Even though I have never owned one of these cars, I’ve had a long-time love affair with Buicks. Not so much the newer cars, especially after they broke my heart in 1999 by discontinuing the Rivera and I’ve found it difficult to get excited by their more recent and I think boring—SUV—offerings.

My Buick passion began sometime in the late ’40’s or early ’50’s, I’m not really sure exactly, when my Uncle Harry paid me one dollar every Saturday to wash his yellow 1948 Buick convertible. Nobody in my family owned an interesting car like this; heck, my Dad didn’t even own a car.

I have never owned a Buick but ended up loving all kinds of Buick automobiles. I would really like my next car to be a Reatta, a sport coupe and convertible that Buick made from 1988–1991, but I have a feeling Mary wouldn’t like that much. (She doesn’t have the same passion that I have for these automobiles.) My love affair with Buicks also covers all of the classics to the Skylark to the GFX and especially the Grand National, including the very special Buick that’s shown above. This beautiful old Buick was reportedly custom built for the former Shah of Iran—that ain’t chrome trim, it’s silver—and now resides in a 300-vehicle private collection here in Colorado.

How I made this photo: This special Buick was photographed using a Canon EOS 50D and Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM lens at 17mm, using the camera’s Landscape mode Picture Style with an exposure of 1/50 sec at f/3.5 at ISO 800.

If you enjoyed today’s blog post and would like to treat Joe to a cup of Earl Grey tea ($2.50), click here. And if you do, many thanks.

Along with photographer Barry Staver, Joe is co-author of Better Available Light Digital Photograph that’s now out-of-print but new copies are available from Amazon for $21.49 with used copies starting around five bucks. For some reason, the Kindle price is really high, not because of Barry or I.

“Every object in the Universe with a temperature above absolute zero radiates in the infrared, so this part of the spectrum contains a great deal of information.”—Frank J. Low

Digital infrared photography has the power to transform mundane visual experiences into something that’s unforgettable.

I think that purchasing a used digital DSLR or mirrorless camera and converting it to infrared capture is a great idea because used bodies are usually available at a substantial discount so when the cost of conversion is added you’re not going to be spending lots of money. Another idea (even cheaper) is to have one of your older cameras converted after you’ve updated to a newer model. Tip: Remember that after your camera has been converted; you will only be able to shoot infrared images with it.

Everyday scenes you might walk right by and never think of photographing, take on a dreamy look when seen in infrared. Landscapes may be considered to be the best subject matter for IR but are other subjects, such as portraits, cityscapes, night city streets, and macro worth considering? I think everything makes a great subject for digital infrared photography! Here are a few possibilities:

1. Landscapes: This is the classical infrared application because tree leaves appear to be almost white. This is a common effect produced by deciduous trees and grass because they reflect the sun’s infrared energy instead of absorbing it. Along with a black sky, the effect is dramatic.
2. Cars: I used my IR-converted camera to make the above shot that was then digitally colored in Photoshop. Infrared images don’t have to be strictly black and white and that’s why I also like to apply digital toning effects to IR image files. It’s a Buick Invicta. (See my post ‘My Love Affair with Buicks.’)
3. Architecture: Professional architectural photographers always used infrared film to make images of buildings. That’s partly because IR photography cuts through haze, adds contrast, and produces pure black skies to make photographs of buildings look even more dramatic.
4. Portraits. In my infrared photography book (see below,) I show a few portraits but one magazine editor told me it added a creepy “Twilight”  (vampires ya know?) feel to the images because the subject’s eyes looked odd. But if you’re careful, aren’t too close and have the subject looking off to the side, it shouldn’t bother you. If its does, it’s time to move onto other fun subjects.

And that’s what infrared digital imaging is all about, having fun with photography no matter what subject you decide to photograph.

I’ve found that Life Pixel does a great job with IR conversions and they have done most of the conversions for my Canon DSLRs and all of my Panasonic Lumix G-series cameras. This is not a paid or sponsored endorsement, just my experience.

My out-of-print book, The Complete Guide to Digital Infrared Photography is available from Amazon with new collector copies selling for $52.57 and used copies starting around eight bucks, as I write this. Creative Digital Monochrome Effects has a chapter on IR photography and is available from Amazon for $20.70 with used copies starting around two bucks. No Kindle versions are currently available.