That First Roll of Infrared Film
/I'm will never know exactly why I picked up that roll of infrared. Perhaps because I was going to Cambodia, and it seemed like it might be a good place to try it out. It was 2001, and I was clinging to film longer than most. I took 10 rolls of my favorite Fujichrome Velvia 50, a few rolls of standard Kodak Black and White, and 1 roll of the now heartbreakingly discontinued Kodak HIE Infrared.
Film was always a leap of faith- it was only after you returned that you would find out what had worked- thousands of miles and hours between shooting and knowing the result. There could be no reshoots. No adjusting on the spot- no shooting a hundred photos and deleting 99- you had to choose carefully (and I still ran out of film!)- to focus yourself as well as the camera.
Cameras, actually. I carried two and devoted one entirely to the infrared- so for every roll of color film, I might take just one shot of infrared, to make that one roll last for the entire trip. It meant that I had to be choosy. Which meant that in the end, I ended up liking more of the photos on that one roll than I ever had before.
You don't run of digital. You don't have to carry bulking rolls of film around (although you do need one camera dedicated soley to infrared, so you still have to explain the second camera). You can check instantly to see if the photo works. You can share pictures with people even before you return home. I'd switch back to this film in a heartbeat, if ever they decided to make it again.
