‘‘un-focus’’ the camera. Most 35 mm cameras have
a small mark or dot on the lens barrel that indi-
cates where the infrared focus point is, thus mak-
ing our job a little easier. But there is another way
to help solve the focus problem. It is called depth-
of-field. By using an f-stop of f/8 or smaller aper-
ture the focus problem of infrared films is almost
eliminated. As a practical matter you can expose
at f/8 or f/11 and let the meter determine the
shutter speed. This will work well for about 90%
of the situations involving 35 mm cameras. Focus-
ing with sheet film and a view camera is somewhat
different. The recommendation here is a normal
focus though the ground glass and then extending
the bellows about ¼^00. Again, using depth-of-field
or smaller apertures will help to eliminate the
focus difference.
Processing and Handling
This is something else that is different from normal
black-and-white films. The Konica and Ilford films
can be handled in subdued light, but the Kodak
film must be loaded and unloaded in total dark-
ness. That means in a darkroom or with a changing
bag. Processing the film requires some care as well.
Infrared films tend to react strongly in the highlight
areas and can easily be overdeveloped.
Why Use Infrared Films?
Philosophically speaking, the film literally records
light waves that cannot be seen. Extending this, we
are recording objects or people that are not there.
That is not quite true, but then a photograph is an
illusion anyway. It does put the viewer on notice
that something different is going on. It is an
approach of isolating the image and subject in a
special way, and it declares the artist/photogra-
pher’s intentions. An infrared photograph almost
always conveys a strong sense of drama. One of the
distinguishing features of infrared photographs is
that all vegetation in bright light turns ‘‘white’’ in
the finished print. Skin tones take on an alabaster
look. Infrared film can open up a whole new world
of seeing for the photographer.
Since the 1930s infrared film has been used
among fine art photographers in addition to its
scientific applications. While widely explored by
amateur photographers, its use by professionals
remains limited. Weegee, for example, used infrared
film and infrared flash to photograph movie audi-
ences. Edward Steichen used it to make some of his
World War II photographs. Minor White com-
pleted a series of infrared landscapes in the mid-
1950s using large format infrared film, including
the imageBarn and Clouds in the Vicinity of Naples
and Dansville, New York, 1955. The lesser-known
photographer Anto ́nio Jose ́ Martins employed in-
frared film in his Arctic landscapes. Since the time of
these pioneers, infrared film has played a role for its
aesthetics in the history of the medium.
PeterLeGrand
Seealso:Astrophotography; Film; Film: Infrared;
Filters; Light Meter; Periodicals: Professional; Stei-
chen, Edward; Weegee; White, MinorFurther Reading
Clark, Walter.Photography by Infrared. London: Chapman
& Hall, Ltd, and New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.,
1946.
Paduano, Joseph.The Art of Infrared Photography. Dobbs
Ferry, NY: Morgan & Morgan, Inc., 1984.
Applied Infrared Photography. Publication M-28, Eastman
Kodak Company, Rochester, NY, 1972.
Scientific Imaging Products. Publication L-10, Eastman
Kodak Company, Rochester, NY, 1989.INSTANT PHOTOGRAPHY
Instant photography has many possible origins.
The idea of a photographic process that would
produce a positive image in a short amount of
time had antecedents in the nineteenth century
with direct positive print processes like the da-
guerreotype, the ambrotype, and the speedily pro-
duced tintype (or ferrotyope), and with combined
photographic processing systems like the collo-INSTANT PHOTOGRAPHY