A photography exhibit invites viewers to see a favorite part of Fairmount Park in a different light, literally. Forbidden Light, now on view at Space Art Gallery in Bella Vista, showcases 31 images of the Wissahickon Valley Park captured using infrared film photography.
“A lot of the photos are measuring light that we cannot see,” explained photographer Dale McCarthy. Along the electromagnetic spectrum, infrared light begins with waves that are longer than those of red light, the longest waves in the visible spectrum. Hence, infrared light is invisible to the human eye. The results are at once familiar and otherworldly. Several shots capture recognizable structures and vistas, but the portrayals are different, with dark skies and foliage that glows white.
Cresheim Creek Bridge. | Photo: Dale McCarthy
McCarthy’s process involves using high speed 35mm infrared film, a Leica M6 rangefinder camera, and a deeply opaque filter that blocks out visible light while allowing infrared light to pass through. Working with infrared film is a challenge, as it must remain frozen until use, and many manufacturers, including McCarthy’s choice, have discontinued production. He ruefully admits that he’s stockpiled a stash of it in his freezer.
It is all in keeping with McCarthy’s overall approach to his photography, which includes developing his negatives by hand and creating most of his prints in his personal darkroom. “The traditional analog process is generally how I’ve made my photos. It allows me to take in different things,” he noted. “With digital photography, you’re making an exact replica. Analog methods can sometimes take an abstract spin.”
Andorra Meadow. | Photo: Dale McCarthy
The choice of the Wissahickon Valley Park fed another fascination. McCarthy was interested in the opportunity the park offers for a contemplative encounter with nature, yet within an urban environment. “I called it ‘Forbidden Light,’ because it suggests the possibilities when we set aside areas like this,” he said. “The possibilities of how people will use it and relate to it.” It is expressed in a gentle play on words in the exhibition’s title, referencing Forbidden Drive, which has been closed to vehicular traffic for more than a century and also the infrared light that humans are not able to see. McCarthy took around 500 photos. “I go through a process of revisualization, imagining what the printed photo will look like, with its highlights and contrasts.” In the end, he narrowed it down to the final 31 in the exhibition.
McCarthy took the photographs at various times during the spring and summer of 2022. “It needed to be at a time when there were leaves on the trees,” he said, explaining that foliage reflects infrared strongly, but the trees’ bark and wood do not. The effect is known as the “Wood effect,” named after the infrared photography pioneer Robert W. Wood. The chlorophyll in the leaves is transparent at infrared wavelengths, which lets light be reflected within the plant cells. Normally, the effect is masked by the amount of green visible light reflected by the foliage.
Forbidden Drive. | Photo: Dale McCarthy
McCarthy grew up near Pittsburgh. After earning a degree in English in college he arrived in Philadelphia and taught in public schools for several years. He now works as a color darkroom instructor at Fleisher Art Memorial. McCarthy is a member of the Kensington-based Halide Project, a group dedicated to supporting the practice and appreciation of film and historic process photography methods. He also produces portraiture for press materials and album artwork for artists, writers, and musicians.
Forbidden Light is on display at the Space Art Gallery, 749 S. 8th Street, through April 18. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Friday 5 – 8 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. For more information see their website here: www.thespacephiladelphia.com
