Photo Essay: Exploring Light in Mission San Juan Bautista

I love false color photography, both film and digital, and one of my favorite films is Ilford’s B&W SFX, particularly for the way it renders light.

According to Ilford’s website SFX is an “Extended Red Sensitivity film”:

“SFX 200 is a medium speed black and white camera film for creative photography. It has extended red sensitivity and is especially suited for use with a filter to create special effects. By using a deep red filter skies can be rendered almost black and most green vegetation almost white. Its unusual tonal rendition ensures interesting results for a range of subjects, including portraits, landscapes, townscapes and architecture.”

I discovered SFX looking for more ways to get the effect of shooting in the infrared spectrum, especially they way you can darken a sky or water.

You can do this with traditional B&W film as well using red filters (or in the darkroom) but what I really love about SFX is the effect it also has on reflected light.

It’s all those diffused halos and dark contrasts. I typically shoot in medium format, but here I’ve used a Canon AE-1 with 35mm and a red filter inside Mission San Juan Buatista. (one of my favorites of the California Missions)

If you have a chance to visit this mission do so. When shooting inside, midday and afternoon light is perfect. It’s a great place to explore light.