Next Steps

“Everything comes down to the challenge of not just taking what’s there, of wanting to picture it my way.”

We all see the same subjects,” Deborah Sandidge says. “I’m trying to portray them a little bit differently.” And that portrayal begins with the question, “What happens if?” As in, what happens if she takes an HDR (High Dynamic Range) photo? Or creates a composite image? Or uses a photo manipulation or enhancement program or plug-in? What will the image look like then?

But not all of Deb’s decisions involve post processing. “Some of them simply involve where I want to stand, or how long I have to wait for the right light. I look at a subject and think, how can I make this unique...or at the very least, different? It may involve composition, or lens choice or an image overlay, but there’s always something I can do.”

Deb’s photography began with shooting black-and-white and processing film in the darkroom. “I really enjoyed darkroom work because it required both technical and creative skills,” she says. Digital, though, allows her to experiment more freely, to be more imaginative in both the capture and processing of images.

Her subject choices are varied, but the common factor is her search for new and different ways to portray whatever interests her. The hunt has led her to HDR photography and to digital infrared (IR) photography. Of the latter, she says, “It’s fascinating to me that there is invisible light—infrared light that exists beyond the visible spectrum. I can’t see it with my own eyes, but my camera can record it with the use of an infrared filter. It’s surreal, artistic and helps me fulfill my need to be creative; plus it’s fun.” Her fascination with digital IR imaging led her to write Digital Infrared Photography, a guide to the art and craft of digital infrared.