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Friday, June 13th, 2014
It’s the time of the year when some Oxford University students are sitting their final exam and immediately after they’ve exited the exam schools they celebrate with their friends in various different ways that can involve lots of colourful confetti, silly string, shaving foam and various liquid refreshments and sometimes food as well. The celebrations are known as trashing and looking through my archive I first photographed it in 1989 (last two pictures). Back then I don’t remember as many students doing it as they do now but no matter how crazy it looks I’ve always enjoyed photographing it because I haven’t come across any other occasion where you can see such a visual expression of pure joy and elation. Friends greeting friends to show their support and help celebrate freedom. Still images can’t really canvey the atmosphere because you really need to hear the laughing, cheering, screaming and shouting that goes along with all of the colour.
This is my first set of pictures from this years’ trashing and there will be lots more to come. Unfortunately I keep being accused of working for the Daily Mail because of a ridiculous article they put out recently about binge drinking that used pictures of Oxford University students celebrating the end of their exams. Tabloid junk at its best. It’s no wonder the Daily Mail have removed the ability to leave a comment under the article. My passion is photography and documenting life, particularly in Oxford which is a place I am proud to call my home town. I don’t judge and I certainly don’t supply my pictures to the tabloid gutter press.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 100/2.8 Series E lens, Kodak Hawkeye film. Processed by ASDA, Swindon.
Oxford, 1989
Posted in film, Oxford, People, students | No Responses »
Tags: asda, film, hawkeye, nikon, oxford, students, summer, trashing
Friday, June 6th, 2014
The 107th Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity 2014 Boxing match took place at the Town Hall in Oxford, here are some of my shots from the celebrations at the end when Oxford received the winners trophy. It was a great night and a total contrast to the town v gown match that I photographed previously. Well done guys!
[Tech info:] Nikon F100, 17-35/2.8, Ilford XP2 (expired). Developed at ASDA, Swindon.
Posted in film, Oxford, Sport, students | No Responses »
Tags: asda, black&white, boxing, film, oxford, people, sport, students, varsity
Wednesday, June 4th, 2014
Here are some images that I made back in autumn 2012 that I thought I had already posted but after checking back I realise that I hadn’t. Last week I bumped into the guy in the top left shot and after he told me that he hadn’t seen his shot yet it prompted me to check. He looked a little different but I still managed to recognise him and he remembered me making this picture during my lunch break which is nice considering it was over a year and a half ago. Some of these shots were made during my lunch hour photo walks and a couple are from a day trip to London. Same camera, different rolls of film.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66, 80/2.8 Zeiss Planar. Fuji Velvia 100 and Kodak Ektachrome 100G films. Processed in a Tetanol E6 kit.
Posted in film, London, Oxford, Portrait, Street portraits | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, e6, film, london, oxford, people, portraits, rolleiflex, SL66
Friday, May 30th, 2014
Some shots from a quick session I had with Iona a couple of weeks ago. I first shot with Iona during a promo shoot for the Christchurch Ball but as there was a specific theme for that shoot and quite a few other people involved so I didn’t have much time to shoot much film. The two Polaroids I shot of Iona were overexposed due to a sticky shutter in the lens so I was pleased that we were able to find time for this shoot. These shots are all from the same roll of 10 frames. I also shot a roll of slide film which I hope to develop later in the summer once I’ve built up a batch of rolls to develop at the same time.
[Tech info:] Pentax 6×7, 105/2.4, Kodak Tri-X [expired], processed in Kodak Xtol (stock).
Posted in film, Oxford, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x7, black&white, film, oxford, pentax, portraits, students, Tri-X, xtol
Wednesday, May 28th, 2014
I’ve always enjoyed photographing May Morning in Oxford because there’s always so much going on with plenty of interesting characters around and this year was no exception. Despite some drizzle early on it would take more than that to dampen the spirits of the people that had either woken up early or had been partying right through the night. There were some familiar faces among the Morris Men, people that I remember seeing over the years and this year I managed to make some nice portraits of them on Broad Street. I did quite a lot of photography this year so there will more shots to follow.
[Tech info:] Bronica ETRSi, 75/2.8, loaded with Fuji Pro 400H (expired). Dev & scanned by Ag Photo lab.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait, Street portraits | 4 Responses »
Tags: 400H, 645, bronica, etrsi, film, may day, may morning, oxford, people, portraits
Saturday, May 24th, 2014
One of the highlights in the Oxford University calendar for me is Summer Eights, also known as Eights Week and I’ve enjoyed photographing the event for many years. Out of all my visits so far the most memorable was when I first saw The Syndicate there in 1991 so I decided to dust off some of the shots in my archive to share them because Eights Week is next week. I haven’t been able to find out very much about The Syndicate so if you know anything about them please leave a comment. I saw them performing their co-ordinated dance routine two years ago and they’re still dressing in their matching outfits with the same front design. The back text reads ‘we have the strength to slip you a length’. I wonder what these guys are doing now.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, Ilford FP4.
