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.
It’s been a long time since the last time I can remember pushing Kodak Tri-X film to ISO 1600 and processing it in Rodinal developer so that’s what I decided to do a few weeks ago. There are a mix of images on this roll ranging from some night portraits that I made during a photography class I was teaching to Ruskin art students on the High Street during their drawing sale to raise funds for their end of year degree show. I’d like to do some more work with Art students but they seem to be an illusive bunch so it’s currently a work in progress.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, Zeiss 50/1.4 lens, Kodak Tri-X 400 (expired), rated at ISO 1600, processed in Rodinal 1:50 for 18 mins.
Whenever the OWP put on a Jam at the Meadow Lane skate park it’s always a great opportunity for photography. I only made it to the second half of last month’s BMX Jam because it was too hot for me at midday. Here are some shots of the long jump competition that was full of thrills and spills.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 50/1.4D, Kodak Hawkeye film, processed in a Tetanol C41 kit (at over 12 months old the chemicals are probably a bit past it now).
Some shots here from a production of The Alchemist which was playing at Freuds last week on Walton Street. I managed to make these shots shortly before the doors opened and I must say I really liked the set that they had created in a relatively small amount of space. It was nicely lit too and fortunately for me I had some Cinestill motion picture film in my camera from when I photographed Giffords Circus and as it’s tungsten balanced it was perfect for these shots. The film has expired so these were a bit of an experiment but I do like how they turned out.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 50/1.4D, Cinestill film (expired), home processed in a C41 kit that I opened in July 2013!
One of the highlights in the Oxford University calendar for me is Summer Eights, also known as Eights Week and I’ve enjoyed photographing the event for many years. Out of all my visits so far the most memorable was when I first saw The Syndicate there in 1991 so I decided to dust off some of the shots in my archive to share them because Eights Week is next week. I haven’t been able to find out very much about The Syndicate so if you know anything about them please leave a comment. I saw them performing their co-ordinated dance routine two years ago and they’re still dressing in their matching outfits with the same front design. The back text reads ‘we have the strength to slip you a length’. I wonder what these guys are doing now.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, Ilford FP4.
Some more of my shots from the filming of Testament of Youth in Oxford last month. I still have lots more to post but I’m trying to mix them up a bit with other shots for variety. This shots are from the last set up of the day in front of the Sheldonian Theatre where the camera was mounted on an impressive articulated arm.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 85/1.8, loaded with Fuji Press 400 film. Developed & scanned at ASDA, Swindon.
Some shots from the Teddy Hall Ball that I photographed recently, the first ball of the summer for me. I’ve got some exciting ones coming up this year which I’m very much looking forward to.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 50/1.4, Fuji Press 400 film. Developed and scanned at ASDA, Swindon.
Here are some more images from backstage at The Benefactor Charity Show I was at last week. With these I decided to use one of my favourite films for low light photography – Ilford HP5. All shot in available light. You can see some of the hive of activity that was going on in the main room by the hair and make-up teams. A bit of a surprise was when some of the OUABC boxers turned up to model some boxer shorts. Boxers in boxers, very clever!
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 50/1.4D, loaded with Ilford HP5 @ ISO1600, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.
These shots are from November 2013 when there was some filming going on for Endeavour series 2 episode 3. Hopefully it won’t be too long until the second series is broadcast, I’ve got a feeling it’s likely to be around April but I have no concrete information to go on. The scenes I saw being filmed were in King Edward Street and Catte Street, both day and very atmospheric night scenes with plenty of fog. During the filming of the scene with the red bus in Catte Street it was a pleasant surprise to see Colin Dexter arrive for his cameo appearance. He’s sitting next to the window on the lower deck. I’ve really enjoyed it when the Endeavour crew have rolled into town and not only am I excited to see series 2 when it’s broadcast but I look forward to hopefully seeing series 3 being filmed.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 50/1.4D, loaded with Kodak Hawkeye film, dev and scan at ASDA, Swindon. My thanks to Simon for superb service.
The Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity competition takes place in Oxford every two years (the venue alternates between the two cities every year). In 2012 I photographed some powerlifting but I found out a bit late and most of the other events had already taken place so this year I’ve been doing some research to try to photograph as many events as possible.
Oxford won the Jitsu competition this year which took place in the dojo at the Iffley Road sports centre. I went along to photograph some of the training the day before the competition and then the next day which was the competition proper. The b&w shots below are from the training session and the colour shots are from the competition. The action was fast paced so I didn’t mange to shoot many frames but of the handful that I did shoot these are the ones I like best.
[Tech info:] B&w shots – Rolleiflex 2.8f, 80mm Zeiss Planar lens, Kodak Tri-X 400 (expired), processed in Kodak XTOL 1+1.
Colour shots: Nikon FM2, 50/1.4D, Agfa Vista 200 film, dev & scan at ASDA in Swindon. Many thanks to Simon for such great service.
Here are some behind the scenes shots of an episode of Endeavour that was being filmed on the streets of Oxford last November. From what I saw this is going to be an excellent episode. There were mods and rockers, fake fog, cool cars and tons of atmosphere. I’m not going to give any details away of what I saw being filmed but I will say that the scene with the bus driving through the fog was a real joy to see, it felt like being inside a movie. I really like how the colours have turned out in these shots especially as I was using daylight balanced film in conditions that were mostly lit by yellow street lights. Most of the exposures were made at 1/15th or less and I just guessed a lot of the exposures because of the huge contrast between the shadows and the street lights, it’s amazing how well colour negative film handles it all with ease.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 50/1.4D lens loaded with Fuji 400 Press film (expired). Processed and scanned at ASDA in Swindon.
Happy New Year to everyone that visits my blog. December was a bit slow in terms of new posts and activity because of various things that were taking up my time but I still have a backlog of shots from 2013 that I haven’t had time to post so there’s no shortage of new images to come. Usually I try to group the shots in my posts together so they make sense but that’s also led to delays so I think what I might do more of is just concentrate on posting whatever images are on a particular roll of film which sometimes is spread over a wide time period when I’ve used a camera for a day or two but then haven’t come back to it until weeks later because I’ve been using other cameras.
Here we have some behind the scenes shots from some filming of Endeavour (episode 2 of the forthcoming season), there was a night scene outside the cinema on Jeune Street (that’s the make-up crew on the bench) and also some shots of the major roadworks that were going on along St Aldates for 5 weeks which was a real pain. There’s also a shot of the new entrance to the Radcliffe Camera being built which I believe was to allow wheelchair access.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 50/1.4D lens, loaded with Fuji Press 400 film, processed and scanned by ASDA in Swindon.
