Here’s part 4 of my images from the Keble College Ball last weekend. I’m enjoying going through these images and remembering all of the different people I spoke to and photographed on the night. I had a lot of fun, as did the guests. More images to come.
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 with either a 35/f2, 100/f2.8 series E or a Zeiss 50/f1.4 lens. Those are the lenses I took with me and I changed them up throughout the evening.
Guests having fun.
The weather for the Lincoln Ball was less than ideal so the indoor venues were quite full of guests. I did my best to get into some space to photograph them as well as I could. With the lack of any useable ambient light I was using straight flash. These images have a kind of paparazzi look to them. I’m desperately trying to find some spare time to scan in the rest of the film I shot at the Lincoln Ball but I can’t manage it at the moment. Something to look forward to… 🙂
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 digital with a Zeiss ZF 50/f1.4 manual lens.
Lincoln Ball guests
Another batch of film shots from the Keble College Ball 2012. Here you can see some from inside the Sheesha tent that was put on by Mr Flavour. It seemed like a popular spot with a constant queue leading out from the entrance. Not surprising really since it was cosy and warm in there. I did a lot of my portrait photography right outside underneath the big light ball. Those light balls were amazing and gave off a beautiful quality of light. The previous two sets of images from the Keble Ball have been very popular, thank you to everyone that has sent me messages. Feel free to add me on Facebook or like my photography page there if you want to keep updated on new posts here. Lots more images to come. If you were at the Lincoln Ball don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you, more from there coming soon.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f, 80/f2.8 lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X, rated at ISO1600 and processed in Kodak HC110 dilution B (1:31).
Guests have fun in the Shisha tent.
Here we have the first batch of shots I made on film at the Keble College Ball 2012. I’ve been feverishly processing and scanning into the wee small hours this morning to get these posted here as soon as I could because I love how they look. All of these were made using the available light. I decided not to use flash on any of my film shots during the evening.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f and 80mm lens with Kodak Tri-X film rated at ISO 1600. Processed in Kodak HC110 (1:31) dilution b for 16:30 at 20c.
Long live film.
The Keble College Ball was the biggest college ball that I’ve attended so far and I really enjoyed it. When I first heard that around 1,850 guests were expected it didn’t quite register in my mind what that would actually look like but when I saw the guests queuing up around the edge of the main quad at Keble waiting to come into the ball it was quite a sight. Fortunately it didn’t rain at all on the night but the temperature outside was quite chilly. It’s a shame we didn’t have more summery weather because I think the cold temperature forced a lot of people to stay in the warmth of the marquees or the college buildings which were difficult to photograph in because they were so packed. I saw so many people that I would like to photograph again with some of my old film cameras so if you’re in any of these pictures below and you’d like a test shoot together please get in touch.
This is the first batch of images from the ball. I have a lot of images to sort through but I’ll try to post new batches as soon as I can. Lots of the guests asked where they could see the pictures. I’ll post as many as I can here but I’ll put a gallery together of everything in case anyone wants to order prints. I still have lots more images from Lincoln to post so expect plenty of updates.
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 with Zeiss 50mm/f1.4 lens.
There were lots of photogenic guests in attendance.
Here’s the 4th batch of images from the Lincoln College Ball 2012. These were all shot on film and there are plenty more to come. One of the many things I love about using film is the fact that it takes time to create the images. Sometimes well over a week or more has passed between me processing the film and scanning it and in that time I’ve often forgotten what was on the film in the first place. Take some of these shots for example. It’s not quite 7 days since I shot these images but as I was sorting through them just now there are at least a few frames that I don’t remember making so coming across them is not only a surprise but also a treat. I was aiming to post new images every day this week but I’ve been feeling unwell the past couple of days, sorry about that. Lots more to come from the Lincoln Ball (both film and digital) and I’ll be photographing at the Keble Ball tomorrow night so there’s lots to look forward to from that too.
I’d love to photograph at the upcoming Oriel Ball so if anyone can hook me up with permission to photograph there it would be much appreciated!
Shots from the beginning of the evening before the rain started.
Here’s the first batch of images that I shot on film at the Lincoln College Ball 2012.There’s a huge difference in the look of these images compared to the digital images in the previous two posts. Please feel free to leave a comment to tell me which ones you prefer. I decided to try out a camera and flash combination that I hadn’t ever tried before and because I was using an old school camera I dusted off an old school Metz flash to pair it with. This particular flash is almost 25 years old and it cost me a week and a half’s wages from my first job after I left school.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f and 80mm lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X film rated at ISO 1600, processed in Rodinal (1:50 dilution).
The evening started off with some of the guests having a sit down meal.
