Scarborough - Experiments in Processing Infrared

My IR-converted Sony RX100 is fine for closer scenes but, for general landscapes, it has been a bit disappointing due to the low contrast and the fact I have to shoot at 2.8 to avoid hot spots. So I decided to experiment a bit with processing. The first and third images are processed through Silver Efex and the matching images using Raw Converter. Liking the Silver Efex images much better, the remaining 4 images are all processed that way.

York Minster Looking Up

For me, the interesting features in York Minster were looking up at the ceilings (partly as there is a lot of restoration involving scaffolding going on inside the Minster etc). Certainly other people agreed! The Grotesques are from the Chapter House.

York Museum Gardens and Station in Infrared

Our train home was not till midday yesterday, so we spent a bit of time in the Museum Gardens before walking to the Station. As my travel camera (Sony RX100) is now converted to infrared, here are a few shots from the morning - jpegs from the camera which is set to give these two-tone images.

 

Grand Day Out in Scarborough

Yesterday, we decided on a day at the seaside and travelled by bus to Scarborough. As Barry and Sue were unfamiliar with the town, I introduced them to my favourite part - South Bay and the Spa Complex. It was originally built around the source of Scarborough's spa waters, discovered in the 17th Century, but has been rebuilt many times as a result of flooding, fire etc. The present buildings built in the 1870s have undergone rennovations in two phases, a 40 week £2.9m renovation in 2007 followed by a major £4.9m refurbishment in 2010-2011.The complex now includes a 2,000 capacity Spa Grand Hall, 600 seat Victorian theatre and smaller Spa Ocean Room for dances, conferences and other events. A £13.453 million scheme to stabilise the cliffs behind the Spa complex is now underway!
Other areas of South Bay await rennovation such as the toilets, sunbathing deck and undercliff areas but make great photographic studies.
During the afternoon, we walked slowly long the beach and by the time we reached the harbour, the rain clouds had gathered.

A Rainy Day in York

Yesterday was wet all day in York except for a short dry spell that allowed us to walk up on the Walls around the Minster to find somewhere to eat in the evening. Spent morning in Castle Museum, some time photographing umbrellas and some of the many groups of people celebrating special days in York (not sure the reason for the dressed up group here) and a respite period in the Travelodge drying out.