David Haye came to the Oxford Union for a chat and I went along to do some photography. I enjoyed the event, David is a good speaker and easy to listen to and I found his knowledge of boxing history very impressive. If you’re interested in boxing I highly recommend watching the video from this event when it goes up on the Oxford Union YouTube channel.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton Classic, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 3200, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31. Pakon scans.
I’ve recently been testing some very old brass camera lenses that I’ve had for a while and by old I mean over one hundred years old. Some have the manufacturer engraved on them, some don’t. Some of them have aperture blades inside, some don’t and none of them have built in shutters which is why I was testing them on a Sinar monorail camera (below) with a Sinar behind the lens shutter. The downside is the maximum shutter speed is 1/60th which makes it difficult on a sunny day. More testing to come with more detailed results.
[Tech info:] Sinar P 5×4 camera, Watson & Sons No. 3 portrait lens, Ilford Delta 100 film developed in Kodak HC110 1+31.
John Cleese came to the Oxford Union to give a talk and I went along to do some photography. I found the talk very interesting with plenty of humour thrown in for good measure. The Union was absolutely packed to the rafters which is something I haven’t seen since Stephen Hawking visited. This event was the first time I got to use my Voigtlander 75/1.8 Heliar lens in low light, I bought it mainly to photograph the Oxford Union events with because I wanted more reach than the 50mm I was using and I have to say I am very pleased with how it performed.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, Voigtlander 75/1.8 Heliar, Kodak TMAX 400 @ ISO 3200, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 10mins, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour episode ‘Canticle’, series 4 episode 2, in Oxford. These shots are from the morning when the temperature was a lot cooler and more comfortable than the afternoon would prove to be. I like how these have turned out and I’m glad we had a morning of softer light compared to the contrasty light we had in the afternoon. All from the same roll of film.
[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Ilford HP5 film, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour series 4 episode 3 in Oxford, August 2016. All of these shots are from the same roll of film and I really like how they turned out. The scene that was filmed in St Helens Passage next to the Bridge of Sighs isn’t very long in the final edit but it took a lot of planning with a student co-ordinator and multiple takes to cover all of the camera angles which wasn’t easy in such a narrow space. On a side note, the helium filled balloons that can be seen in the background were never used and I sometimes wonder what the original plan was for them.
[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Ilford HP5 film, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5mins. Pakon scans.
Lots of images to share in this post. All from the same roll of film shot at the Town v Gown 2017 boxing event which was held in the debating chamber at the Oxford Union Society. As in previous years I tried to document both the behind-the-scenes goings on as well as some of the actual boxing in the ring which wasn’t easy because of the distance between the two buildings where both of these things were happening. I wanted to travel light so I only took two lenses with me for my Leica M2 – a 40/1.4 and a 50/1.5 but I ended up using the 40/1.4 for the whole evening.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 40/1.4, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 3200, developed in HC110 1+31. Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography from Endeavour series 4 episode 2. This was part of the opening sequence which was filmed in Radcliffe Square. The crew started very early to set this up and the day started off overcast but the clouds burnt off quite quickly as I recall and it became a real scorcher of a day. At the time I think it was the hottest day of the year. As the morning progressed the temperature started to rise and so did the numbers of tourists that flowed into Radcliffe Square. If the buildings weren’t enough to get mobile phones snapping it was the presence of a film crew that certainly did. The security crew did a fantastic job with crowd control as the numbers of onlookers increased. These shots are all from the same roll of film and you can see the harsh sunlight in some of the later shots.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5, Ilford FP4 film @ ISO 200, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
This is the first part of my coverage of the 2016 Remembrance Sunday event in Oxford. The sky was clear in the morning which made for very contrasty light. Last year I used large format film so this year I decided to change things up a bit and mainly used 35mm. I did also take a 6×9 medium format camera but didn’t use it very much. More images to follow.
[Tech info:] Olympus OM40, Ilford HP5 film developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5 mins. Pakon scans.
When I heard that Public Enemy would be performing at the Common People 2016 music festival in Oxford I was really looking forward to photographing them but when Chuck D came on stage he announced that Flava Flav couldn’t make it due to problems with obtaining a visa in time which was very disappointing and quite limiting in terms of photography as I find him the more photogenic of the duo.
[Tech info:] Nikon F100, 70-200/2.8 VR, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 800, HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
After seeing lots of great shots from other photographer’s that use a Voigtlander 40/1.4 lens I decided it was time to try one myself. The weather recently has been very overcast and the light less than inspiring but you don’t have to always have sunny weather to test out gear. So far I am very fond of this little lens – the size and weight being two standout features – and I’m very pleased with these initial results.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 40/1.4 multi-coated, TMAX 100 (expired), developed in HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
Here are some test shots from the first roll of film through a Kodak Retina camera that I recently got as part of a job lot of darkroom equipment. I don’t know anything about this camera but as it’s completely mechanical it was very easy to figure out the controls. The rangefinder is coupled and the leaf shutter is very quiet. I enjoyed using it and hope to put a roll of colour film through it soon.
[Tech info:] Kodak Retina, Kodak TMAX 100 (expired), developed in HC110 1+31 for 6mins. Pakon scans.
During my visit to The Great Dorset Steam Fair I got to experience the Wall of Death for the very first time. This wasn’t any old Wall of Death, it was the Ken Fox Troupe Wall of Death and what made it extra special was seeing it with my old friend Benedict Campbell who made an excellent short film about them (see it here). The show is nothing short of spectacular and I highly recommend it if you get the chance to see it.
[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton Classic, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 800, developed in HC110 1+31. Pakon scans.
