How to shoot Kodak EIR Color Infrared Film
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Loading ...Posted on: February 22, 2010
Posted in: Photography, Video Tutorials
Hey all, You might be wondering what a tutorial like this is doing on a tutorial site for VFX artists. Well, I’ve decided that i’m going to start adding some Photography tutorials, since I feel that having a fundamental knowledge of photography is an important part of being a well rounded VFX Artist. There’s so many areas of Photography that cross over into VFX, it seems like a very natural fit. Everything from how lenses work, to how a camera records information, to film stocks, etc, are all things that, one way or another, you will encounter if you work in VFX.
Kodak EIR infrared film is a bit of an obscure topic to start with, but it’s something I’m very passionate about, and I think the look of this film really kicks ass. It’s the only reason I still have a 35mm film camera kicking around, and I’ve got 19 rolls left, so hopefully i’ll be shooting it for another 19 years or more 
I’ve also scanned in all the pages from the UK version of the June 2001 Practical Photography magazine, and provided a link to it here: See a new world: Shoot Infrared! (13.7mb) This is a fantastic resource for people looking for more information on this kind of photography.
One thing I forgot to mention in the tutorial is that ALL of the images that I go over are being shot with the orange filter in my fisheye lens. In order to get that red/blue colour, you need to shoot with an Orange filter. If you want to go with something more purple, you can shoot with a yellow filter. It’s pretty cool as well, but I just prefer the look of the Orange filter.
Here’s a slideshow of my best Infrared shots in Flickr:
If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments!
Thanks!
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February 27th, 2010 at 1:19 pm
Awesome & Awesome !!! THX for the video.
March 4th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
Cool! Thanks a lot Kert!
March 4th, 2010 at 4:42 pm
Great Video! Thanks! I didn’t know that such kind of pictures were possible in “normal” ways – especially the extremely red colors. I only knew the digital EIR photography but this analog way is really awesome! Time to let the dslr at home and get an analog camera
May 15th, 2010 at 4:45 pm
Thanks for publishing this…
July 20th, 2010 at 4:56 pm
Hi Kert, the pdf is offline.
thanks for the tut, i will try infrared now myself.
July 20th, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Hey Max, thanks for the heads up. That link is working now!
October 25th, 2010 at 12:13 pm
Hello Kert,
I’m Vasco from Portugal. Thanks for the video tutorial. I was going through some old films I had in the freezer (a few Kodachromes, a Scala, etc) and I found one EIR. I do remember pulling it out of the black plastic can though. Do you think it is still usable? I’ve read that it can be loaded in subdued light, while some, like yourself, say it must be in complete darkness. I just wonder if it is completely ruined…
Thank you,
Vasco
October 25th, 2010 at 12:28 pm
There’s no way to know until you give it a try! I would definitely still try and use the roll. I think you should be ok.
January 15th, 2011 at 7:01 pm
That’s so cool! Too bad I’m not skilled enough to find this film.
July 5th, 2011 at 1:31 am
Hi Kert! I stumbled upon this wonderful tutorial while trying to find somewhere to purchase Kodak EIR film. I am a photography major in the US and I am doing an independent study this fall on IR photography. I was wondering if you knew of anywhere that still sells the film. Or if perhaps you’d be willing to sell me 2 or 3 rolls. Any help is greatly appreciated!
July 5th, 2011 at 7:06 am
Hi Brian, Unfortunately, 35mm EIR was discontinued a few years ago, so the only place I’ve ever seen it is on ebay. I’ve seen some rolls go for over $100 a roll, which is pretty insane! I’m keeping a pretty short leash on my rolls of EIR, so I’m not going to sell any. I’ve only got 6 rolls left
But all hope is not lost, as they’re still making medium format EIR film. The guy you want to get in touch with is Dean Bennici at http://www.bennici.net/ He’s the only person in the world still selling colour IR film, but he’s only selling it in 120 medium format. I bought 10 rolls off of him a while ago, and they’re sitting in my freezer. I don’t even have a medium format camera, but I’ll pick one up at some point, so I can play around with this new film 
Hope this helps!
July 31st, 2011 at 10:46 pm
The pictures must be great. For some reason the slide show program does not work. Thanks for the info about Kodak EIR. I enjoy shooting it myself.
August 1st, 2011 at 8:41 am
Hey David, The slideshow is working fine, just make sure you’re using a decent web browser. If you can’t see the shots, they’re all on my flickr page here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kgartner/sets/72157613758492877/
August 1st, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Your EIR work really inspires me. I especially like the fisheye shots. They add another creative angle to this incredible film. What a heart breaker that Kodak discontinued it. I am hard at work with EIR and hope to have some interesting work to show you in the future. Thanks for putting up this interesting website and your tutorials.
August 3rd, 2011 at 11:55 am
Hey, man! This is pretty interestig tutorial. A lot of people still shot on film in our country (Russia). I hope my friends find it usefull as well. Thanks for sharing and keep going!
August 16th, 2011 at 8:05 pm
Hey very cool tutorial. I am just wondering what fisheye lens you have there, as well what shop in Winnipeg does the developing? labworks?
August 16th, 2011 at 8:12 pm
The lens is just a normal 16m Canon FD Fisheye. Nothing too special about it. I got it on Ebay for a few hundred bucks many many years ago. As for the developing, Yeah, Labworks is the only place in the city that still does E6 processing, and they have experience developing Infrared so I wouldn’t take it anywhere else.
August 17th, 2011 at 12:03 pm
Also do you process all your IR with E6 or do you ever use C-41?
August 17th, 2011 at 5:39 pm
I always use E6. I’d be afraid to cross process such an expensive roll of film and potentially ruin it.
October 4th, 2011 at 1:44 pm
Thanks this is a very informative video I’ve just bought my first roll of this film and about to go up to the Lake district in England so I hope for some good shots, similar to your Canadian pictures (Weather permitting). Do you have to store this film carefully, like an a fridge and once in the camera have you got to use as quickly as possible…I think I read this somewhere?
October 4th, 2011 at 8:55 pm
I keep it in the fridge until the day I use it. I give it a few hours to “thaw” then go to the races. I’ve had a roll in my camera for over a month with no ill effects, but I wouldn’t push it too much. Just keep it out of the sun and in a cool place most of the time, and you should be fine.
January 10th, 2012 at 12:56 am
Thanks for uploading the PP guide to shooting IR
March 24th, 2012 at 9:47 pm
we would all want for kodak to bring this film back into the market!
JOIN THE CAUSE:
https://www.facebook.com/kodakir
April 8th, 2012 at 3:51 am
Hi, i just got a roll of this EIR and cant wait to try. However, i dont have lens that have built in color filters. Can I get those normal color filters off ebay and will they work as well?
April 8th, 2012 at 7:49 am
Yup, they’ll work great. I believe I got an Orange 52 filter off of ebay, and it’s worked fine with my 50mm lens.
April 15th, 2012 at 9:27 am
Thanks for the info! I got 5 rolls from Dean and I’ve FINALLY gotten a jump ring installed on my Holga. Thanks to your tutorial, I’ve finally figured out which filters give you crazy color results. I love the water shots, especially the panoramic (Spinner 360??) shots. Thanks for sharing your info.
April 15th, 2012 at 9:48 am
No problem! Good luck with your film
If you shoot anything cool, let me know 
January 9th, 2013 at 3:00 am
Thanks so much for this tutorial! It really helped me get some nice color infrared shots with my Holga and Canon AE-1. Cheers for posting this!
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