Street portraits
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Sunday, September 23rd, 2012
A friend emailed me in the morning to say he’d seen some filming going on in Broad Street that looked interesting – an alien, burlesque dancers and a guy carrying a coffin. How could I resist going into town to check it out. By the time I got there the filming was over and the crew had moved into Trinity College, it was the Lewis tv crew. I decided to have a wander to do some street photography, there were so many people around you could’ve mistaken it for the middle of summer. There was a graduation ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre along with four weddings going on and tons of tourist groups on walking tours. It was a real circus especially when a horse drawn carriage rolled along Broad Street to transport the bride to her wedding. My camera of choice turned heads – I’ve never been photographed by so many different people on the same day! You can see one of the shots of me on the street at the bottom of this post (thanks Brian).
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 90mm lens with a custom sliding Polaroid back loaded with Fuji FP100-C instant pack film.
This man is part of the Lewis film crew, a really nice guy that I photographed earlier in the summer when they were set up outside the covered market.
Another person I've photographed a few times. He always looks cool.
Brian is the photographer that made the portrait of me below. We had a nice chat about photography. In the shot I'm holding the print you see above.
Light leak! It's such a shame this got ruined, those gloves were so cute.
This man is not the artist of the picture, it was being drawn by his camera shy friend to camera left. I was surprised to hear that he knew about my photo blog.
Me on the street.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait, Street portraits | No Responses »
Tags: film, fujiroid, lewis, oxford, people, polaroid, portraits, rb67, street style
Saturday, September 22nd, 2012
Some photo shoots can start off with with trying to plan every last detail, others have the room to breath and experiment to see what happens. This photo shoot falls in the latter. Helen sent me an image for inspiration and from there I decided I would only use black & white film and I took along four different cameras to experiment with (3 medium format and a 35mm). On the day Helen brought various outfits but I think it was a coincidence that we only ended up using black and white clothing. The images have a feeling of going from light to dark which was perfect as we raced against the fading sun. This is a story of a girl who’s man ‘did her wrong’. It was a fun shoot and I hope to do more of these.
[Tech info:] I used the following cameras, Pentax 67 with 105/f2.4 lens, Mamiya C330f with 80/f2.8 lens and a Mamiya M645 1000S with 80/f1.9 lens. Film used was Kodak Tri-X and Fuji Acros 100. All of these shots were processed in Rodinal 1:50 (Acros for 10:00, the Tri-X for 13:30).
Posted in film, Oxford, Photo shoot, Portrait | 1 Response »
Tags: 645, 6x6, 6x7, acros, black&white, c330, film, helen, pentax, portraits, rodinal, Tri-X
Thursday, September 6th, 2012
I had another photo shoot with Helen recently and here are some of the results. We went to University Parks but used a different area to our last shoot and thanks to some nice late after summer sunshine we had everything we needed to make some nice images. This was a really relaxed shoot just like our previous one and I think that comes through in the images. I’ve had more compliments from people on my shots of Helen than any others on this blog and I look forward to collaborating more in the future.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67, 110mm and 150mm lenses, Fuji Acros 100 pushed one stop in HC110 (8 mins) dilution b.
First shot
Lounging
Near the river
Catchlights
Lotus
The sun was going down directly behind Helen so I'm amazed at how good this turned out.
Last shot
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x7, acros, black&white, film, hc110, oxford, portraits, RZ67, students, summer
Wednesday, September 5th, 2012
Following on from yesterday’s post containing images made with my Graflex Super D large format SLR, here are some more images made with that camera during my lunch hour. The last two images were made on my way home on the same day as the others with the same camera. Technically they’re not lunch hour shots but they belong with this set.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D 5×4 SLR camera, Ilford Delta 100 film (pushed 1 stop), processed in Ilford DD-X.
Richard the tailor on Little Clarendon Street
Street soldier human statue, Cornmarket Street
These two guys were painting and decorating inside a building being renovated on St Giles.
