Yesterday evening I had a fun photo shoot with some Oxford University students that were all dressed up to go to the Oriel College commemoration ball. I had photographed one of them before at the opening night of Cabaret at Keble College a while back and it was from those images that I was contacted for this shoot (thanks Gen). It was a bit rushed towards the end as they all had to make their way over to Oriel College but I thoroughly enjoyed it. We used three different locations – a back garden, the grounds in Teddy Hall and the middle of the High Street where they were all literally stopping traffic. All of that fabric fluttering in the strong wind looked amazing. I was half expecting to be told to move along because of health and safety!
I contacted Oriel about photographing at their ball but no one replied to me. Magdalen College also had a commemoration ball happening at the same time but the President of the ball committee turned down my request for photography. Such a shame and a missed opportunity to create some great images as they only happen every three years.
These are all scans from Fujiroids (Polaroid). I also shot some film images which will follow on when I’ve had time to process and scan them.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 90mm, Fuji FP100C instant pack film.
Stopping traffic on the High Street.
In the back garden before the taxi arrived.
I like the colours of the dresses in the shade.
Teddy Hall quad.
Last shot before leaving.
Behind the scenes
One of my Flickr contacts happened to be walking past while I was photographing on the High Street and he sent me these two behind the scenes shots. We’ve never met in person and this is what he had to say: ‘When I saw a photographer last night in the middle of the road with a medium format camera I knew it just had to be you. I’m surprised the police didn’t move you on, you had traffic tailed back up to Carfax’.
Photography by Darrell Godliman.
In the middle of the High Street.
Me at work, light meter in hand.
Posted in film, students | 4 Responses »
Tags: ball, diptych, film, mamiya, oxford, people, portraits, rb67, students, summer
Thursday, June 21st, 2012
You may recognise some of these students from my Keble College Ball images but then again you might not because of the cool outfits and make-up they’re wearing. I really enjoyed photographing this creative group as they prepared to go to a party where the theme was Pandora’s Box but it was a shame we didn’t have much time for photography before they had to leave for the party. Hopefully we can collaborate on other future photo shoots.
These are all Fuji instant pack film prints (similar to Polaroids). I did also shoot a little bit of film but the rolls aren’t finished yet.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 90mm lens and sliding Polaroid back.
The evening light was fantastic by our local lake.
Lit by the setting sun.
In the garden of the house where everyone was getting ready.
The wings ended up getting coloured in a little later.
Another shot in the back garden.
Posted in film, students | No Responses »
Tags: film, fujiroid, oxford, pandora, portraits, students
Saturday, June 16th, 2012
Here’s a gallery of images that I made with medium format film at the recent Oxford Union Society 2012 summer ball. It was a fun event and the weather was perfect for a summers evening. Please email me if you’d like to order any prints. Prints look much nicer than looking at images on a computer screen and they’re all hand printed by me.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f and 80/f2.8 lens, loaded with Kodak Tri-X film, processed in Kodak HC110 dilution b (1:31). Processed and scanned by me. I think I used some expired Tri-X for these which accounts for the lower contrast in most of them.
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Posted in film, Oxford, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, ball, black&white, c330, film, hc110, oxford, people, portraits, students, summer
Tuesday, May 29th, 2012
I managed to shoot a whole roll of film through my Rolleiflex SL66 camera during one of my lunch time walks a few weeks ago. Here are the first 5 frames. I’ve got so many images still to post from the college ball’s that I photographed recently and then on top of that I have a backlog of other images that I can’t wait to share from my lunch hour sessions and test shoots. Some people have asked if I sell prints of my photography and the answer is yes. Although I don’t make it obvious on this blog I assume that anyone wishing to purchase a print would contact me so please get in touch. All prints are hand done by me.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66 camera, 80/2.8 lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X film processed in Kodak HC110 dilution B. Processed and scanned by me.
Cool glasses, Broad Street.
Gone to the beach.
Matt Sage - musician and promoter, outside The Randolph Hotel.
Taylorian Institute steps.
