Point Lonsdale through a different lens

LOCAL photographer Jane Fitzgerald has uncovered an otherworldly side of Point Lonsdale, using infrared photography to transform familiar coastal landscapes into something entirely unexpected.

By capturing light beyond the range of human vision, the technique reimagines Point Lonsdale in dreamlike hues of pink, purple and blue.

“It was like an alien planet,” Fitzgerald said.

Her new exhibition, Unseen, showcases a series of works inspired by the coastal township and invites visitors to experience the landscape from a different perspective.

Most digital cameras are designed to block infrared light, limiting images to what the eye can see. But Fitzgerald had one of her cameras converted to remove that filter.

“It picks up all spectrum of light,” she said. “Those wavelengths are always all around us [but] we can’t see them.”

The project sent Fitzgerald exploring Point Lonsdale in search of locations that would respond best to infrared photography.

“I look more for foliage or grass, because I know that will look really interesting, and then I also always try to put a bit of sky or water in, because it gives that contrast of colour,” she said.

Capturing the images required a different approach to Fitzgerald’s usual work, with the project involving months of experimentation.

“A lot of trial and error has gone into it,” she said. “It was a challenge for me to do something different.”

Fitzgerald hopes Unseen will spark curiosity and introduce more people to art.

“I love art that everyone can go and see,” Fitzgerald said. “I want free art on the walls that anyone could just walk past, [so] people that would normally perhaps not see [art] accidentally find it.”

The exhibition will be on display until 2 July at Lon Retreat.