The bride and groom
Horse drawn carriage outside the church at a gypsy wedding
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits | No Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, delta 100, film, graflex, oxford, people, portraits, super d
Tuesday, September 4th, 2012
It’s not often I get the chance to get into town at the weekends so when I had a little time recently I decided to take my Super D large format SLR camera out for a little air. As is often the case the street performers on Cornmarket Street were doing their thing and pulling in big crowds. The lens on the Super D is not particularly wide so I wasn’t about to capture much of the crowds but the performers themselves were great to photograph.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D 5×4 SLR camera, Kodak Tri-X 320 film processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution b).
Fire juggler. It's hard to tell but this guy is holding a fireball behind his back in his left hand. After this he dropped it down his trousers!
Squeezing through a tennis racket
On my way to Port Meadow I passed these people that were guests at a wedding. The gentleman reminded me of Johnny Depp
Meg and her daughter. Meg is a photographer who spotted me with my Super D camera in the Divinity Schools quadrangle.
The grand finale of a street performance.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits | 2 Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, graflex, hc110, oxford, people, super d, Tri-X, txp
Monday, September 3rd, 2012
You might recognise Peter from the punting photo shoot I did a couple of weeks ago. Having recently finished his masters degree he’s due to leave Oxford very soon to do a little travelling so we arranged to make some pictures before he leaves. For these images I used a large format camera from the 1940’s with a lens from World War II that was designed for the US military to do aerial photography at night. It’s renowned for its shallow depth of field that has a very unique signature. I don’t get to use this setup all that often partly because of the size of the lens and partly because it’s difficult to use it if the conditions are too bright but on this day it was perfectly cloudy with the sun trying to burn through. I took 6 sheets of film with me and all of them are here below.
[Tech info:] Speed Graphic camera with Kodak Aero Ektar lens on Ilford FP4+ processed in Rodinal (1:50).
On the steps.
Take it to the bridge
Distinctive bokeh
I think the gloves make this shot
Wider shot
No jacket required
Posted in film, Oxford, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 5x4, aero, black&white, film, fp4, oxford, people, portraits, rodinal, speed graphic, students
Friday, August 31st, 2012
Some more images from my punting photo shoot on the river Cherwell here in Oxford. These shots were all made on film whereas the previous ones were all from Fuji instant pack film (similar to Polaroid). Part one is here. More to come from this photo shoot.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67 with 110mm and 150mm lenses on Fuji Pro 400H film, processed and scanned by me.
I love how this image turned out. One of the first frames of the photo shoot.
Looking at the setting sun.
Despite this being underexposed I like how this has turned out. Note the heavy colour shift towards green.
We kept the punt turning to vary things up. Some shots have the sun to camera right, others to the left.
A lovely bit of rim lighting and lens flare.
Posted in film, People, Photo shoot, students | 1 Response »
Tags: 6x7, film, oxford, people, portraits, RZ67, students, summer
Thursday, August 23rd, 2012
Yesterday I had the most amazing photo shoot with a very creative and photogenic couple, Peter and Alexandra. They hired a punt and we all travelled slowly along the river Cherwell while the sun was setting. It was pretty much perfect and felt like I was in a movie. I first met Peter and Alexandra while I was photographing the Oxford Union Society summer ball back in May and I knew that I wanted to do a photo shoot with them but the idea of doing it on a punt was all Alexandra’s. This is a little taster of some of the images I made because I haven’t processed the film yet. These shots were made with Fuji instant pack film (the same as Polaroid) but for these I scanned the negative part after bleaching the black backing off. I can’t wait to see the film shots. Please note that none of these images have been retouched in any way, they are all straight scans. More to come.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67 with 110mm and 150mm lenses. Fuji FP100C instant pack film.
First frame
We are all still in the punt for this shot. The Willow was overhanging the river. Zero Photoshop effects, this is a straight scan.
Looking at the setting sun.
Leaning back.
Posted in film, Oxford, Photo shoot, students | 6 Responses »
Tags: 110mm, 6x7, fp100c, fujiroid, oxford, people, photo shoot, portraits, punt, students, summer
Sunday, August 19th, 2012
These images are from the second half of a roll I shot during my lunch hour photo walks a few weeks ago. The first half of the roll is here. I’ve got a bit of a backlog of images to scan and post but I’ll have more time in the coming weeks to catch up so if you haven’t seen your portrait yet don’t worry, it’s more than likely coming soon.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f and 105mm lens loaded with Fuji Acros 100 film, Processed in Rodinal 1:25.
