I have been intrigued by Infrared photography for more years than I can [or choose to] remember. The cost and the dificulty in handling the film made it very hard to pursue. The digital age has changed that. Apparently, but for a filter built into the digital receptor, every digital camera has infrared capabilities. Infrared is used for the autofocus function, but since most people only want pictures that deal with visible light, there is a filter placed over the receptor if every digital camera. If that filter is removed and replaced with a simple glass filter, the camera will capture a lot more.

As a result of a very lucrative August at work, I was able to purchase a Fuji Finepix with the filter removed and I have now joined the ranks of Infrared photographers.

- - Here's the tech-talk:
The visible light spectrum is roughly 400 to 700nm. Ultraviolet is below 400 *nanometers* [nm] and Near Infrared is between 700 and 1200 nm. Without the receptor filter, the range of the camera is now 300-1200 nm. With the use of a filter, it is possible to eliminate all of the visible light. The red receptor on the camera is the one most sensitive to Near Infrared, so a color shot is going to have a reddish cast to it. This means that these become more suited to monochrome, or black and white.
- - End of Geek Speak. - -

Combine everything with the more powerful black and white converter of Photoshop and the results are fascinating. There is also something called color-swapping which allows for the creation of a pseudo-color picture. As you can see, I've done a little of that as well.