Point Pelee park - infrared (expired HIE)

[Terri]

The hubby and I took a few days off to head into Canada, where Point Pelee National Park is an easy destination. The weather was still hot, so I carried along a roll of expired (expiration: 2009!) Kodak HIE infrared film. Long discontinued. I haven't shot any since we moved across the country and I've been fretting that being out of the freezer for that time would have affected it.

But - yay! I used a #25 red filter and developed it in TMax 1:4 for about 7 minutes, and I was happy to get images on this stuff. They're grainy and the stuff is old, but I am happy it's still quite usable.

We hiked to the Point, which is the southern-most point in Canada on Lake Erie. The hot weather was being disrupted by a big storm moving in when I took this shot.

Facing south towards the point:

Then I turned around and shot this facing north, inland:

I'll have to crop and get a few more scanned and cleaned up, but these 2 were first and I'm super happy that this film still performs (in case I haven't mentioned it). Huzzah!

 

[Artyczar]

Wow! I love the dark, grainy texture and foreboding skies. These are magnificent! I like the narrative too! Thanks for that. Neat how the bits of light flicker off the water in the top image. Both are so interesting in their own ways. Do you think these came out this way because of the expired film or are you just a genius?

 

[Terri]

Thank you, Ayin! Hmm, a genius I am NOT. But I am familiar with this quirky old infrared film and know how it *should* behave under the best circumstances. I'm just glad it didn't get compromised being out of the freezer for several months.

 

[Terri]

Oh, I meant to post a couple more that I've resized after scanning.

There is a faint but definite diamond-shaped pattern seen in this sky, which is the actual platen (the part of the camera that holds the film flat) inside my old Pentax. This reflection shows how (annoyingly) sensitive this film can be - it picks up every little reflection.

I generally avoid shooting cloudless skies (or any flat plane with the same tonal range) when using this film, because I know this will happen. But this was before the storm clouds came in, and I was trying to tease a lens flare by shooting into the sky. I got my lens flare along with the sky-diamonds.

This one looks a little over exposed, but it's all grainy and chewy and rough, so I like it. I may have better luck burning in that sand if I ever get this into a darkroom.

Comments are always welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for looking!

 

[Artyczar]

I ADORE and love the top one in these last two. I think it works better with the blank sky because the grasses are the star. The man to the right makes it even more narrative. This one moves me very much! It has a perfect composition because it's not ultra-split/symmetrical. It's really perfect.

 

[Terri]

Aw, thank you for saying that! I think you're my biggest fan.

Okay, one more for now - I am happy with this one, looking southward towards the point. Again, I was trying to tease out some scattered rays that this infrared film can record, and it's slight but definitely present here.

The people with the dog walked into the frame while I was composing and it seemed right on time.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Bartc]

Back in the day (50 years ago) when I had a photo business, I used to experiment with IR "false color". Got quite adept at predicting how it would turn out, so much so that the photo store used to refer questions to me. Loved the effects - waaaayyyyyy before Photoshop made it possible for a 3 year old to create in a few seconds.
Your work is very interesting with the B&W version. I've been out of film so long that I didn't even think you could find this kind of stuff anymore.
Since you froze it and you aren't pretending to realistic color in any way, who cares that it's decades old! Probably adds to the character. Good on you.

 

[Artyczar]

How crazy perfect of a composition is this one? Those people walking their dog is exactly like what a painter would put in this same scene if it were invented in the mind. Is this a peninsula? This seems perfect timing, and this series is really extra-ordinary. gorgeous light in this one.

 

[Bongo]

Terri - these are masterful. The first two and the last one - fantastic. So well composed, and great choices for IR.

 

[Terri]

Back in the day (50 years ago) when I had a photo business, I used to experiment with IR "false color". Got quite adept at predicting how it would turn out, so much so that the photo store used to refer questions to me. Loved the effects - waaaayyyyyy before Photoshop made it possible for a 3 year old to create in a few seconds.
Your work is very interesting with the B&W version. I've been out of film so long that I didn't even think you could find this kind of stuff anymore.
Since you froze it and you aren't pretending to realistic color in any way, who cares that it's decades old! Probably adds to the character. Good on you.

Thanks, Bart! I've shot mainly Kodak infrared products: HIE (long out of production, hence the expired rolls in deep freeze), which was initially a commercial product aimed at aerial photography. The other product was their color infrared, EIR (some examples I posted here). I'm not sure what "fake color" means in infrared, unless you're referring to digital IR cameras which is completely different. You'll have to educate me!

 

[Terri]

Arty, Bongo - thank you both!!

Bongo, I got super lucky with the weather conditions and think it's amazing that the film still responds so well.

Arty, Point Pelee is within the Point Pelee National Park in Canada, and it is a literal outcropping of land that comes to a natural point. It has the distinction of being the southernmost point in all of Canada, jutting into Lake Erie. It's a beautiful area!

 

[snoball]

These are all spectacular, Terri. I too, like the graininess of them and the "old" look they have. Well done. Glad you saved the old film.

 

[Bartc]

Thanks, Bart! I've shot mainly Kodak infrared products: HIE (long out of production, hence the expired rolls in deep freeze), which was initially a commercial product aimed at aerial photography. The other product was their color infrared, EIR (some examples I posted here). I'm not sure what "fake color" means in infrared, unless you're referring to digital IR cameras which is completely different. You'll have to educate me!

They called it "false color IR" in the day. Principally because it came out looking like what you do in Photoshop with various filters today. So instead of just getting more glow from "hot" areas, you also got a color shift that was highly significant and surrealistic. I'll bet you've seen it somewhere. It was a Kodak product as well, BTW.

 

[NedL]

Wow, you've still got HIE. I like the 2nd one a lot, and agree with Arty about the people/dog, that's a great composition

 

[Terri]

They called it "false color IR" in the day. Principally because it came out looking like what you do in Photoshop with various filters today. So instead of just getting more glow from "hot" areas, you also got a color shift that was highly significant and surrealistic. I'll bet you've seen it somewhere. It was a Kodak product as well, BTW.

Hmm, a Kodak product? Gotta be the "color infrared" I linked you to: Kodak EIR. If you take a look you'll see the strange color shifts, and you can change them by adding filters, or even reversing them in something like Photoshop. But they never look really normal.

 

[Terri]

Wow, you've still got HIE. I like the 2nd one a lot, and agree with Arty about the people/dog, that's a great composition

Hee hee, it's the most valuable stuff in my freezer, Ned! It won't last forever no matter what, so I'll be trying to use it up over the next couple of years. Thank you for the kind words.

 

[Terri]

These are all spectacular, Terri. I too, like the graininess of them and the "old" look they have. Well done. Glad you saved the old film.

Thank you so much, Sno!