US and California Flags in Infrared

I like photography a lot, but it's something I engage with in fits and starts. This is especially true during pandemic times, because I'm out and about much less, but the biggest impediment is brain fuckery; depression and anxiety are not conducive to hobbies.

The photo project that is most dear to me, which I've been plugging away at for years, is US and California flags in infrared. Infrared photography involves using film or digital cameras which are sensitive to infrared light, in conjunction with filters that block visible light. Historically, infrared imaging has been used for military aerial surveillance and scientific and agricultural purposes, because living foliage reflects infrared very strongly, but dead foliage does not, even if it is still green to the naked eye.

Infrared photography also has a number of other quirks, my personal favorite being the unpredictable way that IR interacts with dyes and pigments on various materials and surfaces. This can result in unpredictable and often surreal rendition of ubiquitous symbols, such as flags. I find this oddly liberating.