Unicorn window display, Ship Street.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, black&white, hc110, oxford, people, portraits, SL66
Sunday, May 27th, 2012
While cycling home from my dress rehearsal shoot at Lady Margaret Hall (see previous post) I passed this nice looking motorbike (MZ Trophy) as it was waiting in the line of traffic at the South Parks Road traffic lights. I asked the rider (Simon) if I could do some quick photography of him on his motorbike with the cool film camera I had in my bag and he agreed so we carried on down to the Bridge of Sighs next to Hertford College. The motorbike is from 1971 so it’s a similar age to the camera I used. The camera I had with me was a Rolleiflex SL66 that had arrived in the morning so these are some of the first shots through it. Naturally I was a little nervous about whether or not they would come out because with old cameras you just never know. Fortunately they turned out great and I had both colour and black & white film backs loaded with me so I was able to do a bit of both. On the b&w roll I had a few blank frames at the start of the roll and I’m missing a few shots from the end so I’ll have to look at why that happened, possibly user error. Thank you Simon for stopping and for being so patient while I juggled with the film backs.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66 and 80mm/2.8 Zeiss lens, loaded with Kodak 160NC (rated at ISO100) and Fuji Acros 100. Processed with a Rollei digibase C41 kit and Kodak HC110 dilution H (8.5 mins).
In front of the Bridge of Sighs.
I'm not sure where the light leak came from but I quite like it.
On the corner. (Movie trivia: the building in the background was used as the front of The Eagle pub in X-Men First Class).
Cool goggles (I'm in there).
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, acros, black&white, film, oxford, people, portraits, SL66
Saturday, May 26th, 2012
There’s a Shakespeare festival here in Oxford at the moment and a few weeks ago I was contacted by the director of a one-off performance to see if I’d like to do some photography at one of their dress rehearsals. The actual performance is on 29th May 2012 at Blackwells Bookshop on Broad Street but these images were made at Lady Margaret Hall a few days ago. Only one of the cast is in elizabethan costume and I felt she’d make for better images than the others. For the colour shots I was experimenting with some film that expired in 2005 and I quite like the results. The black & white shots were made with fresh stock. If you do go and see it please leave a comment.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66 and 80mm/2.8 Zeiss lens, loaded with Kodak 160NC (rated at ISO100) and Fuji Acros 100. Processed with a Rollei digibase C41 kit and Kodak HC110 dilution H (8.5 mins).
LMH has nice gardens.
Window light.
Bounced light from the floor.
Dramatic.
LMH gardens.
Cast group shot.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, backstage, black&white, film, hc110, oxford, people, portraits, students
Friday, May 25th, 2012
These images are from earlier today. The first two were made during my lunch break, the other two were made near the University boathouses. The summer eights rowing competition is on at the moment so I went over to the boathouses after work to photograph anyone that caught my attention but I’m sorry to say that I didn’t manage to do much photography. The buzz that was there last year seemed to be missing which I found quite disappointing.
[Tech info:] I used a sliding Polaroid back on my Mamiya RB67 to shoot two frames on each sheet of Fuji instant pack film. I really enjoy thinking of two shots that will work together and it’s a shame I can’t shoot a roll of film like this.
Tailors in Little Clarendon Street. These guys are always sharply dressed which makes them very photogenic.
Triumph on St. Giles. I was rushing to make this shot and didn't notice the Polaroid back wasn't pushed all the way to the left. I hope I get to photograph this car again.
Edd and Owen of Hacked Off Films.
BMXer 'Pipe' Williams.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait | 2 Responses »
Tags: fujiroid, oxford, pack film, people, portraits, rb67, summer 8's
Thursday, May 24th, 2012
Here are some images from the Oxford Union Ball 2012 that I photographed earlier this month. I was fortunate enough to be granted permission the day before the ball and for the first time among a really wet spell of weather we had some gorgeous evening summer light. All of these images are from my digital camera, the shots I made on film will follow as soon as I have time to scan them. I’ve processed all of the films and the shots on the negatives look great.
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 camera with 50/f1.4 lens.
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Posted in Oxford, People, students | No Responses »
Tags: ball, black&white, D700, digital, oxford, people, portraits, students
