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Thursday, February 28th, 2013
One of my favourite cameras is my Graflex Super D which is a large format (5×4) SLR. The problem is I haven’t been able to use it very much this winter because the viewing screen inside it is quite dark so I need bright conditions to help me with focussing. The weather this winter has been overcast and cloudy most of the time which has been frustrating for me. This set of portraits were made on a rare sunny day last week during my lunch hour. There always seems to be more people around when the sun comes out.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D, Carl Zeiss 18cm/f4.5 lens, Ilford HP5 film processed in Kodak HC110 for 5mins at 20C.
Christy & Helen, slightly out of focus. It's very difficult to focus when your subjects are backlit by the sun. I must remember not to do this.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits, students | 4 Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, film, graflex, hc110, helen, HP5, oxford, people, portraits, students, super d, Tri-X
Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
Here’s a set of images I made at the dress rehearsal for Rope which was being staged at the Oxford Union Society (one of my favourite venues for photography). It was a tight schedule but fortunately for me things were running a little behind so I had time to try some different setups. When I arrived the last rays of sunshine were streaming into the windows to produce the most amazing ambience but sadly the actors weren’t in costume at that time. It was completely dark outside by the time the actors were ready so I lit all of these shots with the floor standing lamps that were part of the set. I’m pleased with how they turned out and I especially like the shot at the bottom right hand corner.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67 with 90mm and 180mm lenses, loaded with Kodak Tri-X rated at ISO 1600. Processed in Rodinal 1:50.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x7, black&white, drama, film, oxford, people, portraits, rb67, rodinal, students, Tri-X
Wednesday, February 20th, 2013
When the sun comes out so do lots of people to the streets of Oxford. You can feel a completely different buzz on the street when the weather is nice. People seem to be in a much happier mood and that makes for perfect conditions to do some street portrait photography. These shots were all made during the same lunch hour photo walk. I particularly like the shot of Mo, the cat that belongs to James (aka Cowboymod), the hairdresser on Walton Street.
[Tech info:] Bronica ETRSi, 75mm lens, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400, processed in Rodinal 1:50.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits, students | No Responses »
Tags: 645, black&white, bronica, film, oxford, people, rodinal, students, Tri-X
Monday, February 18th, 2013
Here are some recent shots I made with Chloe on Fuji instant pack film (similar to Polaroid). Finally the weather has been slowly improving and so has the light for photography. This makes me happy. I also shot some black & white film on these shoots so those will follow once I’ve processed and scanned them.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 90mm and 180mm lenses.
Posted in film, Oxford, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: chloe, diptych, film, fujiroid, oxford, people, polaroid, portraits, rb67, students
Sunday, February 17th, 2013
Here are some images from my first lunch hour photo shoot with Chloe on film. I first shot with Chloe on the Oriental-inspired fashion shoot for The Oxford Tab here. We lucked out with some nice weather and although the sun was in and out I did my best to make the most of it. I juggled two different cameras (medium and large format) and I really wish we had more time to shoot because there were so many more shots I wanted to try at this location but they’ll have to wait for another time. Chloe was great to work with and there will be more collaborations to come. The colour image below was made on Fuji FP100C instant pack film (similar to Polaroid).
[Tech info]: Mamiya M645 1000s with 80mm/f1.9 lens loaded with Acros 100 film, processed in Rodinal 1:50. Graflex 5×4 Super D (top & bottom right), 190mm/f5.6 lens loaded with Ilford HP5 processed in HC110 (1:31).
Posted in film, Oxford, Photo shoot, students | No Responses »
Tags: 5x4, 645, acros, black&white, film, fujiroid, HP5, oxford, portraits, rodinal, students, super d
Friday, February 15th, 2013
Last week there was a salon day at Keble College where a designer dress hire company (Wish Want Wear) brought in lots of ball gowns for girls to try on to see whether they wanted to hire them for one of the many college balls that are being held this summer. I was invited along to do some photography (I photographed Keble’s ball last year) and here are some of the results. I shot quite a lot so there will be other shots to follow. For this shoot I decided to experiment quite a lot more than I would normally as a way of learning. For example I wouldn’t usually photograph someone backlit by a window. My thanks go to Mel for being so patient while I juggled with different cameras and to Katherine for inviting me. I’m really looking forward to this year’s Keble ball.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 90mm lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X rated at ISO1600, processed in Kodak HC110 (1:31).
