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Sunday, April 22nd, 2012
The weather forecast turned out to be wrong so instead of a week of endless rain we were fortunate enough to have some nice sunny weather during the past couple of days and when the sun is out so am I. These shots are from the first roll of film through my Rolleiflex SL66 camera. It’s similar to a Hasselblad in that it uses the same Zeiss 80mm lens design and the image format is 6x6cm square but that’s where the similarities end. In my opinion the SL66 is a lot more versatile and has features the Hasselblad can only dream about. I breezed through a roll of film in my lunch break and because this camera is lighter than most of my other cameras I was able to cover a lot more ground than I usually do when carrying heavier cameras.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66 with 80mm and 150mm lenses. Ilford HP5+ film (expired in 2005) processed in Ilford DD-X.
Rolleiflex SL66. The previous owner was a food photographer who recently retired, he used this camera for 30 years.
Going nowhere. Shop doorway, Little Clarendon Street.
James (aka Cowboy Mod). Wellington Square. You can see me reflected in his sunglasses.
I love the way the background here looks like a painted theatrical backdrop. That's the Ashmolean Museum in the background.
Waiting for the bus outside the Randolph Hotel. The man was very pleasant and told me he used to work in the photo trade many years ago. We chatted about photography.
Ship Street.
A quick grab shot to see how well the camera coped with moving subjects. Turl Street.
Lunchtime at the coffee shop.
Posted in Equipment, film, Oxford, People, Portrait, Street portraits | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, black&white, HP5, oxford, people, SL66
Monday, April 16th, 2012
Something a little different from my usual lunch hour sessions here because I don’t usually go to the pub at lunch time. A meeting I had at work ended up running over by almost an hour which meant my lunch break was later. I took this opportunity to break from my usual routine of walking into town and instead I explored the neighbourhood around where I work. The benefit of this was I had a lot more time to shoot because usually I only get 30mins to shoot as my walk into town and back is 15mins each way. The relaxed change of pace was nice and as it was a sunny day with a clear sky the light was very harsh and contrasty which resulted in great shadows around. The following day I was back to my old routine again but I think I might mix things up a bit from now on.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f and 80mm lens loaded with Fomapan 200, processed in Rodinal 1:50 for 11mins at 20c.
Stairway to...
I love this shadow
On my travels I ended up going inside The Rickety Press pub which was recently renovated. The light and shadows inside were fantastic.
Old books on display and for reading.
I liked the ornate spines on these books.
Penguin classics behind the bar.
Back to work.
Day 2. 'Cool camera' they said as I walked past. 'Thanks' I said, 'let me make a quick portrait of you with it'. Click!
Outside Brasenose College where some construction work is going on.
I thought the 3D glasses were cool and the contrast of outfits. On the steps of the Clarendon Building.
A men's tailoring shop recently opened in Little Clarendon Street and this is one of the tailor's working there.
Posted in film, Oxford, Portrait, Street portraits, Street style | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, black&white, c330, oxford, people, portraits, rodinal, street style
Sunday, April 15th, 2012
Some random images made on expired Kodak Tri-X film during my lunch hour. I started the roll off by photographing the window typography in the windows of the soon to be burger place but the first time I went there the sun was shining on the buildings across the street and the reflections in the glass were too distracting. The next day I left for work earlier than usual in the morning and the overcast light was perfect. I went back there again in my lunch hour that same day to ask if I could photograph from inside the building looking out but the boss wasn’t there and the construction worker standing in the doorway said he couldn’t give me permission so I ended up making a portrait of him instead. There’s so much construction going on around Oxford city centre at the moment. I feel a construction worker portrait project coming on.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f with 80mm lens, Kodak Tri-X processed in HC110 dilution b (1:31).
I love the way this typography has been done. The dark areas allow you to see in through the glass
Shop front typography. George Street.
I like the frontage of this building on George Street.
