Night time photography with infrared films?

I have no clue about infrared films but I would like to try them in nite time

shootings?

 

I normally use Mamiya RZ 67 and shoot city scenes. I shot at f11 60sec with

100asa film.

 

What would be the difference with infrared films?

 

And what kind of effect I can see with black and white and color Infrared films?

Infrared films are not for recording images at night, they are for recording images of a different spectrum of light - the infrared spectrum. They are used under illuminated conditions, but the light source is infrared, not visible light.

 

Infrared light is invisible to our eyes, but it is present in daylight, not at night. If you want to shoot infrared at night, you'll have to provide an infrared light source to 'light up' what you're photographing.

Tungsten is a great IR light source

As is moonlight which is a reflection of sunlight.

Unfortunately, the greater portion of the world's surface suffers from some sort of ambient light pollution because deviants love to do their work at night.

 

By the way, you're not a deviant, are you? (laughing)

 

The point is this light will work for you or against you. I'd think you'd want to try infrared in something like 35mm- purely because of the handling issues, the cost, and the frame count- if you've got no clue about it. (I'm thinking of loading and light leak issues here.)

 

You'll probably want a Red #25 filter- at least for black and white. I'm not sure about color- back when I was playing around I didn't have the bankroll for color + processing. Remember that infrared is a different spectrum, so you have to focus slightly different, and some lenses have this mark on them. (A red line next to the white focus mark- probably something like 1/16" to one side.) Exposure is close to the marked ISO on the infrared, but isn't foolproof for sure because the amount of infrared light varies slightely even dependent upon which (global) direction you're pointing the lens.

 

That's all the 'clue' I have. Good luck.

Buy a roll of Kodak HIE and have a go. Normally it's rated at 400iso with an r25 filter on (through the lens metering) or 50 iso with a hand held meter. At night, the sky will be black. Tungsten lights have a higher percentage of IR than daylight. so the film will be slightly "faster" than above. sodium street lights have no IR so won't show (I assume).

 

I've never tried it, but I suspect that things won't look that different. Have a go and post the results. Don't forget to bracket exposure.

thanks for the answers. one more quick question,

 

what is the difference btw using a infrared film and a infrared filter? will i get the same results?

"what is the difference btw using a infrared film and a infrared filter? will i get the same results?"

 

No, you have misunderstood, you`ll have to use a "infrared filter" with infrared film... IR-film isf ilm with sensitivity outside the normal visible spectrum, but you`ll still need the filter to block visible light.

Tony, all infra red films have two seperate emulsions, one on top of the other. HIE (kodak) is a 400 asa speed emulsion. So if you shoot with no filter at 400 asa then you get a normal slightly grainy monochrome shot. If you use an R72 (block everything below 700 out) then you only expose the IR emulsion, speed 50 asa by hand held meter.

 

If you use a red 25 filter then you get a bit of both. Mainly IR though. This is the best filter to start with because its widely avaialble, cheap and using an slr you can see through it. with an r72 you need to compose then put it on, or shoot using a rangefinder camera.

Also as far as I know flourescent lights produce no or very limited IR light. IR at night for a city shot is deffinitely going to look much different then with visibile spectrum film. I say it is worth a try to see the results.

and what do you think guys, if i shoot infrared films in snowy mountains? what kind of effect i would get in daytime and nite time?

As Wigwam Jones suggested, you have to supply an infrared source to takes pictures in the dark. The easiest way to do this is to put a W-87C filter over your flash. Take the flash into a dark room and fire it. If you've sealed around the filter well, it will be difficutl to see any light from the flash. (Younger people have more sensitivity to IR so if you are trying to catch the kids in the dark, they may notice.) You will have to experiment to determine exposure.

Here's the thing about infrared light and films. Infrared light covers a wide portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, covering the near infrared which is just below the human eye's perception to the far infrared which is just above microwaves. Infrared films, in particular Kodak's HIE, is sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light and to near infrared out to about 900 nm. Used without a filter it has an ISO rating of 400 and will deliver more or less "normal" looking B&W photographs. The fun starts when you filter out most or all of the visible spectrum and start recording only the near infrared wavelengths. Wigwam Jones and Ron Andrews are right about night photography and infrared. There's just not any infrared light around at night and you'll need to light up your subject with infrared light to capture an image. If you want to really know how to expose this stuff in daylight or under tungsten lamps, then let me refer you to Kodak's tech pub for the film which you can find here: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/f13/f13.pdf. It will tell you everything you need to know to get started and you won't need to rely on a bunch of half baked answers which may or may not work. Kodak also makes a version of Ektachrome with infrared sensitivity and the tech sheet for that product is here: http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/ti2323/ti2323.pdf. Read and understand these documents before you go out half cocked with either of these films. You'll get a good idea of what to expect and will have a smaller percentage of failures. Neither of these films are inexpensive. You'll want to make the most of it.

Years ago, I shot a 35mm roll of Kodak HIE film at night.

I used a Metz 402 flash unit with a Wratten filter cut to fit

over the flash.

 

I wanted to just see IF I could get any pictures in total darkness.

 

I set my camera to 50 ISO and later to 25 ISO to see if there was

much of a difference. Couldn't really tell much other than it was

just a little bit brighter.

 

I what I got were pictures that looked like they were taken at night

with regular BW film and a flash unit. I was impressed.

 

I had put markers at different feet in my backyard to mark footage

from where the camera was. I could see things at least 30 feet

out. Again, I was impressed.

 

NOW, I want to find a Wratten gel for my Quantum flash unit and

try it again. My problem NOW is finding a filter big enough to cover

the front of the flash.

 

BTW...there was hardly any perceptible visible light emitted from the

Metz flash unit when it was fired. That was good for me as I wanted

to see if I could take candid pictures in the dark without being noticed.

<p>Quantum came out THIS YEAR with an IR reflector head for their flash units($99).<br>

Needless to say, I bought one and Quantum delivered it in 2 days !!<br>

I have YET to use it, but I'm SOOO anxious to.</p>