I’ve been into infrared photography and bird watching for a while so I decided to combine both hobbies and try out photographing birds in infrared.
Do accomplish this I used a Dwarf 2 smart telescope and a Kolari IR Chrome filter. I set the Dwarf to IR Pass mode and fitted the IR Chrome filter using some step-down rings and a 1.25″ converter. The converter allows you to use standard camera lens filters on the Dwarf II.
The Kolari IR Chrome filter is brilliant, there is no channel swapping required so you actually see the cool red & blue colours on the screen. Making IR videos is super easy as the Dwarf II can still track the birds in infrared and they look fantastic.
Photos of Birds in Infrared
I thought that by photographing birds in infrared they would stand out mote against the foliage. It works really well with puffins and the contrast of the teal and pink is lovely.
If you have a Dwarf smart telescope then I highly recommend adding an IR Chrome filter to your kit bag. IR allows you a bit more freedom to be creative and it’s always useful to be able to use the Dwarf during day light hours too.
The Dwarf 2 is underrated as a highly capable full-spectrum camera. I also had a go at photographing birds with the Dwarf II without the infrared filter, which also worked well.
