IR against strong backlight?

I keep on testing my new favourite film, the Efke IR 820. This time I was curious about how it would cope with strong backlight.

You can see on the second image that I am photographing right into the sun, and I’m more than happy with the result!

What do you think?

Enjoy, and have a great rest of the week! 🙂

Hasselblad 503CX + Distagon 50mm/f4
Efke IR820 + IR720 filter @ISO 3
Kodak T-max dev 1:4

Tags: 120film, analog photography, analogue photography, art, Black and white, Discontinued film, Efke IR820, film photography, Hasselblad 503CX, infrared film, photography, trees

25 thoughts on “IR against strong backlight?”

skink74 on October 1, 2013 at 14:27 said:

Great! I think the IR filter helps a lot when shooting into the sun since there is so much light reflected off surrounding foliage it acts as a kind of fill flash. Maybe …
The main problem I have with lighting like this is keeping the filter clean to avoid phantom highlights.

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- Marie on October 1, 2013 at 16:18 said:
  
  Thanks a lot! I haven’t had that problem yet, but I’m very meticulous with using lens hood when photographing in the sun. Can that be a solution to the problem, or are you also using it already?
  
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  - skink74 on October 1, 2013 at 20:36 said:
    
    Sadly I don’t have hoods for most of my Bronica lenses, and also I have to make use of a 77-67mm stepping ring for all but one of them, which would make it hard to use a hood, even if I had one..
    I do try and shade using the darkslide when possible, just to avoid sunlight falling on the filter glass. But of course neither is any help when the Sun is actually in the frame…
    
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    - Marie on October 1, 2013 at 22:42 said:
      
      Maybe you can make a hood, from black cardboard or something like that? Or maybe search for a “generic” one?
      I bought a “generic” hood for wideangle lenses to my large format Wista, and it fits perfectly. It is in soft rubber, so it is possible to cut down to the right size if it don’t fit from start. My dealer is in swedish, but you can try… http://www.photax.se/kmrt/motljus/motljusskydd.htm#gummi
      
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jesús joglar on October 1, 2013 at 15:25 said:

Good work, Marie.
I like the first one a lot, I feel the atmosphere is more complete in that one than in the second one. You shouls try to do pictures pointing to the sun. At least in pinhole cams it works really nice!

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- Marie on October 1, 2013 at 16:23 said:
  
  Thanks a lot Jesús! Yes, I know, it gives the most wonderful sun flares!! Love that!
  I actually have my first IR film in my Holga Wide pinhole right now. I have cut a piece of a Wratten 89B filter, and taped it into the camera. Did not dare to use Efke though, so it is a Rollei IR that have to take my first experimental take on this… We’ll see how that goes… 😀
  If it works, I’m gonna do the same with my Zero2000.
  
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pjbrez on October 1, 2013 at 15:29 said:

Beautiful results! I haven’t shot IR into direct sunlight too much. I tend to shoot with the sun to my back to really get those dark black skies. However, these look fantastic and I might just try to change my style up a bit when given the opportunity : )

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- Marie on October 1, 2013 at 16:33 said:
  
  Thanks a lot Patrick! You’re right, the sky is getting much more dramatic in that way. But it is thrilling to put a film up to the test of its limits. I bought a decent stock and I thought I have to test it, but if I just have had a couple of rolls, I would never have done this. It is too precious for that.
  Btw, I loved the skintones you got in your portraits with IR film, it was really really beautiful!
  
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  - pjbrez on October 1, 2013 at 16:52 said:
    
    Agreed! I am very interested in your results. As you know, I’ve been shooting Efke IR films for some time now and I absolutely love what it can do. Looking at your photos, I now realize that I can push my rolls even further : ) I have quite a stock of Efke IR Aura and IR 820 as well, mostly in medium format but some 35mm too. I feel I can be a bit more experimental with a roll here or there ( even shooting with a pinhole camera ). I think I can afford to be more liberal with my lighting and even shoot on cloudy days on occasion.
    Thanks for your comment on the skin tones, I’m glad you like the results. I’m quite pleased with how skin turns out to be sheer white with these IR films. They even have a soft glow to them! Incredible stuff really, and I’m very pleased with the effort I’ve put into acquiring and shooting these rolls : ) Anyhow, keep up the great work – it’s always a pleasure to visit your site~!!
    
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    - Marie on October 1, 2013 at 22:51 said:
      
      Thanks a lot for your kind words Patrick, I appreciate it very much! And I feel the same about this film, it is absolutely gorgeous, and I’m happy to have had the possibility to stock up at least a bit. I have some 120 film and a couple of boxes with 4×5. It is so sad that nobody seems to take up the production of this film. I heard on a podcast that they have made a museum of the plant, but there is no manufacturing anymore. I don’t remember if they still have the machines, or if they were just wasted… Huge loss…
      
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      - pjbrez on October 2, 2013 at 03:55 said:
        
        It is definitely a big loss for the photography world. Too many amazing films have gone to the wayside. I found that even expired Efke IR 820 yields great results. I didn’t see anything wrong with the negatives, even though the film was over three years expired.
        
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        Marie on October 2, 2013 at 10:18 said:
        
        That is good to know, then I have lots of time to use my stock. Thanks again Patrick!
        
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Malin H on October 1, 2013 at 18:01 said:

Fantastiska… både bilderna och träden!
Mäktigt… och andra bilden, där kan jag nästan känna strukturen med mina fingrar.

Bra jobbat!!

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- Marie on October 1, 2013 at 22:55 said:
  
  Tack Malin! Det är två tallar som står nere vid en strand, och liksom sträcker sig ut efter både vatten och sol, de ser ganska märkliga ut faktiskt. De står inte inklämda någonstans vilket man ju lätt kan tro, utan helt öppet mot sjön, i bästa söderläge. Väldans personliga… Måste ju bara fotas, eller hur? 🙂
  
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  - Malin H on October 2, 2013 at 08:34 said:
    
    Helt rätt – såna personligheter kan man inte låta bli 🙂 Jag tycker verkligen om känslan i dina bilder här, Marie.
    
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ilargia64 on October 1, 2013 at 18:56 said:

I love it!!! I like very much the first one, but I think I do prefer the second…May be because the tres seems to be alive…I love both anyway…

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- Marie on October 1, 2013 at 22:57 said:
  
  Thank you very much! They feel very much alive really. Two very special pine trees.
  
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ilargia64 on October 1, 2013 at 18:57 said:

This computer is getting me mad!!!! I wanted to write the tree…Mainly the big one!

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- Marie on October 1, 2013 at 23:00 said:
  
  Which web browser do you use? I use Mozilla Firefox, it is easy to use, I just hate Explorer, can’t get rid of that auto correction… Is it that you have problems with?
  
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  - ilargia64 on October 2, 2013 at 10:45 said:
    
    Yes, it is…And it does what it wants to do!!!!
    
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    - Marie on October 3, 2013 at 09:12 said:
      
      Trash it, and change, you will not regret it… 😉
      
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Moni on October 3, 2013 at 01:13 said:

really gorgeous, dream-like results!

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- Marie on October 3, 2013 at 09:12 said:
  
  Thank you!
  
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Son of Sharecroppers on October 7, 2013 at 19:26 said:

I thought that I had commented . . . But let me say that I find your work simply stunning, and very inspiring. Thank you!

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- Marie on October 7, 2013 at 19:30 said:
  
  Thank you ever so much for your kind words about my work! Makes me proud and happy to be able to inspire! 🙂
  
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