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Oxford: finals exam celebrations, 2014 – part 4

Saturday, June 13th, 2015

I photographed my first trashing in Oxford around 25 years ago and this set of pictures from a trashing last year (summer 2014) is one of the most memorable ones for me so far. Not only was the light perfect but the amount and variety of different substances that got layered on was very impressive. Just when it looked like it was all over out came a roll of cling film! I’ve been looking forward to posting this set and after a year of waiting I’m very pleased to show these now.

[Tech info:] Nikon F100, Fuji Press 400 film (expired), processed in a Rollei Digibase C41 kit, Pakon scans.

Oxford: finals exam celebrations, 2014 – part 3

Friday, June 12th, 2015

The great Oxford tradition of trashing is here again so it’s time for me to continue posting some of my shots from last year (summer 2014). Recently I’ve been enjoying the idea of not rushing to post images as soon as I can but instead to hold them back for a while and let them mature in my archive. I have no idea where the students in this set of images are now but I’d like to hope that seeing these a year after the event would bring back some happy memories for them of celebration and relief.

[Tech info:] Nikon F100, Kodak Hawkeye film, processed in a Rollei Digibase C41 kit. Pakon scans.

Oxford: Endeavour 3, episode 2 – part 1

Friday, June 5th, 2015

The Endeavour film crew were back in Oxford a few weeks ago to start work on the second episode of series 3. Here are some behind the scenes shots that I made during filming that took place on Holywell Street.

[Tech info]: Leica M2, Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.4 lens, Eastman Double X motion picture film, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 6 mins.

Endeavour, season 3 filming

Endeavour, season 3 filming

Endeavour, season 3 filming

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Oxford: Endeavour 3, episode 1 – part 2

Monday, May 11th, 2015

The Endeavour crew were back in Oxford filming the first episode from series 3 and here are some shots from behind the scenes. It was very nice to see some familiar faces among the crew which was made up of a mixture of crew members from both Lewis and Endeavour. These shots were all made with my 1960’s Rolleiflex twin lens reflex camera which I like to use for behind the scenes photography because not only is it very quiet but it’s also from the same era as Endeavour is set.

Tech info: Rolleiflex 2.8F, 80mm Zeiss Planar lens, Kodak Tri-X film, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.

Endeavour behind the scenes

Endeavour behind the scenes

Oxford: Endeavour 3, episode 1 – part 1

Monday, April 20th, 2015

The first episode of Endeavour 3 is currently being filmed and here are some behind-the-scenes shots from a scene that took place outside Endeavour’s flat in Park Town, Oxford. It was a fairly brief scene with only two members of the main cast present – I won’t go into any more detail or give any spoilers. This is the first bit of filming that I have seen from the new series and it was really nice to see some familiar faces among the crew. The crew consisted of a mix of people that I had previously seen working separately on Lewis and Endeavour so it was nice to see them all working together.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander Nokton 50/1.5, Ilford HP5, processed in Ilford LC29 1+19 for 6.30.

Oxford: Police and Pillow Fighting

Monday, April 13th, 2015

On the same day as this year’s Worldwide Pillow Fighting Day the EDL decided to hold a demonstration in Oxford. Good timing! That in turn brought out a large gathering of United Against Fascism demonstrators which led to a massive Police presence in Oxford City Centre which I have never seen before. The Police did a fantastic job of keeping both parties away from each other and the EDL were so well penned in opposite the Police station on St Aldates that whatever message they were trying to get across fell on deaf ears.

From there I went to photograph the pillow fight in Catte Street which was a completely different vibe and fun to get in amongst even if it meant getting bopped on the head a number of times. I decided to use my panoramic camera to try to capture a sense of how many people were there. To be honest I think there were more people photographing the event than pillow fighters but it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately the film ripped off the spool inside the camera when I was winding on the last frame so I was unable to load a second roll. I had to remove the film in a changing bag and the film got scratched when I pulled the film out. A bit of a shame but not the end of the world.

[Tech info:] Zenit S3 Pro Horizon, Ilford HP5, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5mins.

