Ivy clad trees

I set out on the walk with the dogs this morning intent on experimenting a bit more with my IR enabled SLR. Normally to get onto the dunes behind Belhaven Beach I have to cross a couple of shallow streams but once or twice a year at high tide these streams are not fordable as the likelihood of the water overflowing the tops of my wellington boots is just too high. To get round to the dunes over the salt marsh involves backtracking and crossing over several smaller streams at points where you can easily step over them as my days of running and jumping over streams are long gone. All-in-all its about a ten minute detour.

Once we were back on our usual route I was able to get out my camera and look for suitable photo opportunities – mainly pathways disappearing into the marram grass or small pools of water none of which look particularly striking in IR treatment. A slightly more photogenic subject seemed to be looking over the salt marsh to Belhaven beach with the Bridge to Nowhere and the golf course in the distance. However, in the lane from the river which leads to our driveway there are trees covered in ivy and as the ivy is green it will appear as a highlight under infrared treatment and this proved to be to most interesting subject.

The IR treatment has highlighted the ivy and thereby created a centre of focus and the branches and tracery of the tree stand out against the dark sky. IR is also good at bringing out detail in the stone wall. It’s a slow learning curve but I am gradually beginning to see where IR will be most successful.