Construction worker in doorway. He was very reluctant to be photographed at first because he thought I wanted him to 'pose'. Instead I told him not to move
Here's the work being carried out around the back of the same building
Hand painted sign, Broad Street
The three construction workers that I pass almost every day on my way back to my office. A friendly group of guys
I photographed this girl some months ago so it was nice to bump into her again. She's one of the most photogenic people I've come across
This is the following day from the shot above. Little Clarendon Street
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits | 2 Responses »
Tags: 6x6, black&white, c330, hc110, oxford, people, portraits, Tri-X
Wednesday, April 11th, 2012
These few images are a bit out of sequence. They’re from a roll I finished over a month ago but I’m not sure where the other shots are at the moment. To save time I’m posting them today ‘as is’. The funky look to the images is because the film was very old. I’m not sure when it expired but I bought it as part of a large batch of expired film so there’s more where this came from. The mottled look is I think from the paper backing being in contact with the film for a long time and the film not being stored in optimum cold/dry conditions. I could be wrong but that’s my best guess.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f camera loaded with Ilford Delta 3200 film. Processed in Ilford DD-X developer (1:4).
I saw this gentleman waiting with his bike on Broad Street. I was on my way back to my office at the end of my lunch break. I thought he had a cool moustache.
Another fellow film photographer. This was lit from a small window in the stairwell near the darkroom that we use.
The Covered Market. I've never seen so many butchers in one place.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait, Street portraits | 2 Responses »
Tags: 6x6, black&white, c330, oxford, people, portraits
Thursday, March 8th, 2012
Here’s the third batch of my images from the Balliol Ball 2012 and they’re the best so far. I really like the look of these and that’s largely due to the film, Kodak Tri-X. I should give this film more credit in low light, most of these shots were made in light levels that were so low that I could hardly see the eyes of my subjects to focus on. Most of these images revolve around the live acts’ marquee because that seemed to have the most light. More images to come.
If you’re involved in organising any summer college balls and you like my photography please let me know. I’d love to do more documentary photography of other college balls.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f and 80mm lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X film rated at ISO1600, processed in Kodak HC110 B (1:31) for 17mins at 20C.
Fixing a bow tie (live acts marquee)
Watching one of the live bands
Outside the live acts' marquee
Outside the live acts' marquee
Outside the live acts' marquee
The lighting in this shot is coming from the live acts' stage. It was very noisy in the marquee which made asking people if I could photograph them a little tricky
This girl looked very striking with her tattoos. I'd like to photograph her again so if anyone knows her please let her know
I thought it was a great idea to have Mission Burrito at the ball. The people behind the counter were very friendly
Hai Lin. This portrait was made right next to the Mission Burrito stand to make use of their light
Posted in film, Oxford, People | 3 Responses »
Tags: 6x6, ball, balliol, black&white, c330, hc110, oxford, people, portraits, Tri-X
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012
These images are the first of what will be quite a large collection of images shot on film from the Balliol Ball that I was fortunate enough to attend last week. I didn’t label the rolls of film as I finished them on the night so when it came to choosing which roll of film to process first I decided to pick the last roll from the night. The film (Ilford Delta 3200) expired in 2005 and was part of a batch that I recently bought on eBay. It’s always a gamble when buying expired film because you never really know how the film was stored or whether it has suffered heat damage. Judging by the quality of this film I’d say it has suffered from being badly stored over the years. Still, these images have a unique look to them that is 100% real, no Photoshop filters or plugins were used on these images.
Earlier this evening I processed another few rolls of film from the ball and I can’t wait to start scanning them in. I left them hanging up to dry in the darkroom and will collect them tomorrow.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f and 80mm lens loaded with Ilford Delta Pro 3200, processed in Ilford DD-X 1:4 at 20C for 9 mins.
One of the few places I found available light to photograph with was near the loo in the basement by the photo booth.
I found this group of people in the photo booth room and managed to convince them to stand in front of my camera.
Photo booth group. I like how this one turned out.
The lighting here reminded me of an old movie set. These two guys were watching the dodgem cars which are directly behind me.
The light level was so low here that I couldn't see these people clear enough in my viewfinder to focus and the exposure was a bit too long for me to hand hold steady.
The light level in this shot seems a bit brighter than the previous shot but it was still too low to focus properly.
Posted in film, Oxford, People | 1 Response »
Tags: 6x6, ball, balliol, black&white, c330, oxford, people
