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Oxford: OWP skatepark – BMX riders

Saturday, April 20th, 2013

This morning I went over to the OWP skatepark on meadow lane right after it opened at 10am to do a little photography. I had a lot of things to do the rest of the day and I knew the weather was going to be really nice so I made the most of it with an early start. The nice thing about getting to the skatepark early is that it’s not too busy so there’s time to set shots up and space to move around without getting in peoples way. Another benefit is the sun is low enough in the sky to cast lots of shadows everywhere which is something I like because it helps to give contrast to an image. There were a lot of skills on show this morning and the BMX riders certainly knew how to make their riding skills look easy as they whipped around the bowl. I set up some shots with Lima, who I think is able to get the most height out of the bowl but unfortunately I accidentally double exposed the last two shots. Sorry! I’ve included it for reference below. I also shot some frames of b&w film, those will follow later.

[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 180mm lens on Fuji FP100C instant pack film (aka Fujiroids).

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Posted in film, Oxford, People, Sport | No Responses »
Tags: bmx, diptych, film, fujiroid, owp, oxford, portraits, rb67

Oxford: OWP skate park portraits

Monday, April 15th, 2013

Here are some portraits I made at the new OWP (Oxford Wheels Project) skate park on Meadow Lane yesterday. This is a personal project to document some of the users of the park because I think it will be great to look back at these images many years from now. I’ve never owned a BMX and I could never balance on a skateboard to save my life so I never found myself visiting the old ramps which is a real shame. I wish I had thought about starting this project years ago because it would be interesting to see how the bikes and fashions have changed over time as well as the riders and skaters themselves.

[Tech info:] Speed Graphic 5×4 large format camera with a Kodak Aero Ektar lens on Ilford FP4, processed in Kodak HC110 (1+31) for 7mins.

Setup shot - photo by Alex Leech

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Posted in Equipment, film, Oxford, People, Sport | 6 Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, bmx, film, fp4, graflex, hc110, owp, oxford, people, portraits

Sport: Oxford v Cambridge Varsity Rugby 2012

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012

On the day I made these images of the Oxford Women’s Rugby team I had originally intended to photograph some of the varsity trampolining but sometimes things don’t go to plan when photography is involved. To freeze fast movement such as trampolining you need lots of light for photography so that you can use a fast shutter speed. The lighting in the main hall at the Iffley Road sports centre wasn’t bright enough for the film I was using so I took along a couple of flashes to give me the extra light I needed. I was aware that the flashes might be distracting so I planned on only using them during the warm up session before the actual competition started but I only managed to fire the flash once to test it before I was told that it was too dangerous, hence no pictures for me. What a shame.

That led me to venture out to the women’s rugby which was quite exciting although the Oxford second team got beaten by Cambridge by quite a large margin (I’ll post those shots when I can find them). The images below are the of the first time (I think) who played later in the day. It was a great atmosphere at the end of the day as the sun was setting and the cup got passed around. A little earlier I tried to get some shots of the women’s hockey team but there wasn’t enough time before the match started. Hopefully another time I’ll get another chance.

Thanks go to Simon Griffin at the sports centre for his help and support with my photography throughout the varsity competition. I’m hoping to carry on with more photography of the sports men and women that use the facility in the future.

[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67 camera and 110mm lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 film, processed in Kodak HC110 dilution b (1:31) by me.