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Oxford: Skatepark portraits

Sunday, June 23rd, 2013

These two portraits were made at my local skatepark today. It was a really fun session and my portrait volunteers did really well to stay still whilst being heckled from their friends. I wanted to test out my Super D camera after I had some focus issues the last time I used it and the good news is I’ve managed to achieve critical focus again with my workaround but the bad news is that I need to use the camera on a tripod to do it. When you’re working with really shallow depth of field it’s always a good idea to mount your camera on a tripod so it’s not the end of the world. I only had two sheets of film with me and these last two shots of Fuji instant pack film. The film shots will follow (I left them drying in the darkroom overnight).

[Tech info:] Graflex Super D with Pentac f2.9 lens @ f4. Fuji FP-100C instant pack film.

Recent Fujiroids

Tuesday, June 18th, 2013

Whenever possible I take a camera along with me to my photo shoots that is able to shoot some Fuji instant pack film (similar to Polaroid). Here are some from recent photo shoots. I haven’t developed any of the film from these shoots yet so they’ll follow on later. The camera I used for these is a bit of a bulky beast with rangefinder focusing (not my favourite) but when I get it right this camera does deliver.

[Tech info:] Mamiya Universal, 100mm/f3.5 lens, Fuji FP-100C instant pack film (expired).

Photo shoot: Imogen

Monday, June 17th, 2013

Here are some images from a photo shoot I had with Imogen recently. I took along two cameras that were completely opposite in size, a 5×4 large format SLR (Super D) and a 35mm rangefinder (Yashica Electro). I’m not a fan of rangefinder cameras (despite owning a few) and whenever I use them it’s not a very enjoyable experience mainly because I much prefer to see the viewfinder image go in and out of focus but I do like the results I got from my Yashica in this session.

I was keen to try out my Super D with an old lens I had adapted to fit but after the first test Fujiroid I noticed the focus was a little bit off – when the image in the viewfinder was in focus the image in the final print was focused slightly in front of the point that I had focused on. As a result of this I had to do a bit of guess work with the rest of the shots so they’re not as sharply focussed as I wanted. Later when I got home I figured out the problem is that the mirror doesn’t rest as low as it should so now I have to manually twist and hold a lever to push the mirror down while I am focussing. It’s a bit of a faff so I need to find an alternate method.

[Tech info:] Graflex Super D 5×4, Pentac f2.9 lens @ f4, Ilford FP4 film processed in Kodak HC110 1+31. Yashica Electro 35 loaded with Kodak TMAX 400, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.

Photo shoot: Tamsin

Sunday, June 16th, 2013

These images are all from my first photo shoot with Tamsin which went extremely well and was very enjoyable. I’ve wanted to shoot with Tamsin for a while but timings and weather never seemed to work out so I was pleased that we were able to arrange this shoot before the end of the academic year and the summer break. For this shoot I took along three different cameras, these shots are from two of them (medium format Rolleiflex 6×6 and 35mm Nikon), the other was a Mamiya Universal that I used to shoot some Fuji instant pack film, those shots can be found here.

This shoot went so well that I managed to finish a few different rolls of film – I don’t usually have enough time to finish more than one or two. The others haven’t been developed yet so those shots will follow at a later time.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66, 80mm/2.8 Zeiss lens,  loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 7:30. And a Nikon FM2, 50mm/1.4D lens, loaded with Kodak TMAX 400, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5:30.

 

Oxford: OWP skatepark – 10×8 portraits

Friday, June 14th, 2013

This is the second batch of portraits that I made back in April at the Meadow Lane skatepark. It was a great session and I made a total of eight portraits (that’s all the film I had with me). The first batch can be seen here. I really enjoy using 10×8 but unfortunately the camera and lens alone are a bit too heavy for me to safely cycle with on my back, not to mention the tripod and film holders I need to carry as well. This limits my usage and how far  I can travel with it which is a shame because there are so many images I’d love to make with this size of film. I really like how these have turned out and I hope to make some more during the summer if time permits.

[Tech info:] Wista 10×8, 300mm Sinaron lens, green sensitive x-ray film, ISO50, processed in Rodinal 1+50 for 6mins.

 

 

Photo shoot: Tamsin [Fujiroids]

Thursday, June 13th, 2013

These Fujiroids are from my first photo shoot with Tamsin. I also shot some regular film and those images will follow after I develop them. It was a really fun shoot and I hope to do some more with Tamsin if time and weather permits before the University summer break. Regular visitors to this blog may recognise the location, I’ve used it quite a few times because I really like the big windows and the quality of light inside.

