Here’s part 4 of my images from the Keble College Ball last weekend. I’m enjoying going through these images and remembering all of the different people I spoke to and photographed on the night. I had a lot of fun, as did the guests. More images to come.
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 with either a 35/f2, 100/f2.8 series E or a Zeiss 50/f1.4 lens. Those are the lenses I took with me and I changed them up throughout the evening.
Guests having fun.
The weather for the Lincoln Ball was less than ideal so the indoor venues were quite full of guests. I did my best to get into some space to photograph them as well as I could. With the lack of any useable ambient light I was using straight flash. These images have a kind of paparazzi look to them. I’m desperately trying to find some spare time to scan in the rest of the film I shot at the Lincoln Ball but I can’t manage it at the moment. Something to look forward to… 🙂
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 digital with a Zeiss ZF 50/f1.4 manual lens.
Lincoln Ball guests
Another batch of film shots from the Keble College Ball 2012. Here you can see some from inside the Sheesha tent that was put on by Mr Flavour. It seemed like a popular spot with a constant queue leading out from the entrance. Not surprising really since it was cosy and warm in there. I did a lot of my portrait photography right outside underneath the big light ball. Those light balls were amazing and gave off a beautiful quality of light. The previous two sets of images from the Keble Ball have been very popular, thank you to everyone that has sent me messages. Feel free to add me on Facebook or like my photography page there if you want to keep updated on new posts here. Lots more images to come. If you were at the Lincoln Ball don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten about you, more from there coming soon.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f, 80/f2.8 lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X, rated at ISO1600 and processed in Kodak HC110 dilution B (1:31).
Guests have fun in the Shisha tent.
Here we have the first batch of shots I made on film at the Keble College Ball 2012. I’ve been feverishly processing and scanning into the wee small hours this morning to get these posted here as soon as I could because I love how they look. All of these were made using the available light. I decided not to use flash on any of my film shots during the evening.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f and 80mm lens with Kodak Tri-X film rated at ISO 1600. Processed in Kodak HC110 (1:31) dilution b for 16:30 at 20c.
Long live film.
The Keble College Ball was the biggest college ball that I’ve attended so far and I really enjoyed it. When I first heard that around 1,850 guests were expected it didn’t quite register in my mind what that would actually look like but when I saw the guests queuing up around the edge of the main quad at Keble waiting to come into the ball it was quite a sight. Fortunately it didn’t rain at all on the night but the temperature outside was quite chilly. It’s a shame we didn’t have more summery weather because I think the cold temperature forced a lot of people to stay in the warmth of the marquees or the college buildings which were difficult to photograph in because they were so packed. I saw so many people that I would like to photograph again with some of my old film cameras so if you’re in any of these pictures below and you’d like a test shoot together please get in touch.
This is the first batch of images from the ball. I have a lot of images to sort through but I’ll try to post new batches as soon as I can. Lots of the guests asked where they could see the pictures. I’ll post as many as I can here but I’ll put a gallery together of everything in case anyone wants to order prints. I still have lots more images from Lincoln to post so expect plenty of updates.
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 with Zeiss 50mm/f1.4 lens.
There were lots of photogenic guests in attendance.
Here’s the 4th batch of images from the Lincoln College Ball 2012. These were all shot on film and there are plenty more to come. One of the many things I love about using film is the fact that it takes time to create the images. Sometimes well over a week or more has passed between me processing the film and scanning it and in that time I’ve often forgotten what was on the film in the first place. Take some of these shots for example. It’s not quite 7 days since I shot these images but as I was sorting through them just now there are at least a few frames that I don’t remember making so coming across them is not only a surprise but also a treat. I was aiming to post new images every day this week but I’ve been feeling unwell the past couple of days, sorry about that. Lots more to come from the Lincoln Ball (both film and digital) and I’ll be photographing at the Keble Ball tomorrow night so there’s lots to look forward to from that too.
