Freestyle Photographic Supplies

A member of Freestyle's Advisory Board of Photographic Professionals, Ms. Elizabeth Opalenik of Oakland, California has had her work shown at over 60 exhibitions internationally and in museum gallery and private collections throughout the world. A sought after figure in the photographic world, Ms. Opalenik leads workshops in California, Provence, Tuscany, Mexico and France, and also conducts classes for some of the most popular institutions in the world, including the Maine Photographic Workshops and Santa Fe Workshops and The British Guild of Portrait Photographers. She has a particular affinity for black & white infrared photography, having been a practitioner and teacher of the subject for nearly a quarter of a century.

I came to photography when I was 32, but had a lot of life skills to apply. I began my photographic life at the Maine Photographic Workshops the summer of 1979 in a two week intermediate class but was immediately taken with the process of photography and never really returned to my other careers. I stayed at the workshops until the fall of 1980 in their resident programs and worked on the summer staff. By luck I was in France in 1983 when the school began a foreign workshop in Provence. I began assisting my first teachers Craig Stevens and Kate Carter and a few years later began by teaching my own classes.

I believe and teach with the theory that all good photographs are self portraits. If you find yourself, you will find your images. While I teach theory and technical things in my classes, I mostly teach to follow your passion and find your personal spirit and voice. That is where my love for infrared began.

It was a few months after I began photography that Sharon Fox and Jane Tuckerman came to Maine to do a weekend workshop. I loved the uncertainty and spiritual quality of the film but really began using it in Provence during the midday, when other films didn't seem right for such bright light. It gave me another tool in my camera bag and a different voice for my images.

There really is no set ASA rating for infrared, so I would say the biggest difference is the thought process of what you are looking at and translating that vision from conventional film to the more exotic infrared look. Most infrared films must be loaded and unloaded in complete darkness to prevent fogging the film, some cameras have infrared sensors in them which can fog the film sprockets, and loading the film for developing can be a little tricky as there is no anti-halation backing. Thus it is harder to get on the reels since it is thinner. The lack of anti-halation backing can be a good thing though, as it can cause some flare which adds to the mysterious look of the film. Depth of field at a wider aperture can be a slight problem as the infrared focus is different. I suggest staying above F8 and have rarely had an issue with having to adjust the focus.

Infrared radiation comes mostly from the sun, and how the film records that reflected light energy is what makes this film unique. The film is best when using a red to opaque filter over the lens to block the visible light and allow more of the infrared spectrum to expose the film. The deeper the red filter, the more visible ultra violet to red spectrum is blocked, the more infrared effect you can achieve. Understanding how the film "sees" takes practice, but the surprises are worth the trial and error process in the beginning. Infrared film tends to render the sky and water dark, foliage (especially the delicate spring leaves) white, clouds dramatic and skin tones like beautiful alabaster. It is one of my favorite films for portraiture or beautiful landscapes.

I have had many students not realize that after they expose the film it still needs to be unloaded in complete darkness, or open the back of the camera by mistake. Light leaks can occur through the film leader, but not all the film will be ruined. If they have bracketed, they will still have frames that they can use so shouldn't throw away the roll. They often forget the red filter but many of these things they only do a few times. The most common mistake is not understanding the film and exposures. That is why it is important to bracket in the beginning, keep track of what the scene really looked like and learn from that. Also, most aren't aware that infrared light is also present early and late in the day and still there when it is cloudy.

Explain the quarks of the film, show examples, tell some funny stories of unexpected exposures and send students out to play. I often tell the story of doing a class portrait in a sunflower field where everyone was wearing sunglasses. In the image, most students looked as though they were wearing regular glasses with odd frames. Another odd example was watching a student do some tests with the film one day, wearing a black shirt and pants. When I was reviewing contacts the next day, the shirt was white and the pants black. We figured out, one had been washed which either took something out of the fabric or added something to it. I love the surprises.

For many the draw is the unique look of the landscape, its foliage, interesting skies and dark water. Personally, I am drawn to the beauty of the skin in portraits and figure photography. It is elegant for making everyone look younger, ethereal and wrinkle free. Eyes often go very dark, which can be interesting, or have the person look away or close their eyes for a more intimate portrait.

My preference in photography is film for everything, though digital can be the most useful tool. I have been using digital cameras that are converted to infrared solely for a long time as a teaching tool. It helps the students to immediately see how infrared sees and takes much of the guess work out of the process. For me, I still prefer printing the film version and still like the surprises that I get by not seeing the image as I am taking it.

There aren't strict rules for metering, but I have been recommending shooting HIE Kodak infrared with a rating of 320 ASA, f8-22, and accept the reading the camera gives you. Bracket your shots because often there will be overexposure that you don't expect when there is a lot of foliage in the scene. Follow developing times as recommended on the data sheet. With this method, students are at least in the range of getting images with the first roll and can learn to finesse their exposures through practice. For digital infrared, I prefer an ASA of 200.

It has a different, sometimes surreal, often ethereal quality. For me it is my spirit film and I like using it at times of the day when other films can't handle the contrast. It is another voice and fits my personality. I suspect it is the same for others.

In any class it is good to know your cameras, have a basic idea of the zone system and have a sense of adventure. Today, cameras are so sophisticated that they can handle exposures if you have a general idea of where to begin. Much of infrared is trial and error and with the above formula, you will get images so don't need to know much about photography. With fewer labs processing film, it is a good idea to know how to process your own. In my classes I am more interested in passion. The rest will come.