Lock and load. There's not much some WD40 can't fix.
Coffee break on the Walton Street construction project.
This guy was a bit camera shy. I like his flat cap and rolled up jeans.
David, a fellow film photographer carrying a camera that I don't own. A real beast of a medium format.
Olympic photographer from Uruguay. He didn't speak any english but somehow I managed to communicate with him. I'm sure he was intrigued by my camera.
Scaffolding on the Walton Street construction project at the corner of Little Clarendon Street.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, acros, black&white, c330, film, oxford, people, portraits, rodinal, summer
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
After months of rain we finally had a short lived spell of dry weather. These images are from the first half of a roll of film I shot recently during my lunch break. We are now back to wet/overcast weather. Is it summer yet?
I used this roll to experiment with a different developer that I usually use with this brand of film and so far I like the results. My developer of choice for Fuji Acros 100 film is Kodak HC110 but with this roll I used Rodinal at a dilution of 1+25.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f with 105mm lens loaded with Fuji Acros 100 film, processed in Rodinal 1+25.
This gentleman wasn't keen to be photographed but after we chatted a little about photography he seemed okay with it. I hope he agrees that it was worth stopping for.
This man called me over after he saw me photographing the building project on the corner of Walton street. We had a good chat. He's a local musician.
This girl was waiting for a friend outside Brasenose college. The friend turned up right before I made this shot. She's standing to camera right just out of frame.
High street. I like the arrows in this frame.
A Police speed trap on St Giles. I saw a few cars being pulled over for speeding. Easy money.
The building project on the corner of Walton Street and Little Clarendon Street is beginning to take shape.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, acros, black&white, c330, film, people, portraits, rodinal, summer
Sunday, August 5th, 2012
For the longest time I’ve wanted to be able to do large format street photography but up until now I’ve always found it difficult because of the time required to set up a shot. Most of the people I stop to photograph on the street probably don’t want to have to stand still for a few minutes while I set up a shot so I’ve been searching for a camera that I can hand hold and operate quite fast. My hope was I had found such a camera in the Graflex Speed Graphic which was a favourite among press photographers as far back as the 1920’s but the rangefinder focusing and approximate framing guide never really worked very well for me so my search continued. Once I came across the Graflex Super D which was designed as a large format SLR it looked like my search was over. I’ve wanted one of these cameras for a long time and now I finally have one. It’s a big wooden box with a mirror inside that helps you with focussing and composition and the really nice thing is the image you’re looking at isn’t upside down, it’s just flipped horizontally. My Super D came from New York and dates from the late 1940’s to early 1950’s. It looks like it’s had plenty of use but it still works perfectly. These images were all made in the space of around an hour on my first time using it with 5×4 inch film.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D camera, 190mm lens and Ilford HP5+ film processed in Ilford DD-X (1+4).
This young lady works at 'Objects of use' on Market street, a lovely shop that is well worth a visit.
I've photographed this fantastic bike a few times but this is the first time I've seen its owner. The girl he was speaking to, just out of frame on the right. said to me 'Oh, so you're the Simply Oxford guy that keeps taking those annoying pictures of pretentious people'. I can't see how my pictures would be annoying. What a strange thing to say.
Brooks saddle, Market street.
I thought I was composing this to be portrait orientation but I was working in a hurry and forgot to rotate the camera back. Ship Street.
Coffee break, Ship street.
This man is an old skool photographer that I bump into from time to time. We usually chat about whatever camera I happen to be carrying. Outside Carfax tower.
Here's a shot I made quite a while ago of the friendly staff at 'Objects of use' on Market street. I struggled a little with the low light.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits | 2 Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, film, graflex, HP5, oxford, people, portraits, super d
Wednesday, August 1st, 2012
This is a short post of some frames from a a lunch hour session a few weeks ago. I’ve already posted the other frames from this roll but I forgot to post these.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66, 80mm Zeiss lens, with Fuji Acros 100 film processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution b).
Top: David working on his bike, middle: builders working on the Walton street site, bottom: waiting for the bus, Magdalen Street.
Top: Martin, middle and bottom: Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas book signing. They're the duo behind the Winnie the Witch series of books.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait, Street portraits | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, black&white, film, hc110, people, SL66, summer
