Behind the scenes
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Wednesday, August 5th, 2015
Here’s the final batch of pictures from the University Parks shoot on Endeavour 3. These shots span two different days but I decided to post them together to keep things organised by location. I’ve become a huge fan of Eastman Double X motion picture film recently which is why I’ve been posting so many shots that have been made with it and there are still lots more to come. Anyone thinking of trying it I suggest you develop it in Kodak D76 1+1 dilution. Previously I was using Kodak Xtol developer which did a nice job but you don’t get the same tonal range that you get with D76.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Eastman Double X motion picture film, developed in Kodak D76 1+1, Pakon scans.
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford, People | No Responses »
Tags: black&white, d76, double x, endeavour, film, filming, leica, m2, oxford, pakon, people, summer, university parks, voigtlander, xx
Monday, July 27th, 2015
Continuing on from my previous post, here are some images from a second roll of film I shot in Oxford’s University Parks during filming of the third Endeavour episode from series 3. The weather at the beginning of the afternoon was bright and sunny but later it started to cloud over and the light level began to drop a fair bit. After the supporting actors arrived in their 1960’s Police uniform I was a little concerned that all of the black fabric of their outfits might fill in but the Eastman Double X film I used handled everything with ease. This film stock is fast becoming a real favourite of mine and I’ve finally found a developer that brings the best out of it – Kodak D76.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Eastman Double X motion picture film, developed in Kodak D76 1+1.
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford, People | 2 Responses »
Tags: black&white, d76, double x, endeavour, film, filming, leica, m2, oxford, people, university parks, xx
Thursday, July 16th, 2015
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford, People | No Responses »
Tags: black&white, d76, double x, endeavour, film, filming, leica, m2, nokton, oxford, pakon, people, summer, university parks, voigtlander
Tuesday, June 30th, 2015
Here are some behind the scenes shots from the third episode of Endeavour series three that I made during my lunch break. Fortunately this location was down the road from my office so I didn’t have far to travel. I’ve had some positive feedback about my Endeavour photography which was very nice to hear so I’ve posted larger images than usual here so they can be enjoyed all the more. There are some nice shots coming up from this episode that I made on a different day so lots to look forward to.
[Tech info]: Leica M2, Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.5, Eastman Double X motion picture film, developed in Kodak D76 1+1, Pakon scans.
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford | 5 Responses »
Tags: black&white, d76, double x, endeavour, film, filming, leica, m2, oxford, voigtlander, wellington square
Thursday, June 18th, 2015
Behind the scenes photography from series 3 of Endeavour which was filming in Oxford recently. For the first time the crew are filming during the summer which is not helping the moody look and feel of the tv show. I’m curious to see how the final episodes look after they’ve been through grading and post production.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, Zeiss Planar, Ilford HP5 (expired), developed in Ilfotec LC29 1+19.
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford | 4 Responses »
Tags: 2.8f, 6x6, endeavour, film, filming, HP5, lc29, oxford, rolleiflex, tv
Friday, June 5th, 2015
The Endeavour film crew were back in Oxford a few weeks ago to start work on the second episode of series 3. Here are some behind the scenes shots that I made during filming that took place on Holywell Street.
[Tech info]: Leica M2, Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.4 lens, Eastman Double X motion picture film, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 6 mins.
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford, People | No Responses »
Tags: 50mm, black&white, double x, endeavour, film, filming, hc110, leica, m2, nokton, oxford, voigtlander
Monday, May 11th, 2015
The Endeavour crew were back in Oxford filming the first episode from series 3 and here are some shots from behind the scenes. It was very nice to see some familiar faces among the crew which was made up of a mixture of crew members from both Lewis and Endeavour. These shots were all made with my 1960’s Rolleiflex twin lens reflex camera which I like to use for behind the scenes photography because not only is it very quiet but it’s also from the same era as Endeavour is set.
Tech info: Rolleiflex 2.8F, 80mm Zeiss Planar lens, Kodak Tri-X film, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.
Endeavour behind the scenes
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, black&white, endeavour, film, filming, hc110, oxford, rolleiflex
Monday, April 20th, 2015
The first episode of Endeavour 3 is currently being filmed and here are some behind-the-scenes shots from a scene that took place outside Endeavour’s flat in Park Town, Oxford. It was a fairly brief scene with only two members of the main cast present – I won’t go into any more detail or give any spoilers. This is the first bit of filming that I have seen from the new series and it was really nice to see some familiar faces among the crew. The crew consisted of a mix of people that I had previously seen working separately on Lewis and Endeavour so it was nice to see them all working together.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.5, Ilford HP5, processed in Ilford LC29 1+19 for 6.30.
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford | No Responses »
Tags: black&white, endeavour, film, filming, HP5, lc29, leica, m2, nokton, oxford, pakon, people, voigtlander
Sunday, February 8th, 2015
It was nice to see some familiar faces at this years’ Town vs Gown Boxing competition at the Oxford Union, especially some of the team from last year who had come to cheer on Oxford. Last year was my first time photographing this event and I had no idea what to expect when I arrived there. This year was very different because this time I had access all areas and I also had last years’ pictures to live up to (which can be seen here and here).