Posted in Fashion, film, Oxford, Photo shoot, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x7, black&white, film, hc110, keble college, oxford, portraits, rb67, students, Tri-X
Wednesday, February 13th, 2013
Yesterday I photographed a Valentine’s Day themed fashion photo story for The Oxford Tab website. Despite some last minute location scouting everything came together really well. My thanks go to the dynamic duo of Helen and Megan for putting together another great shoot and to their friends for braving the chilly weather. I shot digital for the fast (next day) turnaround but I did manage to shoot one Fujiroid.
You can see the full photo story here: http://oxford.tab.co.uk/2013/02/13/my-sordid-valentine/
Posted in Fashion, film, Oxford, Photo shoot, students | No Responses »
Tags: film, fujiroid, oxford, portraits, rb67, students
Wednesday, February 6th, 2013
A few weeks ago I had a lunch hour photo shoot with Xin and these are some of my favourite shots from that session. I first met Xin while I was photographing at the Keble summer ball last year. We really lucked out with the weather and light on the day of this shoot because for the most part January hasn’t been a particularly great month for outdoor photography – not for me at least. When the weather warms up a bit I hope we can shoot together again.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67 with 6×6 back. Lenses used were 110mm/f2.8 and 150mm/f3.5 on Fuji Acros 100 film. Processed in HC110. The last two images were made on a Nikon FM2 with 50mm/f1.4 lens on 35mm Ilford Delta 100 film.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, acros, black&white, film, hc110, oxford, portraits, RZ67
Monday, February 4th, 2013
After the success of my first fashion photo shoot for The Tab Oxford, I was asked to do another one. We did the photo shoot around Worcester college but as it was pitch black outside by the time we were ready to start I lit the shots with portable strobes. I’m a lighting fanatic so I jump at the chance to bust out some lights to experiment with on a shoot. Everything came together nicely for this one thanks to a really creative team and models that were brave enough to handle the cold. Thank you to all involved. Below are a couple of shots that didn’t make the final edit.
You can see the final selection of shots on The Tab website.
Posted in Fashion, Oxford, Photo shoot, students | No Responses »
Tags: D700, digital, fashion, students
Wednesday, January 30th, 2013
Here are some of the film shots from my recent photo shoot with Christy. These are all medium format shots, I still have some large format sheet film to process from this shoot. For a while I’ve been wanting to test out some high speed film (Ilford Delta 3200) but it’s designed to be used in low light situations which mostly rules it out for my lunch hour photography sessions. Fortunately I had the chance to test a roll on this shoot as the light level began to drop in the late afternoon.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 90mm/f3.8 lens, loaded with Ilford Delta 100 and 3200. Processed in Ilford DD-X developer (1+4).
My two favourite shots from the shoot.
Posted in film, Oxford, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x7, black&white, oxford, people, portraits, rb67, students
Monday, January 28th, 2013
As a photographer I like to experiment with light. Here’s a set of images that I shot with Jess using only a bunch of fairy lights and a small bedside table lamp, nice and simple. Space was at a premium on this shoot but sometimes it’s nice to work within some constraints to push your creativity a bit. Jess was really good to work with – it always helps to work with someone who is willing to make suggestions and come up with new ideas to try on a shoot.
[Tech info:] Nikon D700, 50mm/f1.4 lens.
Posted in Oxford, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: D700, digital, portraits, students
Sunday, January 27th, 2013
Here are some shots from a photo shoot I had today with Christy. The light in Christy’s room at college is amazing thanks to some tall windows and dark wood panelling on the walls which stops the light from bouncing around too much. I started the shoot with experimenting with some double exposures, then I set up my 5×4 Speed Graphic to shoot some b&w sheet film and then we finished off with experimenting with some fairy lights. I haven’t processed the b&w film yet so those will follow at a later time.
[Tech info:] Cameras used were 5×4 Speed Graphic, Mamiya RB67 with sliding Polaroid back and a Nikon D700 digital.
Fuji instant pack film (aka Fujiroids)
Posted in film, Oxford, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: black&white, D700, digital, film, fujiroid, oxford, portraits, rb67
