Hi. I am beginner in Black and White. Would you be so kind as to explain me what is a purpose of an Infrared film, why and for what purposes anyone would use it? Can I use this film in my Nikon N60 camera, or must I have special camera for the purpose of shooting infrared film?

Thank you very much. Sergey.

-- Sergey Vasilishin (gradq@aol.com), February 26, 2001

Answers

Sergey, if you have access to a library try to get a hold of this book:

The Art of Infrared Photography by Joseph Paduano (Paperback - February 1998)

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), February 27, 2001.

Whatever the purpose was when the film was first manufactured, nowadays, it's mainly used to achieve a pretty unique look in b&w photography. You don't usually have to use a special camera for IR shooting, just some modern cameras won't work too well because they use IR LEDs to count frames. These LEDs fog IR film pretty badly. IR film requires special care in handling, and you should read something about its use, or you will almost certainly screw up your first roll(s).

Regards, Thomas Wollstein

-- Thomas Wollstein (thomas_wollstein@web.de), February 27, 2001.

I'm not sure what it was originally designed for, but I believe it was used in WWII from airplanes to detect camoflauged installments and sites as the heat produced by the machines registered at a different tone than the trees around them. As for use now, be sure to use a proper filter (a 25 red will work) and be ready to bracket and willing to perhaps lose a roll or two to testing- it's tricky stuff. Also try to load/unload it from your camera in complete darkness or at least in subdued light. Even exposing the cannister to light can alter your film.

-- Eamonn Aiken (aikene@bc.edu), March 01, 2001.