Day: July 13, 2016

Reflected IR (infrared) light produces a number of surprising and special effects. Almost none of them can be anticipated.

Vegetation appears white or near white in IR photography.

Skin takes on a milky, smooth texture, veins can appear on the surface of skin, eyes can appear ghostly – irises register dark tones, the whites of the eye take on a grayish hue. Black clothing appears gray or white, IR light can pass through sunglasses that, to the eye, appear extremely dark or mirror-like. Blue skies are especially dramatic, gray clouds turn dark and angry. IR cameras see through rain and mist

The infrared light spectrum is called “near infrared” or simply, “IR.” Near infrared refers to the spectrum of light just beyond the range humans can detect with their eyesight. The light range is between 700-1200 nanometers. The other aspect of the IR spectrum, the “above near IR” is associated with thermal imaging in medicine and movies.

In action movies, villains are often detected by measuring their body heat under nighttime conditions. Digital camera sensors are not able to detect thermal images, but digital cameras can be converted to record them. My camera, sent to me by Daniel Llewylln of  maxmax.com, a photographic conversion lab in New Jersey, is a Canon 60 D converted to infrared.

This photograph, of Maria greeting the sheep and offering them some small bits of food, looked to me almost like a sculpture. The camera picked up the body heat from the sheep and smoothed the surface of their skin, making it look almost like marble. It balanced their skin tones against hers and gave the photo a feeling of a statue, a tableau. Because the photograph is not as literal as a digital camera would create, that sometimes makes it more mystical or evocative.

I did darken the photo a bit, to heighten the emotional effect, you can almost feel the circling, writhing affect of the sheep, Maria almost caught in the middle of their attention, hunger and affection. The sheep seem especially alive, as if you are seeing and feeling their movement.

So a photo can become iconic, IR photography captures the world as it truly is, in terms of light and perhaps emotion. A different perspective, not to be overused. With IR photography, the photographer is almost a prisoner of the camera, he or she has no idea what the camera is seeing, or how to really adjust to it.

That is the exciting thing about it. I think this camera captured a scene of great power, if it had been taken with a digital color camera, it would have been less dramatic, I think, less of a tableau.

“The greater you are, the more you need to search for your self. Your deep soul hides itself from consciousness. So you need to increase aloneness, elevation of thinking, penetration of thought, liberation of mind – until finally your soul reveals itself to you, spangling a few sparkles of her lights.

  “Then you find bliss, transcending all humiliations or anything that happens, by attaining equanimity, by becoming one with everything that happens, by reducing yourself so extremely that you nullify existence in the depth of yourself. “What are we?” Then you know every spark of truth, every bolt of integrity flashing anywhere.

  “Then you gather everything, without hatred, jealousy, or rivalry. The splendor of compassion and the glory of love shine through you. The desire to act and work, the passion to create and to restore yourself, the yearning for silence and for the inner shout of joy – these all band together in your spirit, and you become holy.”

–  The Kabbalah

Donkeys have the richest spiritual and cultural history with people of any other animal on the earth, they have lived with people, worked with people and served them for thousands of years. They know us well and can read our intentions at a glance. They have lived and toiled all over the earth.

Their love for people is in service, they are not as demonstrative as dogs or as coy as cats. Their love is at a distance, they are always watching and studying us. Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey he rescued, one of the first rescue animals in history. Donkeys have shaped art, literature and culture.

They have borne witness to the joys and travails of humanity. There are many great books – Cervantes comes to mind – about people and donkeys traveling the earth, the Kabbalah is filled with references to wise donkeys bearing truth and love. So many great works of art include donkeys as figures of restoration and resurrection.

Lulu and Fanny are out witnesses, they know what I have in mind the moment I set food in the pasture, they are almost impossible to fool or trick. They are affectionate, but on their own terms, there is always a slight skepticism about humans in their behavior.

Yet they are deeply spiritual. Maria and i save our time sitting alone with them in the pasture, their silent love and attention, their need for connection, their scholarly and gentle way of chronicling and marking our lives and our world. I’m grateful for Lulu and Fanny, they have enriched our lives and brought us meaning and peace, as did Simon, who died more than a year ago, but is often remembered.