Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour 7 | FILM 3 in Merton college, Oxford at the end of October, 2019. These shots are from two different days that the crew spent in Merton College making good use of the lovely grounds and some of the rooms (second unit also filmed a brief scene on Merton Street). Fortunately we had nice weather the whole time, dry but very cold.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, Zeiss Planar, Fuji 400H (expired), Noritsu scans.
Here are some behind the scenes pictures from the first day of filming in Oxford on Endeavour 7 | FILM 1, August 2019. It was great to see the crew again after nine months. We had a very busy morning on New College Lane but a slightly more relaxed afternoon inside one of the college gardens. Shaun Evans was directing this FILM and his stand-in, Anthony, can be seen in the first shot below. For a change I used my 35mm Zeiss Biogon lens and I really like the colour rendering in these shots especially the ones in the shade on New College Lane. Perhaps I should use it more with colour film.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 35/2.8 Zeiss Biogon, Fuji Superia 200 film, Noritsu scans.
First test roll with a 40mm wide-angle lens I recently picked up for my Bronica SQ-A. I’ve had the lens for a while but I needed some dry weather during my lunch break to test it out. The lens is very wide and allows close focusing which I like. The interior shot of Worcester College chapel was an 8 second exposure which is the slowest shutter speed on the camera. I can see that being very useful in some situations. The roll of Ilford Pan F I used expired in 2007 so I rated it at ISO 25. Even though slow films are meant to lose sensitivity over time slower than faster emulsions Pan F tends to suffer quite badly for a film with a box speed of ISO 50. Not a problem on this occasion because I wanted to use the 40mm lens fairly wide open. I’m pleased with the results from this lens and it’s a keeper.
[Tech info:] Bronica SQ-A, 40mm Zenzanon lens, Ilford Pan F (expired), developed in XTOL 1+1.
Some shots here from a lunch break photo walk where I was testing a lens and a film + filter combination. The lens is a Nikon 28mm f2.0 AIS that is very beaten up. There’s a slight rattle inside if I shake it so I’d say all is not well with it but I’m beginning to like the strange almost lens-baby-style blur it gives when used at wide apertures. The film and filter combination I was testing was Eastman Double X motion picture film combined with an orange filter. The D96 developer I’m using is a 1 litre stock solution that I’ve developed 7 rolls through and these negs look fairly thin so I think I should be increasing the development time although there is no mention of doing that from Nik & Trick (the supplier I purchased it from). The 1 litre solution is said to be good for 18 rolls but I’m not so optimistic.
[Tech info]: Nikon FA (aperture priority), Nikon 28mm f2.0 AIS lens, orange filter, Eastman Double X (expired) developed in D96 for 7 mins.
I was recently asked to make a promo shot for a new band called Transmission From Nowhere to coincide with the release of their new CD. One of the band members is a fellow film photographer and suggested doing the shoot on the now illusive Fuji FP-3000B instant b&w film which I was more than happy to do. I’ve got a range of cameras that can use this film but I decided on my Mamiya RB67 because I have a sliding back for it that allows two different exposures next to each other on the same print which results in a diptych.
We used the whole pack of film for the shoot – a whopping 10 shots – and I can’t begin to tell you how much fun it was. All double exposures were done in camera. No batteries and no squinting at LED screens required.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 127mm lens, Fuji FP-3000B instant b&w film (expired).
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour 7 | FILM 3 in Merton College, Oxford. More pictures to follow after UK broadcast – no spoilers here.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, Zeiss Planar, Fuji 400H (expired), Noritsu scans.
These shots were made in the Merton College gardens while the Endeavour crew were filming series 7 recently. I took along my Widelux panoramic camera because it hasn’t been getting much use lately and I was inspired to use it after purchasing Jeff Bridges’ photo book Pictures Volume 2.
[Tech info:] Widelux camera, Kodak Portra 400 film, Noritsu scans.
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour 7 | FILM 3 in Merton College, Oxford. A cold day for the cast and crew but at least it wasn’t raining! As usual, no spoilers. More pictures to follow after UK broadcast.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 50/1.5 Voigtlander Nokton, Eastman Double X film, developed in D96. Pakon scans.
Giffords Circus came to Oxford on their 2019 tour and I went along to do some photography as I have done in previous years. It’s always nice to see familiar faces there and some new ones too. For these shots I used a Fuji 6×9 rangefinder camera which has a 90/3.5 lens that is not interchangeable. It’s a hulk of a camera but I really like the large viewfinder and the 3:2 aspect ratio of the frame compared to 6×7. The 90mm isn’t really a portrait lens so I tend to go a little wider than just head and shoulders.
[Tech info:] Fuji GW690, Fuji 400H (expired) film, Noritsu scans.
Some shots from a test roll I put through a Nikon FA which I recently bought. The first roll had some light leaks so I added light seals for the edges of the back of the camera using strips from a foam sheet I bought at Hobbycraft. Looks like it’s fixed the problem. These were all shot in aperture priority mode using matrix metering. The matrix metering mode only works in aperture priority on the FA, something I didn’t realise. I much prefer to use full manual mode.
[Tech info:] Nikon FA, 35/2.0D Nikon lens, orange filter, TMAX 100 (expired), developed in Tetanol Ultrafin developer. Pakon scans.
For the longest time I have wanted to take my 10×8 camera into town to do some large format photography and recently I finally managed to do it on a Saturday morning. Even though I only took one lens – the smallest and lightest I have that is suitable for 10×8 photography – the combined weight of the camera, tripod and film holders is more than my back can comfortably handle so I have to drag the camera around with a foldable hand cart which works really well. I took with me both Ilford Delta 100 b&w film and Fuji Velvia 100F transparency film. Below are a couple of shots made with the Delta 100, I’ve processed the Velvia and the shots turned out very nicely but I haven’t scanned them yet. The group shot of the Zappi’s Cycling Club was very impromptu – I was photographing the Sheldonian Theatre on Broad Street when I was approached by one of the cyclists about photographing them with my big camera.
[Tech info:] 10×8 field camera, Nikon 210mm f5.6 lens, Delta 100 film (expired), developed in Ilford DD-X with a Jobo processor.
Only a handful of pictures in this post because the rest of the shots on this roll contain spoilers so they will have to wait until after broadcast. This location was used after the scenes at the Oxford Union were finished. I like how Fuji Superia 200 handles colours even in bright sunlight. Too bad it’s not made anymore.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Fuji Superia 200, Noritsu scans.
