Infrared film has long been a favorite of mine. It has also become more scarce over the years. There are still infrared films on the market, most notably Ilford SFX and Rollei IR 400, and I have used both of them on occasion, but my go to films are long gone. Both Kodak HIE and Konica IR 750 disappeared around 2005. I have one roll of the Konica film (expired 1999) in the freezer, and I was planning to use it this summer. After that, I will likely switch entirely to SFX, which required a R72 filter to get anything resembling IR response from.
With these things in mind, I got my old Nikon D300 converted to infrared. It’s a decent camera for its age, and was the perfect candidate for conversion because
A) I already owned it, and
B) I have manual lenses for it that have infrared marks on them.
An infrared mark is a small, red line on the aperture scale that indicated where to focus. Focusing for infrared light is different than with visible light, and you have to adjust. I learned early in my digital IR exploration that relying on an auto-focus lens is not a good idea, so I attached my vintage 20mm Nikkor, and suddenly my images were much sharper, and not only that, but the were sharp where I wanted them to be.
The Nikon D300 has a cropped sensor, so the 20mm lens is the equivalent of about 28mm (this is a guess), which is just fine. It’s wide, but I don’t get the bending of the image in the corners that the lens creates on 35mm film, or a FX sensor. The one drawback of the sensor size, and age of the camera, is that my files are not big enough. I have to create multi-file images in Photoshop to get a large picture.
Infrared has intrigued me for decades. Here is some of my latest work.
The HCRH State Trail, Mosler, Oregon
©2020 Gary L. Quay
This is from last summer. Gaia and I did a short walk on the Historic Columbia Highway trail, and I had the infrared camera along. It will get warmer in a remarkably short time. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it is not an oncoming train.
Camera: Nikon 300
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
The Hawthorne Bridge, Portland, Oregon, Infrared
©2020 Gary L. Quay
I wanted to see what would happen if I put a R72 filter in front of my Nikon D810, and took some pictures. The R72 lets in only infrared light above 720nm. It seems to require 12 stops of additional light. Exposures were about 30 seconds. Only one actually worked, which is this one. There was a little flare on the filter because I did not have a lens hood along, and it made them unusable. For this one, I found a shade tree under which to take the picture. I think it worked just fine.
Camera: Nikon D810
Lens: Vintage 35mm Nikkor.
Cherry Blossoms
©2023 Gary L. Quay
Some cherry blossoms on a tree outside my house.
Camera: Nikon D300 (Infrared Conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Rolling Hills and Valleys in the Eastern Columbia Gorge, Washing
©2020 Gary L. Quay
Taken along SR 14 in Washington State, this picture shows off the scale of the hills in the eastern Columbia Gorge.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Mt Hood Over a Farm in Dufur, Oregon
2020 Gary L. Quay
Mt Hood presides over a farm in Dufur, Oregon. Infrared image.
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: 28mm Zeiss Distagon ZF2
Country Lane Near Mosier, Oregon, June 2020
©2020 Gary L. Quay
A country lane in Wasco County, Oregon, near Mosier, and the Columbia Gorge as seen with an infrared camera.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Starvation Creek Falls, Infrared, June 2020
©2020 Gary L. Quay
Starvation Creek Falls in the Columbia Gorge is one of my favorite spots, but it’s difficult to capture the the falls in all of its glory in one picture.. It’s not because it’s impossible. There is just too much of it. The picture gets too busy. So, here’s part of the falls. More of it later.
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor.
Private Property! Keep Out! Columbia Gorge, Oregon
©2020 Gary L. Quay
“Sign, sign, everywhere a sign,
Blockin’ out the scenery,
Breakin’ my mind.
Do this, don’t do that.
Can’t you read the sign.”
Lyrics from Five Man Electrical Band. I think it was 1971. That said, I think that living in a popular tourist destination, and with the occasional tourists who have no concept of where they are not supposed to go, signs like these are inevitable, and understandable. That’s why I am not providing a more specific location.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor.
Abandoned Gas Station, Dodson, Oregon
©2020 Gary l. Quay
I have been photographing this old gas station in Dodson, Oregon since it still had a roof. I don’t do it often, but that day was the day for it.
Update April 2023: This old gas station was torn down. It was a relic of the time before the Columbia Gorge’s National Scenic Area designation. Fewer of those things remain every day.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor.
Abandoned Gas Station, Dodson, Oregon # 2
©2020 Gary L. Quay
As I mentioned previously, I have been photographing this old gas station since it still had a roof. I don’t do it often, but that day was the day for it.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor.
