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Doc Ruby writes “Scientists at Johns Hopkins University in MD, USA announced they’ve disrupted the means by which HIV stops the immune system from attacking it. From the article: ‘Scientists say they have found a way to disarm the AIDS virus in research that could lead to a vaccine. Researchers have discovered that if they eliminate a cholesterol membrane surrounding the virus, HIV cannot disrupt communication among disease-fighting cells and the immune system returns to normal. […] “By stealing cholesterol from the envelope of the virus, we can neutralize the subversion,” said Graham. “We’ve broken the code; we can shut down the type of interference that HIV is having on the immune system.”

via AIDS Vaccine Breakthrough.

There are many types of art photography out there that show a new way of viewing things like infrared photography, micro and macro photography, lomography, light photography, and many others. In this article we will talk about infrared photography, a type of photography that captures the unseen beauty of nature made possible by technology.

What is Infrared Photography?

First we need to know what is infrared. Remember the saying that what you see is just an illusion? That is actually true, and that what you see is the only thing you’re ‘made’ to see. Look above you, you’ll probably see your ceiling. That is because the light that touches its surface is seen by you, called visible light. To give you an idea of the things you can’t see, think of ultraviolet, x-rays, gamma rays, infrared, microwave, and radio. These compose the electromagnetic spectrum, and only the visible light part is what we can see under naked eye.

Chart taken from Wikipedia

If you’ll take time to study the chart above you’ll be amazed at how little our eyes can see of our surroundings. We only see a portion of the world as it is, and that’s a good thing. Imagine seeing every wavelength, I think that would be like looking at an old television’s static.

So, the point here is, before you even begin infrared photography you need to have a grasp of what it is you’re doing in order to pass on the knowledge. In infrared photography, you basically take a peek into the unseeable by manipulating your tools. You can either use a standard camera or a digital camera, but alterations and post-processing is needed to achieve a great photo.

In a sense, infrared photography is an attempt to view the world in a different manner, similar to using a microscope to see little life forms or using an x-ray to see through things. Venturing through Flickr I’ve been awed by the amazing world out there that we can’t see, but now can due to advances in technology.

Before the introduction of color photography, photographers used filters and black and white negatives to manipulate the final result, especially when they wanted to achieve infrared photography.

I’m not a photographer nor do I claim I know how to do infrared photography, I am simply so amazed by the process that I thought I’d share this with you. I did some research for people who want to enter infrared photography and found this very in-depth guide by Rob about infrared photography. Tutorial includes how to setup everything up to post-processing.  Here is his Flickr page.

Examples of Infrared Photography

Take note that you can buy their prints if you happen to fall in love with them! Don’t forget to click on the links for more IR photographs.

Straightforward Path Infrared by ilimel

Orchard Infrared II by dingodave

iNfraRed series – terengganu 1 by shin-ex

Barn in Infrared by Pak T

The gilded River by Anrold

Barbados Infrared by Infrared-Land

Arte moderno en IR by Goku Abreu

Cloudy Day by RoeiG

Monroe Arts Center-IR by Marc Kohlbauer

Warm Feelings IR by caithness155

Read more »

Daily deals services such as Groupon and LivingSocial are proliferating, with more than 650 providers serving 26 million customers so far. The market is growing so quickly, it’s hard to get a handle on who’s using these products and what they’re using them for.

That’s where this infographic can help. It’ll show you the major players, the types of deals offered and who’s buying these deals. Beyond that, you’ll find fascinating facts about the quickly developing secondary deal marketplace.

Just in time for the last week of National Coupon Month (who knew?), here’s a comprehensive set of graphical data gathered from the users of CityPockets, a secondary daily deals marketplace whose digital wallet helps you consolidate all those vouchers and daily deals. Keep in mind that CityPockets admits its survey respondents tend to be slightly heavier daily deals users.

Take a look at this infographic, and let us know in the comments how you’re using daily deals.