[Tech info:] Mamiya Universal, 100mm / f3.5 lens, loaded with Fuji FP-100C instant pack film (expired).

Photo shoot: Industry magazine

Sunday, June 9th, 2013

These Fujiroids (aka Polaroid) are from a photo shoot I did a few weeks ago for Industry magazine. The magazine is out now so I can finally share these. Whenever I shoot digital images for a publication I usually take along some film to shoot for myself. We had the perfect location and perfect evening light on this day and I’m really pleased with how these turned out. In a few of the shots that were in the shade I added in a speedlight with an orange gel to mimic late afternoon sunlight. The top right shot was to demonstrate with and without. My thanks go to the models for being so patient while standing in the cold lake and to the rest of the team for organising everything.

Here’s a short video from the shoot.

[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 90mm and 180mm lenses, Fuji FP-100C (expired) instand pack film in a sliding Polaroid back.

Photo shoot: Sarah

Saturday, June 8th, 2013

This set of images is from a lunch hour photo shoot I had with Sarah recently. At this time of year the midday sun is not very flattering for portraits so I have to work extra hard to find pockets of light where the quality is nice. Having a location where there are walls to bounce the light around can help and fortunately I have such a location not too far from my office. I previously posted some Fujiroids from this shoot but the colour of the light at this time of day is not very nice which is why I shot more black & white film.
Sarah was really great to work with and I’m very pleased with how these turned out, especially the large format shots on the bottom row.

[Tech info:] Top two rows: Pentax 6×7, 165mm and 135mm lenses, loaded with Kodak TMAX 400 (expired) film. Bottom row: Speed Graphic 5×4, Ektar 203mm and Dallmeyer 12 inch lenses on Ilford HP5 film. All processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.

Photo shoot: Helen in the chapel

Friday, June 7th, 2013

For this photo shoot I only had three sheets of 5×4 large format film with me  so I tried to use them wisely. The light inside Hertford college chapel was very nice and consistent which is just what I needed to minimise waiting around. I really like the interior of this chapel, especially the carved spindles in the last shot below. I did shoot some medium format film as well, those will follow at a later time.

[Tech info:] Speed Graphic 5×4, Pentac f2.9 lens, Ilford HP5 film developed in Kodak HC110 1+31.

 

Photo shoot: Chloe

Thursday, June 6th, 2013

Here are some shots from a photo shoot I had with Chloe around a month ago. It was hard to whittle down my selection because there were so many shots that I liked from this shoot. Chloe is incredibly easy to work with which always makes for a high rate of keepers. I was struggling a little with the harsh late afternoon sunlight but it forced me to make the most of the natural reflectors that were all around us (i.e. the cotswold stone walls). We met outside the Sheldonian Theatre and while I was waiting for Chloe to arrive I noticed a photo shoot going on. The crew had a van full of clothes that was a similar style to those you find at Jack Wills but I’m not sure what brand it was for. They had nice late afternoon light to shoot in so they picked the right day.

[Tech info:] Pentax 6×7, 105mm lens, loaded with Fuji Acros 1o0 and Kodak Tri-X 400, both developed in Kodak HC110 1+31. Anti-clockwise from top right, the first three shots are on Acros 100, the others are on Tri-X.

Oxford: Fuji instant pack film

Friday, May 31st, 2013

Here are some shots I made today at two different photo shoots. My first shoot was with Sarah who I first met during Oxford Fashion Week 2012. It’s only taken 6 months to find a day where we were both free and the weather was dry. It was a great shoot and I really like how these shots turned out and hopefully there will be more collaborations to come.

My second shoot was with Helen who has also been very busy so we haven’t shot much together so far this year. I ended up underexposing a couple of the shots because the slowest shutter speed on the camera I was using for these is 1/30th and there wasn’t enough light. I know that the negative (once I bleach it) will have another 2 stops of detail in the shadows so it’s not a big deal. I also shot some black & white film at both of these photo shoots and they will follow at a later time.

[Tech info:] Speed Graphic 5×4 camera with a variety of lenses (Dallmeyer 12inch, Pentac f2.9 and Kodak Ektar 203mm) on Fuji FP100-C (similar to Polaroid).

 

Oxford: Lunch hour session

Monday, May 13th, 2013

Here’s a set of shots from the same roll of film, all made during my lunch hour photo walk. These are from the end of March when the weather was still a bit chilly. You’ll see some familiar faces in this set.

[Tech info:] Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80/1.9 lens, Kodak Tri-X 400 film processed in Rodinal 1+50.