — richardbarron.net
Richard R. Barron — richardbarron.net
Richard R. Barron — richardbarron.net
Richard R. Barron — richardbarron.net
Richard R. Barron — richardbarron.net
Richard R. Barron — richardbarron.net
Richard R. Barron — richardbarron.net
Richard R. Barron — richardbarron.net
Richard R. Barron — richardbarron.net
Richard R. Barron — richardbarron.net

Late Summer Monochrome

The monochrome challenge, seeing and shooting in black-and-white, continues.

Birdhouse
Birdhouse
Lawn chair
Lawn chair
Morning glory
Morning glory
Pears
Pears
Mimosa
Mimosa
Microphone
Microphone
Wolfhound
Wolfhound

These image were made with my 2003-era Minolta DiMage 7i in black-and-white mode.