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Oxford: Town vs Gown Boxing 2019 – part 1

Friday, February 1st, 2019

The annual Oxford Town vs Gown boxing event was held at the Oxford Union at the end of January and I went along to document it with my camera. The lighting was far from ideal with lots of hot spots and dark shadows from the spot lights in the corners of the ring so I used the situation to experiment a little. The majority of these shots were made with a slow shutter speed to record some blur as the boxers moved around at great speed. More to come.

[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Eastman Double X, ISO 250, developed in D76 1+1. Pakon scans.

Oxford: finals exam celebrations, 2018 – part 1

Tuesday, June 5th, 2018

It’s been a while since I posted any pictures of post finals exam celebrations (aka trashing) so here are some shots from a couple of weeks ago. This was the day that I noticed the photographer that supplies pictures to the Daily Fail and other so-called newspapers so that they can attach them to an article that tries to put Oxford University students in a negative light. It’s been the same old thing for the past 5 or 6 years. It must have been a slow news day at the Daily Fail offices.

[Tech info:] Nikon F90X, 24/2.8, Fuji Superia 200 film, developed and scanned by FilmDev.co.uk

Oxford: Town vs Gown Boxing 2018 – part 2

Monday, February 19th, 2018

Here are some of my pictures from the Town vs Gown 2018 boxing event which was held at the Oxford Union. These shots are from the final bout when I decided to try out a film I don’t usually use very often – Ilford Delta 400. I pushed this roll to ISO 1600 because the light levels were low and I’m pleased with the results.

[Tech info:] Nikon F80, Nikkor 24/2.8 lens, Ilford Delta 400 @ ISO 1600, developed in Ilford DDX 1+4. Pakon scans.

Oxford: Town vs Gown Boxing 2018 – part 1

Tuesday, January 30th, 2018

For the past four years I have photographed the Town vs Gown boxing event at the Oxford Union and this year I decided to experiment a little with my photography and try some ideas out that I’ve been thinking about recently – multiple exposure and using slow shutter speeds to record movement. Recently I bought a Nikon F80 camera body which has a multiple exposure mode on it which makes it very easy to layer exposures on a single frame so this was a perfect opportunity to use it. The film I used for these shots expired in 1991 which has reduced the contrast somewhat in very contrasty light conditions. I didn’t make any notes on which shutter speeds I used but I think I was between 1/30 and 1/90 for most of these. This roll of film was rated at ISO 400 but developed for the ISO 800 time to account for the age of the film. Overall I’m pleased with how these turned out.

[Tech info:] Nikon F80, 24/2.8, TMAX 400 (expired 1991), developed for ISO 800 time in Kodak XTOL 1+1.

 

Oxford Union: Jimmy Page Q&A

Monday, October 30th, 2017

Legendary guitarist and Led Zeppelin founder Jimmy Page came to the Oxford Union for a Q&A event and I went along to do some documentary photography. I must admit to not knowing very much at all about Jimmy Page but it was very interesting to hear him speak about his music career and how he started by teaching himself to play the guitar. It was obvious how passionate he is about music and how being in a band with equally passionate and talented musicians was a perfect recipe for creating so many rock anthems. This Q&A event was video recorded so keep an eye on the Oxford Union YouTube page, I highly recommend it.

[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 at ISO 1600, developed in Kodak HC110 1+15 for the 3200 development time, Pakon scans.

Oxford: Matriculation, 2017 – part 1

Tuesday, October 24th, 2017

The start of a new academic year at Oxford University involves a matriculation ceremony for the new students at the Sheldonian theatre and it’s one of my favourite things to photograph on the streets of Oxford. Thousands of students dressed in their black and white subfusc filling the streets is quite a sight. Here are some pictures from this year. The sky was very heavily overcast so I had to push my film one stop for a speed boost and I decided to use a little fill-flash for some shots because the black fabric soaks up light.

[Tech info:] Nikon F100, 17-35/2.8, Eastman Double X film @ ISO 500, developed in D76 stock. Pakon scans.

 

Oxford: On the way to the ball

Monday, July 24th, 2017

During the summer ball season here in Oxford you will find that Radcliffe Square is a popular place for students to visit for group pictures before they carry on to the college where their ball is being held. On this particular evening last June there were quite a few summer balls being held so Radcliffe Square was fairly busy with activity. I had been waiting for an opportunity to try out some Kodak Portra 800 film that I bought a while ago and this was the perfect occasion with low light levels but not too low.

[Tech info:] Pentax 6×7, 105/2.4 lens, Kodak Portra 800 film developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit.

 

Oxford: Town v Gown Boxing, 2017 – part 1

Tuesday, February 14th, 2017

Lots of images to share in this post. All from the same roll of film shot at the Town v Gown 2017 boxing event which was held in the debating chamber at the Oxford Union Society. As in previous years I tried to document both the behind-the-scenes goings on as well as some of the actual boxing in the ring which wasn’t easy because of the distance between the two buildings where both of these things were happening. I wanted to travel light so I only took two lenses with me for my Leica M2 – a 40/1.4 and a 50/1.5 but I ended up using the 40/1.4 for the whole evening.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 40/1.4, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 3200, developed in HC110 1+31. Pakon scans.

Oxford Union: Mary Berry Q&A – part 2

Tuesday, March 29th, 2016

These shots from the Mary Berry Q&A session at the Oxford Union were made on a different roll of film from the previous set and I wanted to post these as a comparison. The previous set were made with Ilford HP5 and these were made with Ilford Delta 400, both were pushed two stops to ISO1600. After the Q&A there was a book signing session where the light level was extremely low but the Delta film handled it very well thanks to my fast Voigtlander lenses.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 35/1.2 and 50/1.5 lenses, Ilford Delta 400 at ISO1600, developed in Ilford DD-X. Pakon scans.

 

Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Boxing 2016 – part 1

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016

The Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Boxing 2016 event was held at the town hall in Oxford and I was invited along to do some photography to document the occasion. I had previously photographed this event in 2014 and it was nice to be back. It was also nice to see some familiar faces from previous alumni who had come along for support. The overall score was 52 – 52 so tension was high and I’m pleased to say that Oxford won to bring the trophy back home for another year. More pictures to come.

[Tech info:] Nikon F100, 17-35/2.8, Ilford Delta 400 @ ISO3200, developed in Ilford DD-X 1+4, pakon scans.

Oxford: Town vs Gown Boxing, 2016 – part 3

Tuesday, February 9th, 2016

This is the third instalment of my photography from the Oxford Town vs Gown Boxing event at the Oxford Union last week. 

[Tech info]: Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Kodak TMAX 400 @ ISO1600, developing in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 8mins. Pakon scans.

Oxford: Town vs Gown Boxing, 2016 – part 2

Sunday, February 7th, 2016

This is the second instalment of my photography from the Oxford Town vs Gown Boxing event at the Oxford Union earlier this week. More to come.

[Tech info]: Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Kodak TMAX 400 @ ISO1600, developing in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 8mins. Pakon scans.