Checkerboard (Infrared Street Photography)

Checkerboard by Mike Jackobo

An infrared photo depicting a group of people passing by a large checkerboard. It had been four years since I last visited Corinth. After visiting Acrocorinth, the ancient acropolis, I went to the city. Although the day was sunny, by the time we visited the city, heavy clouds had settled in the area. These are conditions that do not favour infrared photography. When the sun is shining, the contrast between the illuminated trees and the seemingly dark sky is huge and the effect is quite dramatic. On a cloudy day though, the sky is white and everything becomes flat. One can argue that the same thing happens in normal photography as well. In infrared though, the white trees over a white background create an uninteresting image. Except when there is something big and impressive in the photo.

A cruise ship was at the harbour that day and many tourists were wandering in the city. It made it easy to do street photography. So, when I saw this big ckeckerboard I didn’t have to wait at all for someone to pass by. These people were walking in the right direction and they became the unsuspecting protagonists for my photo. The problem I was describing earlier, about infrared on a cloudy day is visible. The trees are grey and they are less illuminated than the clouds. This could almost be a normal photograph, if it wasn’t for some subtle details that give away the infrared. The subject of the photo though draws away attention from the failed infrared and makes the image work as a street photography capture.

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