REGULAR FILM                    INFRARED FILM     

Mid Day Landscape Blues?

 Try INFRARED BLACK & WHITE

                                                                    By Dennis DiBrizzi   

 

                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                          

 

     I have always been drawn to country churches as primary elements for much of

my landscape photography.  Perhaps it’s the quaint architecture that is found in

many of these old historic villages that dot the landscape of Westchester County

where I live.  Then again, it may be the combination of the building set amongst

spacious grounds, surrounded by old, towering , regal oaks, maples and elms that

provides me with additional elements of composition and design.  It most likely is

this combination that brings me back time and time again in all seasons to create

my black and white images.

     The Bedford church that accompanies this article is one of my favorites.  Early

    on in my photography endeavors, I used to shoot with conventional black and white

film.  I began to sense that better images could be made here and I began to

experiment with the rather mystical film called INFRARED. 

     Through several years of experimentation I learned many of this films attributes

and also how to handle its mystical qualities.

      When I am on location for example, I bring a black changing bag along in my

camera bag.  This is CRITICAL.  When loading or unloading infrared film, I must

keep the film in total darkness.  The film must be placed back into the film can, lid

must be sealed tight and only then can I bring the can out

of the bag and place it into a safe place ready for developing.

      For many years I followed the tried and true rule for creating powerful landscapes.

This meant shooting at the sweet light times of day, which are early

morning and late afternoon.  However, I discovered after many sessions at the

Bedford Church and others in my area that the light was best around midday .

But when I shot with regular black and white film the results were just ordinary,

nothing dramatic.

     That’s when I switched to infrared black and white.  I discovered that midday

light with the sun high gives me the best results for my prints.  So from then on

I still shoot at the sweet light times of day and now had the advantage of creating

dynamic images with infrared in the middle of the day too.

     My equipment is conventional.  I use a Nikon f4 with a 24mm lens.  The camera

is mounted on an Arca Swiss ballhead, which sits atop my Gitzo tripod.  Only the

film is unconventional.   Infrared with an ISO of 50.  A red filter is a MUST.

With infrared film it will help tremendously with the sky and if there is water in the

scene, it will be rendered as black.

     The cameras meter cannot “see” infrared light so over time I experimented with

exposure to find out what worked best for my taste.   On nice bright days with the

sun high overhead, the tree foliage becomes illuminated.

 I take advantage of this fact and set my exposure at f11 and shutter speed at 125. 

 I will make one shot at this setting and one at one stop over. 

     I find that by “over-exposing” by a stop gives the image a surreal, mystical feeling,

which is what I like.  Fantastic, unreal, eye popping contrast is what you

can expect using this type of film.

     With experience, I also learned what to expect in both contrast and tonality

changes of natural foliage, trees and buildings.  For instance, I know that tree bark

will render very dark grey.  Evergreens and spruce trees will register as a bit lighter grey than

the bark and that asphalt will become jet black as it is in real life.

     Armed with this knowledge of tonality qualities, I can create my composition of

the church scene and picture in my minds eye what the result will be back in the

darkroom.  This allows me to make good judgement of placement of certain types of

tree foliage and branches that I use as wonderful framing

 for the main subject, which of course is the church.  All landscape photographers try to avoid having any

bright areas touching or even near the borders of their images and when shooting

infrared film, one must develop the eye to understand what this unique film will do.

     So, on this composition, I used the asphalt driveway as a leading line from the

lower corner to lead the viewer “into” the scene and to the main subject, the church. 

I knew the driveway would render jet black in the print.  No distraction here.  

There were some wispy clouds in the sky and the red filter popped them and

created interest.  The framing branches and leaves rendered a nice dark grey

all around the edges of the infrared scene, holding the viewers interest within the scene.

     When one compares the two prints that are shown here, it is easy to see how more

dramatic the infrared scene is in comparison to my regular film print.

     So, if you suffer from midday landscape blues, give infrared black and white film

a try.  

 

 

 Dennis DiBrizzi, a resident of  Somers New York , is a retired long distance mover who has

had the opportunity to photograph much of America ’s beauty.  Since his retirement, Dennis has

been perusing his life long love of photography.  He is on the Board of Directors of The

Westchester Photographic Society.  He has exhibited in group shows throughout Westchester

including Rockefeller Park Preserve and area Libraries and Galleries.  Dennis is the first recipient

of “The Harvey Hofmann Award” presented in 1997 by the Westchester Photographic Society.

He is also the recipient of the 1998 “John Vondell Memorial Award” for best Black and White

landscape at the New England Camera Club Council, at Amherst Massachusetts .  He photographs

color, Black and White and Infrared and prints his own Black and White enlargements.  He has also

instructed on basic Black and White darkroom techniques and lectured on Black and White Infrared

photography.

 

 

                 Home