On a recent trip to the French Alps I decided to try and shoot some infrared-sensitive film for the first time. I live in Central Scotland and we haven’t seen many ultra-sunny days this year… I decided to take the Fujifilm GSW690III Professional because the quality of the Fujinon 65mm f/5.6 lens is just stunning and the detail you get on 6×9 negatives is a delight to see every time. This is my first “5 Frames with…” submission; it’s not often I get five shots I am happy to publish from a single roll on this camera but I seemed to have lucked out this time.
All these shots were taken on a walk into the Alpine village of Samöens on a fantastically bright afternoon. The light in the Alps is harsh in the daytime but the Rollei Infrared seems to have lapped it up. The R72 filter gives lovely dark skies and super bright greens.
Clearly the negatives are very high contrast but I think it suits the shots well. I don’t shoot a lot of black and white in the daytime but I certainly will do in future. I like the otherworldly effect of these shots, despite the fairly touristy subject matter.
I processed the film myself in ILFORD ID-11, primarily because that was what I had mixed up. I cut the development time by 30 seconds to try and hold the highlights back. I think I will try stand developing in Rodinal next time to see if that produces a different effect. I’m impressed by the level of grain for a 400-speed black and white emulsion.
All in all, I’m happy with the results I got from my first time shooting this film. I will certainly shoot it again, maybe as a side-by-side comparison with some other IR sensitive films. If the sun every stays out for long enough of course… 😊
~ Captain Badbeard
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6 responses to “5 Frames… Of the French Alps on Rollei Infrared 400 (EI 25 / 120 format / Fujifilm GSW690III Professional)”
These are beautiful. I’m impressed by how sharp they are. I recently shot a roll of 35mm Rollei IR on a Canon AE-1P w/ the standard 50mm and mine weren’t any near as sharp!
I used the Rollei Infrared 400 and still have a few rolls
but usually i use the Rollei Superpan 200 with IR filter 720nm and love the results and the flexibility to shoot normal b&w and IR on one roll! I use it for 6×6 to 6×17 and pinhole too.
Here are the pictures:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dierktopp/albums/72157699524088611/with/46982863534/
I just bought 6 rolls of 120 Rollei. You’ve got me excited.
It’s a lovely effect. I think I’ll do a comparison with Ilford SFX and JCH Street Pan next.
These all turned out beautifully!!! I really love the last two shots. I would love to try this film soon! Thank you for posting.
Thanks! It’s definitely worth getting the R76 filter and waiting for the bright sunlight!