Infrared Film Photography
There’s something surreal about infrared film. It takes a place you’ve seen a hundred times and shifts it just enough to feel unfamiliar.
I brought a few rolls of Ilford SFX 200 out to Presidio Park, curious how it would interpret a space that already holds so much history and texture. I’ve never shot this film to it’s full capacity and in my journey to switch up my film stocks, I wanted to see the full range of magic. This is the year I shoot more than just Kodak Gold!
I shot three variations of each image. One straight SFX with no filter, a second version with a red filter, and lastly with an IR72 filter for the closest I can get to infrared with this film stock.
Unfiltered and straight out of the box, SFX behaves like HP5 for a classic black and white look.
It’s a perfectly good way to shoot it , but you’re missing out on all the fun!
Adding a red filter starts to shift things.. Skies deepen and higher contrast emerges.
Once the red filter went on, I lost about 2 stops of light, so I adjusted to keep everything properly exposed. I kept the aperture consistent across each series to isolate how each filter affected the final look.
Then there’s the IR72…
This is where things really change. The whole scene takes on a dreamlike, almost otherworldly quality infrared is known for. We get deep and dramatic skies and bright white foliage. I had to make sure my focus was perfect before adding the filter, since losing about 6 stops of light makes it nearly impossible to see through the viewfinder.
What I love most about this process is how much it encourages you to slow down and really see what’s in front of you. The same scene can shift so dramatically depending on how you choose to capture it. It’s a reminder that photography isn’t just about what’s there, but how you decide to interpret it.
All exposures stacked side by side for a unique comparison. Which one is your favorite?
From left to right: no filter, red filter, ir filter. I love how bright the leaves show up!
I finished up the roll in Old Town and met the cutest little girl who asked if my camera and tripod setup were “ghost equipment,” which might be the best description of infrared photography I’ve heard. Sadly no ghosts were captured in the making of these images.
