ARK Infrared

ARK Infrared turns ordinary photos into infrared photographs, the way they would look on infrared film behind a real filter.

The app reads the colours in your photo for the things infrared responds to: chlorophyll in leaves, blue light in the sky, the heat of tungsten lamps. From those it rebuilds the picture as infrared film would have recorded it. Leaves turn white and skies turn dark because of what is in the scene.

EIGHT FILMS

BW. Black-and-white infrared from 590 to 850 nm, in the manner of Kodak HIE: white foliage, dark skies, a soft glow around bright areas. The dial sets the filter wavelength.

AERO. Kodak Aerochrome false colour. Vegetation turns red and neutral tones stay neutral. The dial moves through the Wratten filters photographers used with the real film, #12 to #25.

NIGHT. Infrared at night. Tungsten lights blaze and foliage turns red against a black sky. The dial sets how far into red the film goes, and the app adjusts to each photo's white balance.

MOON. Day for night. A daylight photo becomes a moonlit one, following how the eye sees in the dark: reds fade first, colour drains and the daytime sky turns to night. The dial sets how deep the night goes.

NEG. The exposure before development: the scene as a camera sensor records it behind a deep red filter. Press and hold to develop the print.

SAFELIGHT. The darkroom lamp. Warm surfaces glow red and everything else falls into blue dark.

CYANO. The cyanotype, John Herschel's iron-blue print from 1842, in a blue measured from real prints. The dial sets the printing time. Hold the print to tone it to sepia and back to the original photo.

COPPER TONE. The copper-toned print after Kodak's 1918 Tone A: a red image on white paper. The dial sets the toning time. Hold the print to see the silver print under the toner.

VIDEO

Load a clip and tune the film on its first frame. One key renders the whole clip through the same film.

THE DECK

An aluminium deck with a tuning ruler, an exposure dial and one red key, rendering live while you drag. Swipe the film name to change films. Tap the nameplate to read how infrared light works, with a chapter on each film and Herschel's experiment from 1800 that you can repeat with your finger.

Exports are 10-bit HEIF up to 19 megapixels and keep the date, place and camera of the original. There is no account and no network access. Your photos stay on the device.