Overlooking Mosier, Oregon, June 2020
©2020 Gary L. Quay
This is Mosier, Oregon in the Columbia Gorge. There was a brief interlude between deluges when there was enough sun to do some infrared pictures.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Gaia on a Walk
©2020 Gary L. Quay
Gaia and I were out for a walk in the spring, and I took the infrared camera. She uses the wheelchair as a walker until she can’t walk anymore, then set sits down, and I push her in the wheelchair. It has extended our range quite a bit.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Drinking Fountain, Stone Park, Fairview
©2020 Gary L. Quay
Pandemic Apocalypse Photo Expedition into the neighborhood. I did this because I can’t go anywhere else. Seeing the world through a narrower field of vision can be kind of like writing a sonnet. Poets say (I have called myself a poet in the past, but I haven’t written many since college) that the rigid structure of a sonnet can bring out greater creativity because it forces one to think in different ways. I would never have taken this picture without the shelter-in-place rule that Oregon put in place for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Fairview Creek, Fairview, Oregon, Infrared
I am text block. Click edit button to change this text. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
©2020 Gary L. Quay
Pandemic Apocalypse Photo Expedition into the neighborhood. I did this because I can’t go anywhere else. Seeing the world through a narrower field of vision can be kind of like writing a sonnet. Poets say (I have called myself a poet in the past, but I haven’t written many since college) that the rigid structure of a sonnet can bring out greater creativity because it forces one to think in different ways. I used the limits of the field of vision of the lems to edit out the houses on either side, to make it look like it’s not in suburbia.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Horsethief Butte, Eastern Columbia Gorge, Washington, Infrared
©2020 Gary L. Quay
Horsethief Butte is part of the rugged eastern end of the Columbia Gorge in Washington. It’s a place that I love visiting. It just takes me longer to get there these days.
Camera: Niokn D30 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Mosier, Oregon from the HCRH Trailhead, Infrared
©2020 Gary L. Quay
More infrared fun from Mosier, Oregon from this year of our virus 2020, and the spring of our discontent. More infrared to come.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor.
The Path of Lights and Shadows, Infrared
©2020 Gary L. Quay
In the Shadow of Rowena Crest in the Columbia Gorge.
Camera: Nikon D300 (Infrared Conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
The Dalles and Mt Hood from Across the Columbia, Infrared
©2020 Gary L. Quay
This is The Dalles, Oregon, as seen from Washington across the Columbia River.. The days are getting warmer, and infrared is working better. I’ve moved away from using autofocus lenses for infrared. My old, manual lenses work much better because they have infrared marks on them, and I can focus where I want.
Camera: Nikon D300 (Infrared Conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Mt Hood Over The Dalles, Oregon
©2020 Gary L. Quay
This is The Dalles, Oregon, as seen from Washington across the Columbia River.. The days are getting warmer, and infrared is working better. I’ve moved away from using autofocus lenses for infrared. My old, manual lenses work much better because they have infrared marks on them, and I can focus where I want.
Camera: Nikon D300 (Infrared Conversion)
Lens: Vintage 50mm Nikkor
Memaloose Overlook, Columbia Gorge, Oregon
©2020 Gary L. Quay
Memaloose Island in the Columbia Gorge as seen from the Memaloose Overlook along the Historic Columbia River Highway.
Camera: Nikon D300 (Infrared Conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Infrared Windmills at Maryhill, Washington
©2020 Gary L. Quay
Infrared windmills at Maryhill, Washington in March 2020.
Camera: Nikon D300 (Infrared Conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Cherry Trees in Bloom, Eastern Columbia Gorge
©2020 Gary L. Quay
Infrared cherry trees blooming at the Jacob Williams Winery in Washington.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Looking Upriver from Dallesport, Washington, Infrared
©2020 Gary L. Quay
There are few places that I’d rather be than in The Dalles. Across the river is pretty nice too.
Camera: Nikon D300
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Behind Bonneville Dam, Spring 2020, Infrared
©2020 Gary L. Quay
This place where I took this picture has been closed off since the pandemic started, and before that it was closed due to the Eagle Creek Fire. There was a very short few months that it was open in 2019 and 2020, and during that time I got this picture.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: 18-70mm Nikon
Horsethief Lake in the Eastern Columbia Gorge, Washington
©2020 Gary L. Quay
It’s one of my favorite Western names: Horsethief Lake. There’s also Horsethief Butte, which is to the left of where I took this picture. Horsethief Lake was created by the BNSF right-of-way, which you ca see in the left, center of the picture, and by The Dalles Dam, which flooded Celilo Falls and raised the river level high enough to create the lake.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Memaloose State Park, April 2021 Infrared
©2021 Gary L. Quay
I just love Spring and infrared photography.
Camera: Nikon D300 (Infrared Conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Infrared Tree, Eastern Columbia Gorge
©2021 Gary L. Quay
I don’t do many lone tree pictures because I’m not good at them. I like this one, though.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor
Sunny Forest, Columbia Gorge, Oregon
©2021 Gary L. Quay
Spring is in full swing in the Columbia Gorge. I took this along the Historic Columbia River Highway near Mosier, Oregon.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikon
High and Dry, Columbia Hills State Park, Washington
©2020 Gary L. Quay
On the way back fom the Dalles Mountain Ranch in southern Washington, the washboard road passes near Horsethief Butte (on the right), and a smaller butte that pokes up on the northern side of SR 14.
Camera: Nikon D300 (infrared conversion)
Lens: Vintage 20mm Nikkor.