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Oxford: Lewis filming – series 8

Monday, April 28th, 2014

The Lewis crew were back in Oxford a few weeks ago filming series 8 of the popular tv show and here are some behind the scenes shots of some of the crew, starting with the producer Chris Burt who was nice enough to stop for a quick portrait despite having a bit of a cold that day. As with Endeavour this crew are a nice bunch who are always interesting to chat to.One of the most impressive transformations of a location I’ve seen was the University offices building that was transformed into Oxford Police Station for a scene outside. It really looked the part with very convincing looking signage outside that had some of the locals turning their heads as they walked past.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, Zeiss Planar, loaded with Fuji Pro 400H film (expired), processed by Ag Photo lab.

lewis filming

lewis filming

Oxford: Testament of Youth – part 2

Sunday, April 20th, 2014

Behind the scenes photography during filming of the movie Testament of Youth that took place in Radcliffe Square, Oxford on 9th April 2014. In the first shot the Director of Photography for the movie is on the left. The movie is based on the memoirs of Vera Brittain and the lead role is played by Alicia Vikander who can be seen in a few of the shots below. Security was quite tight so there wasn’t a lot of opportunity to vary my position for photography and my Rolleiflex TLR has a fixed 80mm lens so that was another limiting factor but I’m pleased with how these shots turned out, all from the same roll of 12 frames.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, 80/2.8 Zeiss Planar, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 (expired), processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.

Oxford: Lunchtime Fujiroids of the Oxford Tailor’s

Wednesday, April 16th, 2014

Despite the harsh lunch time sun today I managed to find somewhere with some nice light to make these portraits of Hugo and Jason, Oxford Tailor’s from Clements & Church. These guys are always dressed up looking smart and ready for a portrait.

[Tech info:] Polaroid 110B, Fuji FP-100C instant pack film.

Oxford: Expired FP4 film test

Tuesday, April 15th, 2014

Some test shots from a roll of Ilford FP4+ that expired 20 years ago (1994). I picked up a box of this film as part of a mixed lot of expired rolls and I’ve been waiting for some sunny weather to test it out. Spring seems to have finally sprung so this is the first test roll that I used on my lunch break photo walk around town in very sunny and contrasty light. The contrast of this film seems to have gone way down which is perfect for using on a very sunny day. I bumped up the contrast in post by an unusually high amount to achieve the results below. Overall I’m very surprised and pleased with the results.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66, 80/2.8 Zeiss Planar, loaded with Ilford FP4 (expired 1994), rated at ISO 100, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 12mins.

Oxford: Testament of Youth – part 1

Monday, April 14th, 2014

Last week a movie crew were in town filming a period drama called Testament of Youth which is based on the memoirs of Vera Brittain. It was wonderful to see a large scale production crew transform parts of Oxford to how it would have looked 100 years ago with the use of various props, old cars, horses, carriages, people dressed in period costumes and lots of grit to cover modern day tarmac and double yellow lines. There was a lot of interest from  tourists and locals so there was plenty of security on hand to keep things under control with the use of barriers which made it difficult to move around for photography. While most people concentrated on photographing the main actors, I’m always drawn to photographing the crew, the unsung heroes who are usually the first ones to arrive on set in the morning and the last ones to leave at the end of the day.

Below you’ll find pictures of one of the lighting trucks, a 20K fresnel light waiting to be deployed, the Gaffer (Julian) with his ND filters at the ready, the lighting crew during their lunch break in the sun, Security guards (Neil and Duncan), stills photographer (Laurie) and old bicycles used as props in Radcliffe Square. It was very nice chatting with some of the crew members especially Julian and Laurie who have previously worked on some great projects.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66, 80/2.8 Zeiss Planar, loaded with Ilford FP4 (expired 1994), rated at ISO 100, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 12mins.

testament of youth

Oxford: Exam celebrations

Thursday, April 3rd, 2014

This is how some students celebrate the end of their exams, Oxford style (aka trashing). After weeks of not coming across anyone in my lunch hour I finally managed to bump into quite a few students on the same day. These shots are from last summer but I didn’t want to post them too soon because I didn’t want anyone to get into trouble for it. I think almost a year after the fact is probably fairly safe.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66, 80/2.8 Zeiss Planar, loaded with Kodak Portra 160VC (expired), processed by Ag Photo lab, scanned by me.

Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity 2014 – Fencing

Thursday, March 13th, 2014

Last weekend was packed with sporting events for the Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity 2014 competition and on Saturday morning I attended the Fencing which was held at the Examination Schools on the High Street. It was a grand venue for a sporting event and I really enjoyed seeing some of the action. Although I went prepared with a small lighting kit I decided to make use of the daylight coming in through the windows. These portraits were all made during the competition which is why there aren’t very many. This is the contents of an entire roll of film, all 10 frames. I did also photograph some of the action but those shots will follow at a later time.

[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67, 110/2.8 lens, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 (expired), processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution b).

fencing

fencing

Oxford: Filippa portraits

Thursday, February 27th, 2014

These portraits of Filippa were made last June (2013) but they got a little lost in my mountain of negatives  so I’ve only just scanned them. All from the same roll of 10 frames with not a duff shot between them. Less is more. Zero retouching on these. Filippa was extremely easy to work with and it was a very relaxed shoot as I recall in tricky lighting which was rather flat. I think it worked out well in the end and I really like how these turned out. I hope I get to shoot with Filippa again, perhaps with large format next time.

[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67, 110mm and 180mm lenses. Kodak Tri-X 400 (expired) film. Processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.

filippa

 

Oxford: Endeavour filming – series 2, episode 3

Sunday, February 23rd, 2014

These shots are from November 2013 when there was some filming going on for Endeavour series 2 episode 3. Hopefully it won’t be too long until the second series is broadcast, I’ve got a feeling it’s likely to be around April but I have no concrete information to go on. The scenes I saw being filmed were in King Edward Street and Catte Street, both day and very atmospheric night scenes with plenty of fog. During the filming of the scene with the red bus in Catte Street it was a pleasant surprise to see Colin Dexter arrive for his cameo appearance. He’s sitting next to the window on the lower deck. I’ve really enjoyed it when the Endeavour crew have rolled into town and not only am I excited to see series 2 when it’s broadcast but I look forward to hopefully seeing series 3 being filmed.

[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 50/1.4D, loaded with Kodak Hawkeye film, dev and scan at ASDA, Swindon. My thanks to Simon for superb service.

endeavour filming

endeavour filming in oxford

Oxford: lunch time session

Monday, February 3rd, 2014

Recently I’ve been using my Rolleiflex 2.8f quite a lot and I’m really enjoying it. These images are all from the same roll of film, shot during my lunch time photo walk around Oxford city centre.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8f, 80mm Zeiss planar lens, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 (expired), processed in Kodak HC110 1+31.

oxford

TEDx Oxford 2014

Friday, January 31st, 2014

Last Saturday I did some backstage photography during TEDx Oxford 2014 which was held at the New Theatre on George Street. I have fond memories of going to the New Theatre as a child and once even saw a double bill screening of The Spy Loved Me and Revenge of the Pink Panther there. A large white safety screen was hung over the stage and the movies were projected onto that. So, I was excited to be backstage and get a glimpse behind the curtain.

I did do some photography of the speakers from the wings but for me I most important thing was to photograph the worker bees that were making the event happen because without them there wouldn’t be much of a conference. These shots are all from the same roll of medium format film, made in available light.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8f, 80mm Zeiss Planar lens, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 (expired), rated at ISO 800, processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 9 mins.

TEDx Oxford 2014

Oxford: Endeavour series 2 filming

Wednesday, January 29th, 2014

The Endeavour crew were here in Oxford last weekend to film parts of series II episode IV which will be the final episode of the second series. They were only here for two days which is a lot less than the previous three episodes. The weather was cold and very wet at times which limited the amount of photography I was able to do. Here are some shots from a night scene that was filmed on Turl Street.

[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8f, 80mm Zeiss planar lens, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400 (expired), processed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 9 mins.

Endeavour filming, oxford