Most of us agree that the world looks a certain way. We agree that leaves and grass in the summer are green, and the sky is blue. For millions, that’s reality.
But imagine seeing the world completely differently. Many people already do, due to color blindness, and when they see the world’s colors as others do, the revelation can be deeply emotional.
But they’re not the only people about to be amazed by what the world looks like with a little shift in perception. In fact, you’re about to be one of them!
Don’t worry, your eyes are fine. Photographer Przemysław Kruk, though, is going to show you the world as you’ve never seen it. Or rather, the world as you can’t see it but for the technology of infrared photography.
By altering the light waves that come through the lens, he’s able to completely change the way the world looks.
And the result is a dreamy, magical-looking place that you can hardly believe is our world. Take a look, and experience what it’s like to see in a different way!
[H/T: BoredPanda]
When you think of the rolling countryside in summer, you’re probably imagining something like the photo above.
It’s beautiful, and there’s nothing Przemysław likes more than photographing his home country of Poland.
But there’s more you can do than just take photos in the visible spectrum…
And that’s why he also shoots in infrared, or IR. He discovered this process many years ago, and he’s been fascinated by it ever since.
In this type of photography, the film is sensitive not to the visible spectrum that we see, but to infrared light. It’s also possible to achieve with digital, through a special modification of the camera.
As a result, we see what things look like through different light frequencies. The leaves and grass in this scene are green in visible light, but in infrared, they look ghostly white.
And because it’s so fascinating to him, Przemysław always makes sure to carry an IR camera in his backpack when he explores the countryside.
However, the IR photos are really only successful, he says, when conditions are right. Namely, it must be very bright. That way, all the subtleties of the color can be seen.
It’s incredible to think that by simply switching which wavelengths of light the camera picks up, you can alter the entire world.
And imagine if this was how we saw the world. There would be no green at all!
But animals other than humans see in a variety of different ways.
Some animals, like dogs and cats, don’t see red, while insects like bees see in ultraviolet light, on the other end of the spectrum of light.
Sometimes, looking at the world in a new way lets you see its beauty like never before. Maybe literally in this case!
“Commonly, we don’t have [the] chance to watch the world in IR,” Przemysław says, “but indisputably, the IR world is very mysterious, wonderful, and it can change [your] point of view.”
You can see more of his photography, which includes IR photos as well as some gorgeous traditional ones, on his website and on Facebook. Check them out when you’d like a different perspective.
And you can also SHARE this new and dreamlike version of the world with your friends, and show them that there’s more than just what we see!
