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Thursday, July 11th, 2013
This set of images are from my first test roll of some very special 35mm film. It’s Kodak 500T motion picture film that’s designed to be used in movie cameras (the kind that Hollywood studios use) and it’s a favourite film of such movie directors as Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino to name just a few that have used it for their recent movies. I was able to use it in my 35mm SLR because the very clever Brothers Wright in Los Angeles have come up with a technique of removing the remjet layer of the film and then spooling it into 35mm film canisters ready for use in a regular stills camera. It’s native ISO is 500 and it’s balanced for tungsten light. Without the remjet layer the film can be developed in regular C41 chemistry just like other colour negative film. For my first test roll I decided to photograph the Giffords Circus performance last weekend and as an additional test I sent the roll off to ASDA with a few other rolls to test out their developing and scanning service. So far I am very pleased with the results.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 50/1.4D lens, Kodak 500T (CineStill) film, developed and scanned by ASDA in Swindon.
Posted in Equipment, film, Oxford | No Responses »
Tags: 500t, cinestill, circus, film, giffords, oxford
Wednesday, July 10th, 2013
These are Fujiroid portraits (similar to Polaroid) that I made of some of the performers at Giffords Circus when they came to University Parks here in Oxford. The diptych ones were made on the last day during the last performance backstage as the circus was getting packed up and moved out. I really wished I had had more time to make some more. Hopefully next time. Some of these scans are from the prints, others from the bleached negatives. There is a lot more shadow detail in the negatives and they have a completely different look and feel to the prints.
[Tech info]: Graflex Super D 5×4, 190mm lens, Fuji FP-100C instant pack film. The diptych’s were made with a Mamiya RB67 and 90mm lens.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait | No Responses »
Tags: 5x4, backstage, diptych, film, fp100c, fujiroid, graflex, oxford, people, portraits, rb67, super d
Tuesday, July 9th, 2013
A few Fujiroids (just like Polaroids) from a photo shoot I had with Tamsin. I also shot some 5×4 large format colour film that expired in 1991 so I’m looking forward to processing those. The bottom two shots are a little under-exposed because I metered for the highlights instead of splitting the difference between highlights and shadows. That’s something that can happen when you’re rushing. The sun was moving quite fast and between the time of composing the shot, focussing, cranking the shutter and putting the film into the back of the camera the light had changed and Tamsin was in complete shadow so I had to work fast.
[Tech info:] Graflex Speed Graphic 5×4, Kodak Aero Ektar lens (top & bottom left) Schneider 180/4.5 (bottom right) on Fuji FP-100C instant pack film.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | 1 Response »
Tags: 5x4, aero, film, fujiroid, graflex, oxford, portraits, students, summer, tamsin
Monday, July 8th, 2013
Giffords Circus left Oxford earlier this evening after being here for almost a week in University Parks and I can’t say enough great things about the amazing people that work there. The weather was non-stop sunshine for the whole time they were here and although the temperature was pretty hot I think it was perfect summer weather to see the Circus. I made a few trips over there to see if I could make some nice portraits on film, each time I took a different camera with me for variety. The performers were all incredibly nice and friendly which made for a great experience. I went to the Sunday afternoon performance which was a full house and I enjoyed every second of it. I can’t recommend it highly enough if you get a chance to see it, these people are the real deal. Everything in this Circus is hand made with care and attention to detail from the sets to the costumes and I couldn’t help thinking that on some level it made perfect sense that I was photographing them because I hand process, scan and print my film with just as much attention to detail for the best possible end result. I’m keeping my finger’s crossed that Giffords Circus will come back to Oxford next year.
Lots more photography from Giffords Circus to come. If you’re one of the Circus performers and you see these pictures, please tell the others in the group and if you wish to, please leave a comment to let me know what you think.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D 5×4, 190mm lens @ f8, Ilford HP5 film processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait | No Responses »
Tags: 5x4, backstage, black&white, circus, film, giffords, graflex, hc110, HP5, oxford, people, portraits, summer
Wednesday, July 3rd, 2013
I recently bought a batch of expired film which I have no idea about how they’ve been previously stored so I decided to test some out to see how well they worked. In this test I was using Kodak Tri-X 400 which expired in 2002 and 2004. Fortunately Tamsin was happy to help out for the testing but it started to rain just as I was loading the first roll of film so I rattled through the film at quite a pace. Also in this test I was using a lens that I haven’t used an awful lot – a 165mm/2.8 Pentax 6×7 which I found out is very difficult to hand hold steady at f2.8 and 1/125th shutter speed which resulted in quite a few out of focus shots (not shown here). I also shot a roll of Agfa colour film that expired in 1996 which I’m very curious to see the results from.
