Along Route 380 in New Mexico, just 9 miles northwest of the US 54 crossroads in the dustswept town of Carrizozo, is a place known as the Valley of Fires. 2000 years ago, several cauldrons of fire opened up across 45 miles and poured out lava 150 feet thick in some parts. When it cooled, the area was black with igneous rock. However, now it is lush with plant-life.

These are photos of the Valley of Fires shot with 3.34mp Nikon Coolpix 995 digital camera modified to capture near-Infrared light, that is, IR light reflected by plants, clouds and objects, and generated by IR sources like the Sun.

In the photos, you will notice areas that are completely black. While some of this is simply "shade" areas, most of it is the black igneous rock which absorbs a lot of IR light due to its pock-marked porous nature. Leafy plants, clouds and grass all reflect a tremendous amount of IR light, and thus, they show up as white. The mountains in the distance appear dark simply because IR light is being blocked by the storm clouds above them.

The following are some photos taken as we left the Valley of Fires.

IR doesn't automatically mean "Nigh Vision". Those cameras have an increased tolerance for small amounts of IR. Regular cameras with IR filters are very different.  They filter out visible light, but are made for daytime shooting because IR is much weaker than the weakest visible light (red)... about 5X weaker. As a result, the camera is not good for evening photos unless you have some strong sun light (or lamps). This shot to the left was the last one I could get with the sun going down. It was about 6pm, and a bit too dark with all the clouds. All of a sudden the sun poked through, so I took the chance and it created this weird effect you see here.