Posted in film, Oxford, Sport, students | No Responses »
Tags: black&white, eights, film, fm2, oxford, people, rowing, sport, students, summer
Friday, May 16th, 2014
Chelsea Clinton received her doctorate degree last Saturday in a ceremony at The Sheldonian Theatre. Bill and Hillary were also there along with Chelsea’s husband and they all looked extremely proud when I saw them exit the Sheldonian and be photographed for their family group shot while a mass of students (who had also just graduated) looked on. I managed to photograph them as they casually walked through Radcliffe Square on their way back to University College on the High Street. It all happened so quickly and I did my best to maintain focus on my Rolleiflex twin-lens camera while walking backwards and trying not to trip over. They were surrounded by secret service agents that insisted that I stayed back which added another element of difficulty because I had to keep an eye out for when they were about to step in front of my camera. A group of paparazzi were quite a way off behind me concentrating on Chelsea and her husband who were walking off ahead of Bill and Hillary. I only had seven frames left on the roll in my Rolleiflex so I had to make every frame count and I’m very pleased with my shots.
Back in the summer of 2012 Bill visited Oxford to give a presentation at a conference in town. I didn’t know this and while I was on my lunch hour photo walk I came across one of his secret service agents standing outside Blackwell’s bookshop on Broad Street. I noticed him from across the street but I didn’t realise he was an actual secret service agent until I got closer and noticed the white coiled wire connected to an ear piece. We had a brief conversation and he was nice enough to allow me to make a quick portrait (below). At that point I didn’t know that Bill Clinton was inside Blackwell’s and I only found out when I got back to my office and one of my work colleague’s told me because a friend of his was working at Blackwell’s and Bill in there. Later that evening I went to the Malmaison hotel to photograph an event and when I got there I noticed lots of vehicles with blacked out windows parked in the front. When I left the hotel after I had finished my photography, standing at the door was the same secret service agent that I had photographed at lunch time. We had a nice chat and I explained a bit about this blog and my passion for film photography and just as I was about to leave he handed me a secret service pin badge which I thought was a very kind of him. I didn’t ask his name but whoever he is I hope he gets to see the portrait I made of him two years ago.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, 80mm Zeiss Planar, loaded with Fuji Acros 100, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5:30.
Secret service agent: Rolleiflex SL66, 80/2.8 Zeiss Planar, Fuji Acros 100, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5:30.
Posted in film, Oxford, People | 4 Responses »
Tags: 2.8f, 6x6, acros, black&white, clinton, film, hc110, oxford, people, rolleiflex, SL66, summer
Wednesday, May 14th, 2014
Some shots from my Zenit which was loaded with film from Poundland. I wanted to see how the film handled very contrasty light, I also wanted to see how bad the light leak could get when using the camera in full sun. While this film certainly isn’t on par with Kodak Portra it can certainly deliver some nice results. Jason and Hugo were accommodating as ever.
[Tech info:] Zenit TTL, 58/2 Helios, loaded with Agfa Vista 200 (Poundland). Developed and scanned at ASDA, Swindon.
Posted in Fashion, Oxford, People, Portrait | No Responses »
Tags: agfa vista, asda, church, clements, film, oxford, people, poundland, tailors, zenit
Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
Some more of my shots from the filming of Testament of Youth in Oxford last month. I still have lots more to post but I’m trying to mix them up a bit with other shots for variety. This shots are from the last set up of the day in front of the Sheldonian Theatre where the camera was mounted on an impressive articulated arm.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 85/1.8, loaded with Fuji Press 400 film. Developed & scanned at ASDA, Swindon.
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford | No Responses »
Tags: asda, film, filming, fm2, fuji, nikon, oxford
Tuesday, May 13th, 2014
Some shots from the Teddy Hall Ball that I photographed recently, the first ball of the summer for me. I’ve got some exciting ones coming up this year which I’m very much looking forward to.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 50/1.4, Fuji Press 400 film. Developed and scanned at ASDA, Swindon.
Posted in film, Oxford, students | No Responses »
Tags: asda, ball, film, fm2, fuji, oxford, students, summer, teddy hall
Monday, May 12th, 2014
Some more shots from a scene of Lewis that was being filmed on Broad Street, Oxford recently. It was a cold and windy day which is why the two main actor’s are dressed in warm coats during the rehearsal.
[Tech info:] Konica C35, Agfa Vista 200 film from Poundland, developed and scanned at ASDA, Swindon (thanks Simon).
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford | No Responses »
Tags: 35mm, agfa vista, asda, filming, lewis, oxford
Thursday, May 8th, 2014
Here are some shots from a rehearsal for The Mikado that I attended a few months ago at New College thanks to the show’s director, Tim Coleman. I had hoped to photograph at the dress rehearsal as well but unfortunately the timings didn’t quite work out. I used this occasion to test out some film that I’ve been struggling with to find a look that I like. The film is Ilford Delta 3200 which is designed for low light photography but finding a developer that produces results that I am very happy with has proven tricky (not least because the film expired 7 years ago and has lost some of its sensitivity) but I think I’ve finally cracked it with a developer named Rodinal. Ironically Rodinal is renowned for increasing grain which is usually the last thing you want with fast film but I like these results and will continue to test with this combination.
[Tech info:] Bronica ETRSi, 75/2.8, loaded with Ilford Delta 3200 rated at ISO 800, processed in Rodinal 1+25 for 7 mins.
Posted in Behind the scenes, film, Oxford, students | No Responses »
Tags: backstage, black&white, bronica, drama, film, oxford, people, rehearsal, rodinal
