Ricky Gervais came to the Oxford Union for a Q&A session with Michael Li – the president at the time – and I went along to do some photography to document the event. You can see the video here and I recommend it.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak HC-110 1+31, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes during a Giffords Circus performance in University Parks, Oxford, June 2017. For this set of pictures I tried out a longer lens than I would usually use to give me some distance for more candid results. It also allowed me to stay out of the way as the performers were preparing for the opening of the show.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 100/2.8 Series E lens, Kodak Supra 200 film (expired), developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography from filming of Endeavour series 5, episode 5 in University Parks, Oxford, September 2017. The weather in the morning started off very overcast and dull which was a shame because the scenes due to be filmed called for nice sunny weather but in a stroke of luck the sun eventually burnt through the clouds to completely transform the location. These shots are from my first roll of the day before the sunshine arrived. As this was a new episode I decided to try something different in terms of lens choice for a change so instead of using my Voigtlander 40/1.4 Nokton lens I opted for my 35/2.8 Zeiss Biogon instead. My reasoning for this was that I wouldn’t be needing the speed of the 40/1.4 because there would be plenty of light and I wanted to more accurately compose in the viewfinder – the M6 displays 50mm frame lines when using a 40mm lens. I’m very pleased with the results and have used the images uncropped apart from one frame.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, Zeiss 35/2.8 Zeiss Biogon, Eastman Double X motion picture film, developed in Kodak D76 stock, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography from the filming of Endeavour series 5, episode 2 in Oxford, June 2017. This set of pictures were made with 35mm film and you can compare them to the previous post which was medium format film from the same day – different formats and different film stocks give you different looking images of the same thing. The last few shots below are from the following day in the Covered Market.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, Voigtlander 40/1.4 Nokton, Fuji Superia 200 film developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit, Pakon scans.
These pictures are from the first day of filming in Oxford for Endeavour series 5 episode 2 in June 2017. The day started off nice and sunny as I recall and by mid-morning the streets were full of tourists which made filming quite difficult. There was a returning director on this episode – Andy Wilson – who I remember photographing briefly in 2014 when he was directing the episode titled Sway. The shots here are from half the roll of film, the other half contains episode spoilers so I’ll post those at a later date after the episode has been broadcast.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F Zeiss Planar, Fuji 400H film developed in a Fuji Xpress C41 kit.
Here are two group shots I made on the last day of filming of Endeavour 5, episode 4 at the HQ. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the day with them all and I’m glad we managed to find the time to fit this in.
[Tech info:] Fuji 6×9, Ilford HP5 film developed in Kodak HC110 1+31, 5 mins.
Checked shirt Friday crew.
Behind the scenes during late night filming of Endeavour series 5 episode 4 in Oxford. This was a tricky little set up that took quite a bit of planning, rehearsing and lighting to transform what is usually a very dark street. You can see in some of the earlier shots how dark the background is compared to when the bright background light was switched on to give a wash of light across the fronts of the buildings.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
On my first visit to Endeavour HQ the crew weren’t using the interior CID set on the day I was there so it wasn’t lit. I was fortunate enough to visit a second time when there was a day of filming taking place in the CID set on a different episode so I have pictures from that which I am working my way through. Here are some shots from my first roll of the day. On this occasion I decided to use a lens that hasn’t had much use for quite a while (35/1.2 Voigtlander Nokton), mainly because it’s designed for very low light levels and also because it’s quite big and heavy and not the kind of lens you want to be carrying around all day when there is plenty of light. The other reason is because I have taken quite a shining to the 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton which is tiny in comparison.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 35/1.2 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak Xtol stock, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour series 5 episode 3 in Oxford. It was a very hot day in July and the crew had a very busy schedule as I recall because they were only in Oxford for one day on this occasion. I decided to use colour film for a change to capture the summery feel. It’s not often you see the lighting crew setting up lights outside in bright sun but I must say it did make the front of the Jaguar look nice.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 and 75/1.8 Voigtlander lenses, Fuji Superia 200 film, developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit. Pakon scans.
If you’ve ever travelled around the back streets of Oxford at night you’ll know how dark they are but that all changes when the Endeavour crew come to town. With a few well placed lights they can completely transform a place as you can see here in Lamb and flag passage – a place usually so dark you could easily bump into someone without too much effort. The first couple of shots are from a very quick setup in Radcliffe Square which were at the start of this roll. For the night shots I was frequently dropping my shutter speed to 1/15th and 1/8th to prevent the shadows from plugging up and I have to say how impressed I am with my Leica M6 because although there’s no mirror inside to cause camera shake the cloth shutter does move in the back of the camera but the body is so solid that vibration is next to none at all. Of course steady hands are required to avoid camera shake but having a solid camera body does help a lot. More pictures to come after the episode is broadcast some time in 2018. No spoilers.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31. Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography during the filming of Endeavour series 5 episode 4 in Oxford. There was interesting looking equipment being used in this setup but I’m afraid I don’t know the correct technical name for the large ARRI crane. I’ve picked out the most spoiler-free shots, others will follow after the episode has been broadcast some time in 2018. Most exciting for me was the sight of old cameras being used!
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5 mins. Pakon scans.
The Endeavour crew were back in Oxford for a few days of filming for episode 4 of series 5 and I did some behind the scenes photography. Here are some shots from Exeter college where they were mostly doing interior scenes. I’ll share some of the interior pictures after the episode has been broadcast – no spoilers! For these shots I was trying out a film I don’t often use – Ilford Delta 100. The day was sunny and bright but most of the action was in the shade and I struggled with sufficient depth of field on some of these shots. Next time I’ll stick with Hp5. The last shot on this roll is from Radcliffe Square where a short scene was filmed. The big light on the scaffolding provided a little rim light.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, Ilford Delta 100, developed in Tetenal Ultrafin 1+20.