I’d love to photograph at the upcoming Oriel Ball so if anyone can hook me up with permission to photograph there it would be much appreciated!
Shots from the beginning of the evening before the rain started.
Here’s the first batch of images that I shot on film at the Lincoln College Ball 2012.There’s a huge difference in the look of these images compared to the digital images in the previous two posts. Please feel free to leave a comment to tell me which ones you prefer. I decided to try out a camera and flash combination that I hadn’t ever tried before and because I was using an old school camera I dusted off an old school Metz flash to pair it with. This particular flash is almost 25 years old and it cost me a week and a half’s wages from my first job after I left school.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f and 80mm lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X film rated at ISO 1600, processed in Rodinal (1:50 dilution).
The evening started off with some of the guests having a sit down meal.
Here’s the second instalment of images from the Lincoln College Ball 2012. A few tidbits of info – all of these images were made using the available light except for the second image down on the left for which I had to use the pop-up flash on my digital camera (which never gets much use) because the bar staff in the picture were completely backlit. The third image down on the right was made looking through a window. I’m not sure what was going on in that room but it looked like everyone was having a good time. I couldn’t get in because of the queues. The image in the bottom right hand corner was made while I was standing in pouring rain, umbrella in one hand, camera in the other. The light is coming from an outside miniature street lamp to the right.
This evening I processed some of the black & white film I shot at the ball and I’m excited to get around to scanning and posting those. So many images, so little time…
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 digital camera with Zeiss 50mm/f1.4 lens (wide open).
Even the rain couldn't dampen the spirits.
Last night I was fortunate enough to be given permission to photograph at the Lincoln College Ball here in Oxford (thank you Rachel Savage). Despite the cold howling wind and rain I think a good time was had by all. I enjoyed it but due to the weather there wasn’t much opportunity for outdoor photography which meant doing lots of flash photography (not my favourite) or trying to make use of what little ambient light I could find. As a photographer we work with what we have in any given situation and I enjoyed the challenge even if it was so dark that I could hardly tell whether my subjects were in focus most of the time. In the top two shots below you can see the rain dripping down from the edge of the marquee.
There was a great diversity of outfits being worn last night and I couldn’t help noticing so many photogenic people that I’d love to have the opportunity to photograph again in a less busier setting. Please get in touch if you like my photography and would like to do a test shoot with film and old cameras.
Below is a little taster of some of the images I captured during the evening. These are all from my digital camera, the film shots will follow on later once I’ve processed and scanned the film. I ended up using my digital camera more than I would have liked simply because the light levels were so low and it’s handy to see a preview when using flash. All of the images below were made without any flash, I searched for the places with the best ambient light and waited for willing subjects. More to come.
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 with Zeiss 50mm/f1.4 lens (used wide open).
A fun time was had by all.
Here’s another batch of images from the Balliol college ball that I attended a few weeks ago. The images are very grainy due to the expired film I was using. I’m not sure of the expiry date of this film, it came in a batch of different films that I bought as a job lot. Despite the grain I like how these images have turned out, they capture the mood of the evening which was people having fun.
Some exciting news related to my Balliol ball photography is that a couple I photographed that evening liked my photography so much that they’ve booked me to photograph their wedding next year and I’m going to be doing it on film! It’s not obvious from this blog but I do photograph weddings as well as doing other photographic commissions and I’m really glad they emailed me to enquire about it. Here’s a little extract from the lovely email I received “…have been looking at the websites of wedding photographers around Oxford, and we haven’t found a single one whose work we like as much as the photographs on your blog.”
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f camera and 80mm lens on expired Ilford Delta 3200 film, processed in Kodak HC110 dilution B (1:31).
Backlit in the live music marquee
Hai Lin and friend
Outside the live acts marquee
I really like the moment I've captured here, especially with the guy laughing next to the very serious guy next to him
Outisde the live acts marquee
I asked these girls to follow me all the way to the side entrance of the college just so we could use the light in the archway. It worked out well.
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
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.
