Endeavour: portraits on the last day of series 5

Written by Nasir Hamid on December 7th, 2017

These portraits were made on the last day of filming of Endeavour series 5. Towards the end of a very busy day I managed to find a place in the corridor of the CID interior set where there was a nice pool of soft light that was perfect for some portraits so I took full advantage of it. In all of the years I have been photographing behind the scenes on Endeavour this was only the third occasion that I had seen Anton Lesser on set so I was especially pleased to have a chance to make his portrait just before a take. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to photograph more of the cast and crew on this occasion.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, Zeiss Planar, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak XTOL 1+1 18mins.

 

Oxford Union: Baz Luhrmann Q&A – part 2

Written by Nasir Hamid on December 4th, 2017

Whenever I photograph Q&A events at the Oxford Union I try to use both 35mm and medium format film cameras for a bit of variety. These shots were made with my Rolleiflex TLR during Baz Luhrmann’s visit to the Oxford Union. I had the opportunity to make a quick portrait of Baz before the start of the event and quickly positioned him next to a floor standing lamp that was in the Gladstone room where the drinks reception had taken place. I only had time to shoot one frame but sometimes that’s all you need.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F Zeiss Planar, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak HC110 1+15.

 

Oxford Union: Monica Lewinsky Q&A

Written by Nasir Hamid on November 30th, 2017

Monica Lewinsky visited the Oxford Union to speak about harassment and bullying especially online via social media and I went along to do some documentary photography. It turned out to be a difficult event to photograph because Monica was uncomfortable with cameras of any sort so I did what I could to be respectful and discreet. As a result I ended up with less than a full roll of 35mm shots and nothing from my Rolleiflex but I’m pleased with what I did manage to record. There were no video cameras present.

[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak XTOL stock. Pakon scans.

 

Oxford Union: Sir Ian McKellen Q&A – part 2

Written by Nasir Hamid on November 28th, 2017

These pictures were made with my medium format Rolleiflex camera during Sir Ian McKellen’s visit to the Oxford Union for a Q&A event. Whenever possible I try to photograph the Oxford Union events I attend with both 35mm and medium format film but the 35mm pictures always get posted to this blog first because they are faster to scan.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F Zeiss Planar, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600 developed in Kodak HC110 1+15 (using the ISO 3200 dev time).

 

Oxford Union: Baz Luhrmann Q&A

Written by Nasir Hamid on November 25th, 2017

Baz Luhrmann came to the Oxford Union for a Q&A event and I went along to do some photography. Most of the conversation centred around his movies and it was clear to see his passion for directing. He mentioned that he’s currently working on a project but no other information was given.

[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak HC110 1+15, Pakon scans.

 

Oxford: Endeavour 5, episode 1 – pickup shots

Written by Nasir Hamid on November 21st, 2017

Behind the scenes during filming of pickup shots for Endeavour series 5, episode 1 in Exeter College, Oxford. There are lots of nice shots on this roll but I can’t share them just yet because of spoilers so for now these are the only ones I can share. This is the first time I had seen the Endeavour crew filming pickup shots for an episode that had finished filming months previously and goes to show how the production team never stop short until they’re completely happy with an episode.

[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 800, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31. Pakon scans.

 

Oxford Union: Sir Ian McKellen Q&A

Written by Nasir Hamid on November 19th, 2017

There has been an impressive list of guests at the Oxford Union so far this term and a big highlight for me was when Sir Ian McKellen visited last week. His last visit to the Oxford Union was in 2015 which was before I started to photograph some of the guests there so I was pleased to see him listed on the term card for this month. The debating chamber looked completely full from where I was sitting and I wouldn’t be surprised if there was still a queue out on the street. It was a great event which started with Sir Ian McKellen giving a talk as he walked around the debating chamber as if it was a stage and then afterwards there was a Q&A session. So far this has been the most challenging of all the speaking events I’ve photographed at the Oxford Union because I’m not used to tracking focus as the guest speaker walks around. Fortunately there was a video crew with their additional lights which helped a lot with the exposure.

[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 film @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak HC110 1+15 for 10 mins. Pakon scans.

 

Endeavour 5, episode 4 – part 9

Written by Nasir Hamid on November 11th, 2017

Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour series 5, episode 4. This was the final day of filming on this episode and the whole day was spent filming interiors of Cowley CID. It was fascinating to see how a space could be transformed in terms of mood and tone by subtle changes in the lighting and how it interacted with the actors. The main cast were in most of the scenes and I had a wonderful time spending the whole day documenting the cast and crew at work. Filming on series 5 wrapped yesterday (10-Nov-2017) as I put this blog post together so I won’t be seeing Team Endeavour until next year but between now and then there are many more photographic memories still to come.

[Tech info:] Leica M6, Voigtlander 35/1.2 Nokton, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak Xtol stock. Pakon scans.

 

 

Oxford: Endeavour 5, episode 6 – part 2

Written by Nasir Hamid on November 8th, 2017

The Endeavour crew were back in Oxford for two days of filming for the sixth and final episode of series 5. These behind the scenes pictures are from the morning of day one. More pictures will follow after the episode has been broadcast but for now here are the spoiler-free ones. For this roll I used the 50/1.5 Voigtlander Nokton lens for a change because I’ve been favouring the 40/1.4 Nokton for a long time now but because the Leica M6 displays 50mm frame lines when you use a 40mm lens it’s difficult to be precise with composition. On another technical note I used distilled water to dilute the D76 developer. The water in the darkroom I use is quite hard and I’ve also been using distilled water for the wetting agent and have seen a big reduction in drying marks on my films.

[Tech info:] Leica M6, 50/1.5 Voigtlander Nokton lens, Eastman Double X motion picture film developed in Kodak D76 1+1. Pakon scans.

 

 

Oxford: Endeavour 5, episode 6 – part 1

Written by Nasir Hamid on November 5th, 2017

Behind the scenes during the filming of Endeavour series 5 episode 6 on the first of two very busy days in Oxford for the cast and crew. I documented as much as I could and have a lot of behind the scenes pictures to share but in order to avoid spoilers I will post most of them after the episode has been broadcast. Oxford city centre was particularly busy on this day – especially for a Sunday – and it was most likely due to it being the first weekend after the new Westgate shopping centre had opened. Turl Street ended up getting crowded quite quickly as more and more people stopped to watch the filming.

[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Ilford HP5 film developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5 mins. Pakon scans.

 

Oxford Union: Jimmy Page Q&A

Written by Nasir Hamid on 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: Endeavour 5, episode 5 – part 3

Written by Nasir Hamid on October 29th, 2017

Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour series 5, episode 5 in the grounds of Brasenose College, Oxford. The whole day was spent at Brasenose but these are the only shots I can share from this roll without giving any spoilers. The others will follow after the episode has been broadcast.

[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Ilford HP5 developed in Kodak HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.