After much deliberation on which cameras and film to take with me I eventually decided that I wanted to make some portraits on medium format but the difficult part was choosing which medium format camera to take. In the end I went for my Mamiya 645 Pro TL because it’s the one that I own with the fastest lens and not only did I want a shallow depth of field but I also knew that the light levels inside the Oxford Union are fairly low. The 80/1.9 lens that I took with me is quite unforgiving when it comes to focussing it at anywhere near to wide open and the focussing screen that came in my camera (I’m not sure if it’s the standard stock screen) is very bright and clear which actually makes it more difficult to tell whether something is in focus or not so the sharpness in some of the shots below is lacking. The Mamiya 645 Pro TL is a nice camera to use but the thing I hate most about it is the shutter release travel feels like it goes on forever which can cause movement of the camera (in my experience) just before the shutter fires. I have a motor-drive for mine which came with the camera but I haven’t used it yet because once you’ve loaded the grip with AA batteries it adds quite a bit of weight to it as well as increasing the overall size.
[Tech info:] Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80/1.9, Kodak Tri-X 400 @ ISO 1600, processed in Kodak HC110 (1+31) for 16mins.
Posted in Behind the scenes, Oxford, Sport, students | No Responses »
Tags: 645, backstage, black&white, boxing, film, hc110, mamiya, oxford, portraits, protl, students, Tri-X
Friday, February 6th, 2015
This is the first set of my images from the Oxford University Amateur Boxing Club (OUABC) Town vs Gown 2015 competition which was held at the Oxford Union two nights ago. Last year was my first time photographing this event and it’s hard to believe that twelve months have already gone by. I was very pleased with my images last year but I decided to change things up a bit this year in terms of cameras and film choice instead of just repeating the same thing. First up we have some shots made with my Leica M2 but I also took a medium format camera with me and a 35mm point and shoot so those will follow soon. The film I used for the images below (Fuji Neopan 1600) is sadly no longer made by Fuji and the roll I used came in a mixed bag of film I bought from a press photographer a couple of years ago. The film is expired but I have no idea by how much so it was a bit risky using it but that’s also what makes things exciting when you have no idea how or if the shots are going to turn out. When it came to developing this film I had to seek some advice from a friend of mine who’s more experienced than I when it comes to using this film (thanks Jean Pierre) and I’m pleased to say I really like the results. All of these were made using available light, in fact I didn’t take a flash with me and the only camera I had that did have a flash was the point and shoot compact.
Many thanks to Isra Hale for the invite and to the boxers for their patience both before and after their bouts in the ring. I look forward to next year when not only will we have another Town vs Gown but also the Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity will be back in Oxford.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 35/1.2, Fuji Neopan 1600 (rated ISO 1600), developed in Kodak HC110 (1+31) for 8mins. Pakon scans.
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford, Sport, students | No Responses »
Tags: 1600, black&white, boxing, film, hc110, leica, m2, neopan, oxford, oxford union, students, voigtlander
Tuesday, October 21st, 2014
One of the things I enjoy about photographing drama productions is being able to test out films that I wouldn’t usually be able to test out during my lunch hour because they need low light conditions. These shots are from a roll of expired Ilford Delta 400 which I rated at ISO 800 and pushed one stop in the processing. It looks a lot different to the Kodak Double-X that I shot in the same conditions but rated at half the speed. Once again my Yashica Electro 35 proved to be the right camera for the job and I’m becoming a bigger fan of it the more I use it.
[Tech info:] Yashica Electro 35, expired Ilford Delta 400 (ISO 800), pushed one stop in Kodak D76 1+1.
Posted in Behind the scenes, Drama, film, Oxford, students | No Responses »
Tags: backstage, black&white, d76, delta 400, electro 35, film, oxford, students, yashica
Monday, October 20th, 2014
This is the first set of pictures from my time backstage at The Oxford Playhouse while the cast of The Furies were getting ready. There isn’t a lot of space in the dressing rooms so I did my best to keep out of the way while still making pictures – notice my reflection in two of the shots. Before arriving I didn’t know what the light levels were going to be like inside but I wanted to test out some Eastman Kodak Double-X motion picture film (the same type that was used by Spielberg for Schindler’s List) so I took a gamble and rated this roll at ISO 400 which is a 1 stop push from box speed. Overall I’m very pleased with the results considering how much contrast there is in these shots – bright lights and black clothing is a torture test for any film. A quick shout out to Charles Graham, the director, for allowing me access and a big thank you to the cast for being so accommodating which always helps to make my job a little easier.
[Tech info:] Yashica Electro 35, Eastman Kodak Double-X film rated at ISO 400, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 6:30.
Posted in Behind the scenes, Drama, film, Oxford, People, students | No Responses »
Tags: backstage, black&white, double x, drama, electro 35, film, hc110, oxford, students, yashica
