These shots were made in the Merton College gardens while the Endeavour crew were filming series 7 recently. I took along my Widelux panoramic camera because it hasn’t been getting much use lately and I was inspired to use it after purchasing Jeff Bridges’ photo book Pictures Volume 2.
[Tech info:] Widelux camera, Kodak Portra 400 film, Noritsu scans.
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour 7 | FILM 3 in Merton College, Oxford. A cold day for the cast and crew but at least it wasn’t raining! As usual, no spoilers. More pictures to follow after UK broadcast.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 50/1.5 Voigtlander Nokton, Eastman Double X film, developed in D96. Pakon scans.
The Endeavour crew were back in town to work on FILM 2 of Endeavour series 7 and I did some behind the scenes photography. As usual you won’t find any spoilers here. More pictures will follow after UK broadcast. There was a brief passing shower in the morning and then the rest of the day stayed mainly overcast which seems to have worked nicely with the film I was using (Eastman Double X). Usually I would develop this film in Kodak D76 but I decided to splurge on the correct developer which is Kodak D96 and I’m glad I did because these are the best tones I have seen from this film considering the dull light.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 50/1.5 Voigtlander Nokton, Eastman Double X film, developed in D96, Pakon scans.
Giffords Circus came to Oxford on their 2019 tour and I went along to do some photography as I have done in previous years. It’s always nice to see familiar faces there and some new ones too. For these shots I used a Fuji 6×9 rangefinder camera which has a 90/3.5 lens that is not interchangeable. It’s a hulk of a camera but I really like the large viewfinder and the 3:2 aspect ratio of the frame compared to 6×7. The 90mm isn’t really a portrait lens so I tend to go a little wider than just head and shoulders.
[Tech info:] Fuji GW690, Fuji 400H (expired) film, Noritsu scans.
Some shots from a test roll I put through a Nikon FA which I recently bought. The first roll had some light leaks so I added light seals for the edges of the back of the camera using strips from a foam sheet I bought at Hobbycraft. Looks like it’s fixed the problem. These were all shot in aperture priority mode using matrix metering. The matrix metering mode only works in aperture priority on the FA, something I didn’t realise. I much prefer to use full manual mode.
[Tech info:] Nikon FA, 35/2.0D Nikon lens, orange filter, TMAX 100 (expired), developed in Tetanol Ultrafin developer. Pakon scans.
For the longest time I have wanted to take my 10×8 camera into town to do some large format photography and recently I finally managed to do it on a Saturday morning. Even though I only took one lens – the smallest and lightest I have that is suitable for 10×8 photography – the combined weight of the camera, tripod and film holders is more than my back can comfortably handle so I have to drag the camera around with a foldable hand cart which works really well. I took with me both Ilford Delta 100 b&w film and Fuji Velvia 100F transparency film. Below are a couple of shots made with the Delta 100, I’ve processed the Velvia and the shots turned out very nicely but I haven’t scanned them yet. The group shot of the Zappi’s Cycling Club was very impromptu – I was photographing the Sheldonian Theatre on Broad Street when I was approached by one of the cyclists about photographing them with my big camera.
[Tech info:] 10×8 field camera, Nikon 210mm f5.6 lens, Delta 100 film (expired), developed in Ilford DD-X with a Jobo processor.
Only a handful of pictures in this post because the rest of the shots on this roll contain spoilers so they will have to wait until after broadcast. This location was used after the scenes at the Oxford Union were finished. I like how Fuji Superia 200 handles colours even in bright sunlight. Too bad it’s not made anymore.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Fuji Superia 200, Noritsu scans.
Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour 7 | FILM 1 in Oxford, August, 2019. On this day the morning was spent filming inside the Oxford Union and I had used b&w film pushed to ISO 1600 due to the low light levels. After lunch I decided to load a roll of colour film because the colours inside were so rich (those shots will follow after this episode has been broadcast) and I knew the next location would be outdoors and the sun was too bright for ISO 1600.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Fuji Superia 200 film, Noritsu scans.
Filming has begun on Endeavour series 7 and I was fortunate enough to document the cast and crew at work in Oxford recently. Lots of familiar faces and some new ones too.
For this roll I rated it at ISO1600 because of the low light level indoors but when I went outdoors I knew the highlights were going to blow out so I reduced development time by 10% to reduce the contrast a little. This is something I have started to do more recently and so far I like the results.
As usual on this blog, all images will be spoiler-free until after each FILM has been broadcast.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 pushed to ISO1600, developed in XTOL stock. Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour 6 | FILM 4 in Oxford, October 2018. This is the ‘pelican man’ scene that was filmed on New College Lane on a very overcast day with a rapidly dropping light level. As usual the crew pulled it off just as the street lights started coming on.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford Delta 400 developed in DDX 1+4. Pakon scans.
Some behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour 6 | FILM 4 in Oxford, October 2018. After filming some scenes in the main quad of Teddy Hall the action moved out to New College Lane. This was late in the afternoon with rapidly fading light as I recall. The light seemed to suit the mood of the scene.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F Zeiss Planar, Ilford HP5 film.
First day of filming in Oxford of Endeavour 6 | FILM 2. This was the first episode filmed for series 6 – usually the episodes are made in chronological order. The location was one of the rooms in Exeter College which was beautifully dressed by the art department.
I sent this roll of film away to a lab for developing and unfortunately it came back with a scratch through the middle. Needless to say I haven’t used them since (thanks Ag Photo lab!).
[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Ilford HP5, Pakon scans.