Oxford: Torpids 2015 – part 1

Monday, March 23rd, 2015

Some photography from the final day of Torpids 2015 in Oxford. This year I only managed to make it to the final day but the weather was fantastic and there was a great turn out of spectators who came to enjoy some racing on the river. I used the sunny weather as a perfect opportunity to test out some special motion picture film I bought recently. This batch of film is surplus stock left over from the new Star Wars (Episode VII) movie that I purchased. It’s daylight balanced and has a film speed of ISO 50 so the sunny weather was perfect. I’m impressed with the lack of contrast in what was at times extremely contrasty light and the control of highlights is very nice too. With spring in the air and blossom starting to make an appearance I hope to be able to use more of this film through the spring and into summer.

[Tech info:] Minolta Hi-Matic 7, Kodak Vision 3 50D motion picture film, ISO 50, developed with a Rollei Digibase C41 kit. Pakon scans.

Oxford: Voigtlander Bessa 6×9

Tuesday, March 17th, 2015

This set of images were made with what I think is the oldest camera I currently own – a Voigtlander Bessa I 6×9 folder from 1936. It works incredibly well for its age but it is a little quirky (it has separate viewfinder windows for focussing and composing) and it’s not particularly fast to use in a hurry but I do enjoy the size of the frames on the film and it folds down to a very compact size which makes it perfect for carrying around. I’ve only put three rolls through it so far and I think I’ll try a roll with this camera mounted on a tripod to see how much sharper the images become.

[Tech info]: Voigtlander Bessa I 6×9 folder, 105mm Skopar lens, Fuji Acros 100 film, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5:30.

 

Lunchtime photography session with Ella

Saturday, February 28th, 2015

Here are some images from a recent lunchtime photography session with Ella. I wanted to practice a little with this camera and lens combination because while I really like the results I get from them, I’m not happy with the shutter release on the camera and how far you need to press before it will activate the shutter. I have a power-winder for it that came as part of the kit but I haven’t tried it yet. Maybe it’s about time I did. Ella was very easy to work with and hopefully there will be more opportunities to do some photography together.

[Tech info:] Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80/1.9 lens, Fuji Acros 100 (expired) film, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 5:30.

 

Large format lunchtime session – Alice

Wednesday, February 25th, 2015

Some of the results from my large format lunchtime session with Alice using a 1940’s press camera. For this session I wanted to test out some Fomapan 100 film that I’ve had laying around for over a year and recently discovered. So far so good. I like these results. I’m hoping to do more large format photography in my lunch break because I really enjoy composing my shots on a large ground glass screen – often times upside down – and also having a limited amount of shots as well as the slower pace compared to other kinds of photography.

[Tech info:] Graflex Super D 5×4, Pentac 8inch f2.9 (bottom left), Kodak Ektar 190/5.6 lens, Fomapan 100 (expired), processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.

Film hanging up to dry

Oxford: Lunch time session – Xinlan

Thursday, February 19th, 2015

Here are two Fujiroids that I made at the end of my lunch break photography session with Xinlan yesterday. The sunlight was bouncing off the side of a white building which is one of my favourite kinds of light to photograph portraits in. Prior to these I finished a roll of Fuji Acros 100 in my Mamiya RZ67 and some of those shots will follow soon.

[Tech info:] Polaroid Land Camera 180, Fuji FP-100C instant pack film (expired).

Oxford: New College on large format

Monday, February 9th, 2015

Yesterday I taught a landscape photography workshop at New College with Anthony (the current Oxford University Photographic Society President) and after a classroom session we all went out into the New College grounds to do some photography. The sky was very clear which made for quite contrasty light with nice shadows. I decided to take my Polaroid 110B to do some large format photography on Kodak Plus-X Aerographic film to test out how it handled contrast. Overall I think the film handled the contrast very well, especially in this first image below. I only took six sheets of film with me and to save time I bracketed the first two shots and then used my last two on Anthony (we couldn’t decide on jacket on or off so we shot both).

[Tech info:] Polaroid 110B, Kodak Plus-X Aerographic film, processed in Kodak HC110 (1+31) for 5 mins.

Behind-the-scenes – film drying in the darkroom