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'Life in Another Light' infrared photography contest 2024 winners

The winners of the fourth Life in Another Light photo contest have been announced, showcasing unique views captured with infrared photography. The Biennial contest is hosted by Kolari Vision, a company specializing in infrared photography gear, camera conversions, and tips. This year's contest drew over 3,000 submissions across 11 photography categories and a short film category, a first for the contest.

While the main aim of the contest is to highlight infrared photography, Kolari Vision also included some categories focused on traditional visible light, opening up the competition beyond the niche of infrared imagery. Additionally, there was a category for ultraviolet light and categories specifically for Kolari Vision's Candy Chrome Infrared Lens Filter and IR Chrome FIlter.

The contest was judged by seven judges, including guest photographers Pierre-Louis Ferrer and Yann Philippe, who helped judge the filter-specific categories. Kolari Vision explains that each image was evaluated "based on technical execution, composition, and creativity in three rounds of judging before selecting the finalists." The resulting images are otherworldly examples of what's possible with this method of photography.

Landscape infrared – first place

Photographer: Gavin Spooner

Title: Switzerland

Gear used: Panasonic GX85 + IR Chrome Infrared Filter

Type of light: Infrared

Landscape infrared – second place

Photographer: Jonas Hangartner

Title: WA1K345

Gear used: Full spectrum Canon 5D MKII + 720nm filter from Kolari Vision

Type of light: Infrared

Infrared short film – first place

Cinematographer: Lambert Grand

Title: When Earth Took A Breath

Gear used: IR Chrome Infrared filter (camera used not provided)

Type of light: Infrared

Astro landscape – first place

Photographer: Jonas Hangartner

Title: Losing Track Of Time

Gear used: Panasonic GH5

Type of light: Visible light (normal)

Astro landscape – honorable mention

Photographer: Troy Casswell

Title: Luminous Jewels

Gear used: Canon EOS R5 (full spectrum converted) with 365nm UV light to induce fluorescence

Type of light: Visible light (normal)

Black & white – first place

Photographer: Carolyn Hinton Hutchins

Title: Alligator In Morning Mist

Gear used: Nikon Z6

Type of light: Visible light (normal)

IR Chrome – first place

Photographer: Mitja Kobal

Title: Dreams Of Reality, Dream 5: Plaza of Kanagawa, Japan

Gear used: Fujifilm GFX50S + IR Chrome Infrared Filter

Type of light: Infrared

Landscape – visible light – first place

Photographer: Yohan Raintung

Title: Merapi

Gear used: Nikon Z9

Type of light: Visible light (normal)

Aerial – first place

Photographer: Bobby Ritchey

Title: Black Sand Beach

Gear used: Not provided

Type of light: Visible light (normal)

Long exposure – first place

Photographer: Dibakar Roy

Title: People Mixture

Gear used: Not provided

Type of light: Visible light (normal)

Portrait – first place

Photographer: Rob Jemmett

Title: Meg With Scarf

Gear used: Fujifilm X-T2 (converted to full spectrum) + 720nm Infrared Filter

Type of light: Infrared

Ultraviolet – first place

Photographer: Michael Riffle

Title: Magnolia Grandiflora

Gear used: Nikon D750 + UV Bandpass Filter

Type of light: Ultraviolet Reflective

Candy Chrome – first place

Photographer: Ginny Taylor

Title: Bout To Bloom

Gear used: Canon EOS R5 + Candy Chrome Infrared Filter

Type of light: Infrared

Abstract – first place

Photographer: Olga Ivanova

Title: Stairsteps

Gear used: Canon EOS 6D Mark II

Type of light: Visible light (normal)

Image: Adobe

Adobe has announced that it's working on a feature for Photoshop called Live Co-Editing, which lets multiple people view and edit the same document at once. The concept will be familiar to anyone who's worked in a Google Doc with other people, though applied to photo or graphical editing instead of word processing.

The feature is coming next week as a private beta, so it won't immediately be accessible to everyone. If you sign up for the beta and are accepted, you'll be able to use it via the share button, similar to the existing collaboration feature. However, instead of only one person being able to work on the document at once, you'll have the option to turn on Live Co-Editing.

Adobe's press release details some examples of when the ability to work on the same Photoshop document could be useful. The first is the most obvious one, where there's a big project with several pieces that designers can work on at once. It could also be handy if a teacher is trying to explain a specific process to a student or if you're on a call with a client and want them to be able to see your work in as much detail as possible.

The announcement is Adobe's latest move to present Photoshop and its other products as services rather than simply applications, along with the increasing number of built-in generative AI features. It may hope that these features will help justify the ongoing cost of a subscription, especially as some tiers of that subscription are getting more expensive. To start, Live Co-Editing will be available on the desktop and web versions of Photoshop.

Photo: DJI

DJI has announced a new drone, offering a folding design unique to its lineup. The DJI Flip is the company’s first foldable drone with full-coverage propeller guards, maintaining safety in a compact, portable package. The palm-sized drone combines the simplicity of the DJI Neo with the photo capabilities of the DJI Mini 3. Like both the Neo and Mini 3, it weighs less than 249 grams, so it's more accessible to fly than heavier drones since you don't need a license from the FAA. DJI is calling it an all-in-one vlog camera drone with features ideal for content creators on the go.

