Gordon Trewinnard: Colour Infrared Photography

14 January – 26 February 2022

  Gordon Trewinnard, Richmond Bridge

Gordon Trewinnard (1944-2017) was a photographer based in Richmond in South West London. He was fascinated by infrared photography and left many beautiful and surreal photographs. Many of his colour infrared photographs were taken in Richmond, turning landscapes of this affluent London suburb into something mysterious and eerie.

Trewinnard also worked for filmmakers: he travelled to various locations and took photographs of the places ahead of the arrival of the shooting teams to help them plan filming beforehand. This unique job took him to different parts of the world, and he used these opportunities to experiment with infrared photography of some of the most magnificent views in the world.

The current display focuses on his snowscapes and monochromatic experiments from our collection. All prints on display are available for purchase.

Infrared Photography

Infrared light is part of the electromagnetic spectrum light that is visible to naked human eyes is in between around 400 to 700 nanometres wavelength in the spectrum, whereas infrared light is in between 700 nanometres to 1-millimetre wavelength. Infrared photography makes the light of this range visible to our eyes, with the help of special filters that reduce the amount of visible light coming through the lens. When using a film camera to take an infrared photograph, one usually uses films dedicated to the purpose. Films for infrared photographs are more sensitive to the wavelengths of infrared light.

With infrared photography, it is difficult to predict the exact colours that come out when printed, and one sometimes gets quite unexpected results, which appeal to both professional and amateur practitioners.

Trewinnard's vintage prints are available to purchase. If you are interested please contact us at [email protected]. Some prints are also available online.