[Tech info:] Pentax 6×7, 105mm/2.4 and 165mm/2.8 lenses, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 film, processed in Kodak XTOL 1:1.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x7, black&white, film, oxford, pentax, people, portraits, students, tamsin, xtol
Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013
At this time of year it’s not uncommon to see oxford university students around town celebrating the end of their exams and it’s something I enjoy photographing whenever I can. There’s something very photogenic and timeless about their black & white outfits especially when photographed with black & white film. These images are all from the same lunch hour photo walk. At the bottom are Richard and Hugo, the Oxford Tailors that I pass on my way back to my office. I’ve been trying out a film that I never really liked when I first used it many years ago (Kodak TMAX) but I really like the results I’ve been getting recently.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2 with 50mm/f1.4 lens, loaded with Kodak TMAX 400 film, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait, Street portraits, students | No Responses »
Tags: black&white, film, hc110, oxford, people, portraits, students, summer, tailors, tmax
Sunday, June 30th, 2013
Here are some of my images from the Balliol 750th Commemoration Ball that I made on medium format film. Once the sun had gone down I decided to switch to using only black & white film because I like how classic it looks – with lots of different coloured lights in the evening it can be quite distracting. The live acts in the second grid were King Charles (who were amazing) and Mark Ronson DJing. It was the first time I had photographed a live band with a twin lens reflex camera and although a bit of a challenge it was really good fun. With only 12 frames on a roll you really have to pick your moments carefully.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f, 80/2.8 lens, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 rated at ISO1600. Processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, ball, balliol, black&white, c330, film, oxford, people, portraits, students, summer, Tri-X
Saturday, June 29th, 2013
These images are from a photo shoot I had a few weeks ago with Leonore and Cosima. I’ve photographed Leonore a few times for Industry magazine and the Oxford Tab but I’ve wanted to photograph her on film for quite a while. I had originally arranged the shoot with just Cosima but fortunately Leonore was able to come along too and as they’re friends everything worked out. I really enjoyed this photo shoot but as I’m not used to working with two people at once it was a little challenging – in a good way. I’ve recently been trying out a new film developer and I decided to put this roll through as a test. So far I really like the results I’m getting. More shots from this shoot will follow at a later time.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66 with 80/2.8 lens, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 film (rated at ISO800), processed in Kodak XTOL 1:1 for 8mins.
Posted in film, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, black&white, film, oxford, people, portraits, rolleiflex, SL66, students, Tri-X, xtol
Monday, June 24th, 2013
These two portraits were made yesterday at the same skatepark session as the two in the previous post except these were made on 5×4 black & film. The maximum amount of 5×4 sheet film I can develop at the same time is 6 sheets so that’s usually how many I load into film holders at the same time. I had already used 4 sheets from this batch at a shoot I had with Imogen so I only had 2 sheets with me when I decided to go to the skatepark. It’s a shame because the light was nice (when the sun wasn’t behind a cloud) and there was a good crowd there.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D 5×4, Pentac f2.9 @ f4, Ilford Delta 100 processed in Ilford DDX 1+4.
Posted in film, Oxford, Portrait | No Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, bmx, ddx, delta 100, film, graflex, meadow lane, owp, oxford, pentac, people, portraits, skatepark, summer, super d
Sunday, June 23rd, 2013
These two portraits were made at my local skatepark today. It was a really fun session and my portrait volunteers did really well to stay still whilst being heckled from their friends. I wanted to test out my Super D camera after I had some focus issues the last time I used it and the good news is I’ve managed to achieve critical focus again with my workaround but the bad news is that I need to use the camera on a tripod to do it. When you’re working with really shallow depth of field it’s always a good idea to mount your camera on a tripod so it’s not the end of the world. I only had two sheets of film with me and these last two shots of Fuji instant pack film. The film shots will follow (I left them drying in the darkroom overnight).
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D with Pentac f2.9 lens @ f4. Fuji FP-100C instant pack film.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait | 2 Responses »
Tags: 5x4, bmx, film, fujiroid, graflex, meadow lane, owp, oxford, pentac, people, portraits, skatepark, super d
Wednesday, June 19th, 2013
This was a really fun photo shoot that came together yesterday. Josh contacted me to see if I would be interested in photographing this Elephant costume he had made for a party. I was instantly intrigued to see it so of course I said yes. This took him a week to make and it’s mostly made of foam, I was very impressed! Tamsin came to the photo shoot and we all had a lot of fun making pictures. At least I think Josh had fun because this was the hottest and most humid day of the year so far and I was concerned he might keel over from dehydration. (The last shot got a little ruined from the humidity). These are Fujiroids, I did also shoot some film so those shots will follow once I’ve developed them. I’ve built up quite a batch of colour rolls of film to develop from this year so it will be exciting to start developing them soon.
[Tech info:] Mamiya Universal, 100mm/3.5 lens, Fuji FP-100C instant pack film (expired).
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, students | 2 Responses »
Tags: film, fp100c, fujiroid, mamiya universal, oxford, students, summer, tamsin
Tuesday, June 18th, 2013
Whenever possible I take a camera along with me to my photo shoots that is able to shoot some Fuji instant pack film (similar to Polaroid). Here are some from recent photo shoots. I haven’t developed any of the film from these shoots yet so they’ll follow on later. The camera I used for these is a bit of a bulky beast with rangefinder focusing (not my favourite) but when I get it right this camera does deliver.
[Tech info:] Mamiya Universal, 100mm/f3.5 lens, Fuji FP-100C instant pack film (expired).
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: fp100c, fujiroid, mamiya universal, oxford, people, portraits, students, summer