Here’s the second instalment of images from the Lincoln College Ball 2012. A few tidbits of info – all of these images were made using the available light except for the second image down on the left for which I had to use the pop-up flash on my digital camera (which never gets much use) Â because the bar staff in the picture were completely backlit. The third image down on the right was made looking through a window. I’m not sure what was going on in that room but it looked like everyone was having a good time. I couldn’t get in because of the queues. The image in the bottom right hand corner was made while I was standing in pouring rain, umbrella in one hand, camera in the other. The light is coming from an outside miniature street lamp to the right.
This evening I processed some of the black & white film I shot at the ball and I’m excited to get around to scanning and posting those. So many images, so little time…
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 digital camera with Zeiss 50mm/f1.4 lens (wide open).
Even the rain couldn't dampen the spirits.
Last night I was fortunate enough to be given permission to photograph at the Lincoln College Ball here in Oxford (thank you Rachel Savage). Despite the cold howling wind and rain I think a good time was had by all. I enjoyed it but due to the weather there wasn’t much opportunity for outdoor photography which meant doing lots of flash photography (not my favourite) or trying to make use of what little ambient light I could find. As a photographer we work with what we have in any given situation and I enjoyed the challenge even if it was so dark that I could hardly tell whether my subjects were in focus most of the time. In the top two shots below you can see the rain dripping down from the edge of the marquee.
There was a great diversity of outfits being worn last night and I couldn’t help noticing so many photogenic people that I’d love to have the opportunity to photograph again in a less busier setting. Please get in touch if you like my photography and would like to do a test shoot with film and old cameras.
Below is a little taster of some of the images I captured during the evening. These are all from my digital camera, the film shots will follow on later once I’ve processed and scanned the film. I ended up using my digital camera more than I would have liked simply because the light levels were so low and it’s handy to see a preview when using flash. All of the images below were made without any flash, I searched for the places with the best ambient light and waited for willing subjects. More to come.
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 with Zeiss 50mm/f1.4 lens (used wide open).
A fun time was had by all.
I’m a huge fan of large format photography and I bought my first large format camera (a 5×4 inch Wista) back in 1990. At the time I was an assistant in a commercial photography studio where a lot of the work we did was car advertising photography for Rover which was shot on a 10×8 inch camera. The photographer I worked for has since retired from commercial photography and he’s been kind enough to let me borrow the same 10×8 inch camera that he used for all of the advertising work. It’a a big camera (four times the size of my 5×4 camera) and it’s also quite heavy. Only recently have I been able to find a rucksack big enough to hold it and last weekend I was finally able to take it out on the streets of Oxford which was lots of fun. I was only able to take 4 sheets of film with me on my outing because the combined weight of the camera, rucksack, lens and tripod all added up to quite a hefty load to be walking for 45mins into town with. I made it there and back in one piece and I can’t wait to do it again.
[Tech info:] Wista 10×8 camera with 300mm/f5.6 lens. Adox 100 film processed in Rodinal (1:50 dilution).
Here's the camera with a smaller lens than the one I ended up taking with me.
The view that I see from underneath the dark cloth. Image by Paolo Polzella.
Negatives drying in the darkroom.
First shot, Turl Street, Oxford.
Street portrait, Turl Street. I made this shot in a hurry because this guy had to get back to work at the coffee shop down the road .
Morris dancers, Broad Street, Oxford. Unfortunately this one has a processing problem where I didn't add enough film developer to cover the sheet of film.
The weather forecast turned out to be wrong so instead of a week of endless rain we were fortunate enough to have some nice sunny weather during the past couple of days and when the sun is out so am I. These shots are from the first roll of film through my Rolleiflex SL66 camera. It’s similar to a Hasselblad in that it uses the same Zeiss 80mm lens design and the image format is 6x6cm square but that’s where the similarities end. In my opinion the SL66 is a lot more versatile and has features the Hasselblad can only dream about. I breezed through a roll of film in my lunch break and because this camera is lighter than most of my other cameras I was able to cover a lot more ground than I usually do when carrying heavier cameras.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66 with 80mm and 150mm lenses. Ilford HP5+ film (expired in 2005) processed in Ilford DD-X.
Rolleiflex SL66. The previous owner was a food photographer who recently retired, he used this camera for 30 years.
Going nowhere. Shop doorway, Little Clarendon Street.
James (aka Cowboy Mod). Wellington Square. You can see me reflected in his sunglasses.
I love the way the background here looks like a painted theatrical backdrop. That's the Ashmolean Museum in the background.
Waiting for the bus outside the Randolph Hotel. The man was very pleasant and told me he used to work in the photo trade many years ago. We chatted about photography.
Ship Street.
A quick grab shot to see how well the camera coped with moving subjects. Turl Street.
Lunchtime at the coffee shop.
This image just about sums up the weather this week – a total wash out. We’ve had a lot of rain and more is on the way. I didn’t want to let the rain put a dampener on my lunch time photography session so I decided to go out with a digital camera today because it’s weather proofed.
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 digital camera loaded with a compact flash card. Processed in Adobe Lightroom 4.
Rain check
