Back in 1967, Karl Ferris, who I hereby dub "The Godfather of Color Infrared", made the seminal color infrared image for the debut release of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Ferris went on to do fabulous work with Donovan with songs like "Wear Your Love Like Heaven". In the 1970's, Elliott Landy made infrared portraits of Bob Dylan, The Band, Johnny Lee Hooker, Van Morrison and more. Marcus Keef's brilliant infrared work for Vertigo Records produced some of the most iconic LP covers ever. Covers like Black Sabbath 1 and Paranoid. By the mid 1970's though, the use of color infrared film was rare. Kodak continued to produce it as EIR in 135 format straight through to the millennium, but no one really cared. By the 1980's, it was ignored completely except for a very few enthusiasts and by 1993 it was all but extinct. Kodak finally discontinued the film due to lack of sales. That was the end of all color infrared film.

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It wasn't until 2006 that the Aerochrome story emerges. I was trying to find something special for an artist friend that I wanted to photograph. I was barely a photographer at the time and basically knew nothing. It was my girlfriend who suggested I try Kodak EIR 35mm, but when I went to buy some, it was long gone. It also wasn't to be found online anywhere. I finally managed to get some and saw immediately its amazing potential. It was in my search for more that I stumbled upon Aerochrome. It came to me through an old connection in the aerospace industry. This was the moment Aerochrome was discovered for the world to enjoy. There was no Aerochrome for consumer use prior to this, so I was leaping into the unknown. It's not the same film as the old Kodak EIR. It's a different emulsion entirely and comes on huge rolls manufactured exclusively for aerial photography. The idea of course was to cut it down for my camera and shoot at ground level. It was overly expensive for me at the time and I didn't even know if it would work. There was a whole lot of testing with filters, film speeds, light sources, etc.. Finally though, in 2007, I was ready to sell some, so I thought. 

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The first 3 years of the project went very badly. I sat on 5000 rolls for a long time. Just about every photo forum in existance banned me for spamming by just talking about it. I ended up giving the first few hundred rolls away for free. I knew someone was bound to take some great photos and we would be off and running. It was now 2010 and still no one was interested. I really couldn't imagine why. I guessed it was mostly because of my high price of $26/roll. Everyone was complaining. Can you imagine that with the way prices are these days?

 

​So now my goal was to take good photos that showcase the amazing versatility of the film. I wasn't a photographer, so it was a challenge, and it took a few years. The film didn't really gain any popularity until 2013 when Richard Mosse made a big splash with his epic work in Congo. I was proud to be the one that supplied the film stock and for offering the technical advice for effective use of the film, especially in 16mm. It was never meant to be used as movie film and my many efforts the year prior offered everything I needed to know for the Mosse project. One of my finest achievements with the film. Thank you very much! You can see those early clips here. Just a bit of fun! 

https://www.youtube.com/@aerochrome_source

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From 2007 to present, I have hand cut and rolled every 120 roll out there, adding up to about 150,000 rolls. There have also been many 10,000's in 35mm and tons of film sheets from 2x2, 4x5, 8x10 to 8x20 inch and beyond. Then there was that huge crate of 16mm. 

 

After more than 17 years, the project is still gaining momentum. The film that nobody wanted! I am doing everything I can to keep it going and I still cut film on occasion, but of course the future is grim. Obviously Kodak won't bring it back for various and assorted reasons. But at least there are still thousands of photos out there yet to be taken. 

Most of my scans are nearly 1:1 with the original slides. I encourage you to try and do all your work inside the camera. That is the fun and the wonder of this kind of photography. Analog infrared photography is painting with materials and invisible light. 

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Dean Bennici 2024

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hopefully history will remember me as the guy that brought aerochrome to the world. That's not a lot to ask.