I've always felt pretty ambivalent about IR photography, but at the same time, I've also always thought that I should at least experiment with it. Give it a proper chance. After all, it is a uniquely photographic approach to creating an image. And, why not use the full range of photons available to us? On the film side, I've come to appreciate the results one can get with Ilford SFX, which responds to NIR. Close to the visible in other words, such that the 'glowing leaves' effect is a bit mellower. Of course, you have to use heavy filtration to block most of the visible light, and shoot on a tripod. But it works.
Digital IR, on the other hand, is something I feel like I've never been able to get fully under my control. First of all, the false color treatments I've seen are definitely not to my personal taste, but I've seen some very solid black-and-white work. So, during the height of the pandemic, I picked up a copy of an IR converted Canon 5D to experiment with. I had an old Lensbaby mounted on the front to impart a 1970's 'Diana' kind of vibe. The above image is one I like well enough, I suppose. Still, though, I think I could have achieved a similar result using visible light, without all the fuss.
In future, I'll probably pull out the IR camera from time to time for a taste, like a very fine bottle of scotch. And who knows, before I leave this mortal coil, I may end up with a small body of decent IR work after all.
