Solo Exhibition
Invisible Light
Bill Helsel
August 2 – 31, 2025
Grandfather Oak, Pinole Valley, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Eucalyptus, Point Pinole, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Beneath the Oaks, Sobrante Ridge Preserve, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Ferns And Nettles Beside Creek, Mendocino County, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Thousand Island Lake and Banner Peak, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Water Lilies, Eldorado National Forest, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Merced River Sunset, Yosemite Valley, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Burnt pines in fog, Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Young Jeffrey Pine on Sentinel Dome, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Monterey Cypress in Fog, Pacific Grove, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Los Osos Oaks, Gelatin silver Lith print from infrared film negative
Leaning Oak, Fernandez Ranch, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
The Goddesses, Pinole Ridge, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Shady Grove, Briones Regional Park, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Three Oaks, Diablo Foothills, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Kindred Spirits, Tilden Park Botanical Garden, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Monterey Cypress Forest, Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Oaks in Fog, Winter, Briones Park, #2, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Hillside In Spring, Round Valley Regional Preserve, Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Bob Walker Ridge, Morgan Territory Regional Preserve, Gelatin silver Lith print from Kodak high-speed infrared film negative
Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
Gelatin silver print from infrared film negative
About
Invisible Light presents black-and-white infrared photographs by Bill Helsel, made with film sensitive to wavelengths beyond normal human vision.
The landscapes are recognizable, but their tonal relationships have shifted. Vegetation turns luminous, water deepens toward black, and familiar terrain takes on an unfamiliar structure. The camera records information that is physically present but unavailable to the eye.
Helsel works entirely with infrared film and hand-prints each image in the darkroom. The process is exacting, but the exhibition is less about technique than about perception: what exists whether or not we are equipped to see it.
These photographs complicate the idea that seeing and knowing are the same thing. The landscape has not changed. What changes is the range of information made visible.
About the Artist
Bill Helsel is a photographer whose professional career spans architecture, editorial work, teaching, and fine-art photography. His photographs have appeared in publications including National Geographic, Condé Nast Traveler, and Audubon.
Working professionally since 1976, Helsel has maintained a long-standing black-and-white practice alongside his commercial work. In Invisible Light, he uses infrared film and traditional darkroom printing to examine how photographic materials can reveal aspects of the visible world that human perception cannot access directly.