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Return to Lake Merced: Infrared testing Ilford SFX

Monochrome image of a lake lined with grasses and trees; the lake is very dark, the grasses light, the sky is streaked with thin, gauzy clouds

Ilford printing papers were my favorites when I returned to the public darkroom to print, so I decided to give Ilford’s monochrome films a try. I’ve heard great things about their SFX film, which has extended red sensitivity, providing conventional black and white when shot at ISO 200, subtle infrared effects with a dark red filter, and bolder infrared effects with an R72 filter. I wanted to know more!

Monochrome image of a lake lined with grasses and trees; the lake is very dark, the grasses light, the sky is streaked with thin, gauzy clouds
Natural-looking exposure. The infrared nature of it isn’t dramatic.

Some of my popular early infrared work was made at Lake Merced, a large lake in the southwest corner of San Francisco. I returned there with a tripod to bracket my exposures, shooting the film at ISO 25 and 12 with a tripod and the R72 filter that blocks all visible light.

Monochrome image of a lake lined with grasses and trees; the lake is very dark, the grasses light, the sky is streaked with thin, gauzy clouds
Longer exposure (metered for ISO 12). The contrast is higher, the grasses are brighter.

Both speeds provided pleasing results. ISO 25 makes the images appear more natural. I prefer higher contrast and more drama, with darker water and brighter grasses, visible when metering at ISO 12.

Monochrome image of a lake lined with grasses and trees; the lake is very dark, the grasses light, the sky is streaked with thin, gauzy clouds

These images also remind me of the value of an interesting sky!

Monochrome image of a lake lined with grasses and trees; the lake is very dark, the grasses light, the sky is streaked with thin, gauzy clouds

The red filter tests, which allowed me to use shorter exposures, also looked quite natural, with less of the glowing “Wood effect” (named after someone, not after plants) which I prefer. The scans of my December tests at Land’s End went to a different service and expired before I could download them. These phone screenshots give you a sense of the red filter look.

Image of a bright hillside covered in shrubs, with dark cypress trees lining the hilltop

A view of a soft, grassy edge of a pond, with a concrete wall at the far side with people on it; beyond them are two large rocks and the horizon of the Pacific

While I’d had high hopes of getting the bold effects with the red filter, they are subtle.

Ilford’s SFX film is satisfying, especially with an R72 infrared filter. It’s main competition is Rollei Infrared, which was in short supply for a while.  Ilford’s SFX is widely available, and will be my choice when I want to shoot IR on film.

Analog (film), Infrared, Monochrome (black + white) ,