Photo: DJI

The standout feature of the DJI Flip is its foldable design. The propeller guards are attached to the rotors using carbon fiber string, and each rotor can then fold down for easier storage. Like the Neo, it offers very simplified flight controls, making it an easy option for those who don’t have drone flying experience. That includes one-tap flight, six intelligent shooting modes (Dronie, Circle, Rocket, Spotlight, Helix and Boomerang) and AI Subject Tracking. It also offers automatic braking with the 3D Infrared Sensing System, making it safer to fly.

Photo: DJI

Regarding camera capabilities, the DJI Flip features a 48MP Type 1/1.3 (9.6 x 7.2mm) CMOS sensor behind a lens with an F1.7 aperture. The sensor has a Quad Bayer-style color filter layout, meaning it can either output 48MP photos, or combine pixels to give 2.4μm "4-in-1" output, just like the DJI Mini 3.

DJI also promises "Dual Native ISO Fusion," which appears to be its branding for sensor maker Omnivision's Dual Conversion Gain HDR feature. This claims to sample each pixel's charge twice, using different conversion gain levels to boost DR, while also combining variable exposures. It appears to be for capturing wide-DR video in a standard DR space rather than true HDR footage for playback on high DR screens. We've asked DJI for more information.

The drone can record HDR video up to 4K 60 fps, supports slow-motion recording at 4K 100 fps, and the 4:3 sensor produces vertical crops up to 2.7K. It also supports 10-bit D-Log M color mode for those who want to dive into color grading.

A sample image taken with the DJI Flip

Photo: DJI

The DJI Flip offers up to 31 minutes of flight time, which is quite a bit less than the DJI Mini 3’s 51-minute flight time (provided you use the Intelligent Flight Battery Plus) but substantially longer than the Neo’s 18-minute max flight time. You can control the Flip with Voice Control or the DJI Fly app, and it is also compatible with the DJI RC-N3 and RC2 controllers. It supports up to 13 kilometers (8.1 miles) of 1080p 60 fps video transmission, so you don’t need to be right next to your subject to record or capture photos.

The DJI Flip is available for purchase as of today. You can opt for only the drone only for $439, buy a kit with the DJI RC 2 for $639 or opt for the Fly More Combo with the DJI RC 2 for $779.

Image: TTArtisan

TTArtisan is keeping the lens news coming this year with another lens announcement just a few weeks after its last. The company is following up its AF 35mm F1.8 II with another F1.8 prime lens for APS-C users, as reported by PetaPixel. Priced at just $127, the TTArtisan AF 23mm (35mm equivalent) F1.8 is a budget-friendly option that slots nicely into TTArtisan’s existing lineup of affordable yet fast prime lenses. It is available for Fujifilm X cameras now, with Sony E and Nikon Z mount models coming later, though the company hasn't specified exactly when.

Image: TTArtisan

Like TTArtisan’s other lenses, the 23mm F1.8 features an aluminum body, offering better durability than you may expect for the budget price. It’s also very lightweight, weighing 210 grams (7.4 ounces). TTArtisan doesn’t provide additional details on dimensions, but the lightweight design and 35mm equivalent focal length could make it an ideal street, travel, and landscape lens. The USB-C port for firmware updates is on the rear lens cap, so you won't want to lose that after unboxing the lens.

Image: TTArtisan

While the details about the lens size are minimal, the company did provide information on the optical design. The lens is composed of 11 elements in nine groups. It includes two extra-low dispersion elements and a high index element. Additionally, it features a nine-blade aperture diaphragm. There is no aperture control ring (as is expected on a lens of this price), so all aperture control will be done through the camera. The 23mm F1.8 uses a stepper motor for autofocus, which the company says is fast, accurate and suitable for video applications. Finally, it can focus as close as 0.3 meters (11.9 inches).

$127 at Amazon Sample Images Photo: TTArtisan Photo: TTArtisan Photo: TTArtisan Photo: TTArtisan

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Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm F3.5-6.3 @ 16mm | F6.3 | 1/160 sec | ISO 100

Photo: Richard Butler

As part of our ongoing review, we took the Z50II traveling over the Christmas period, to see what Nikon's little APS-C model is like as a day-to-day camera. We found it small enough to take on a madcap 11-day trip to Mexico and the UK.

The gallery was primarily shot on the retractable Nikkor Z DX 16-50mm F3.5-6.3 VR kit zoom but we also took the Nikkor Z DX 24mm F1.7 and the Sigma 56mm F1.4 DC DN, for a bit of variery.

We've still got some of our more formal testing to do, so the review is still likely to be a few weeks off. But in the meantime you can get a sense of its versatility from our samples gallery.

Buy now:

$1399 at Amazon.com Nikon Z50II sample gallery

Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter/magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review); we do so in good faith, so please don't abuse it.

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