Here’s a quick large format portrait from last weekend when I was testing a 210mm f4.5 Docter Wetzlar lens. Thanks goes to these guys who were very obliging. I believe this was at f6.8.
[Tech info:] Chamonix 5×4, 210mm f4.5 Docter Wetzlar lens, Ilford FP4 film, ISO 80 (expired but stored frozen), developed in Promicrol 1+9 5 mins.
Graduation day, end of September. I was channeling some Diane Arbus with my C330f and fill-flash on a sunny day – a combo I haven’t tried before. The flash was a small Rollei model without any power setting. I think it worked quite well overall. The low perspective is from using a waist level finder – not an obvious choice with a wide-angle lens when photographing people but it helped to include some architecture in the background.
Some pictures from Oxford Matriculation this year, the first time this event has taken place in-person since 2019. Fortunately it didn’t rain. Students from Jesus college were a particularly lively bunch this year, I enjoyed photographing them. This is always a tricky event to photograph due to all the black and white fabric – you’d be hard pressed to find a higher contrast situation. Add backlighting to the mix and all bets are off for a nice tonal range. This year I took a variety of cameras with me, more to follow.
[Tech info:] KIEV 60, Arsat 30mm f3.5 fish-eye lens, mix of films (FP4 and Delta 100 pushed 1 stop).
The annual Oxford Town vs Gown boxing event was held at the Oxford Union at the end of January and I went along to document it with my camera. The lighting was far from ideal with lots of hot spots and dark shadows from the spot lights in the corners of the ring so I used the situation to experiment a little. The majority of these shots were made with a slow shutter speed to record some blur as the boxers moved around at great speed. More to come.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Eastman Double X, ISO 250, developed in D76 1+1. Pakon scans.
It’s been a while since I posted any pictures of post finals exam celebrations (aka trashing) so here are some shots from a couple of weeks ago. This was the day that I noticed the photographer that supplies pictures to the Daily Fail and other so-called newspapers so that they can attach them to an article that tries to put Oxford University students in a negative light. It’s been the same old thing for the past 5 or 6 years. It must have been a slow news day at the Daily Fail offices.
[Tech info:] Nikon F90X, 24/2.8, Fuji Superia 200 film, developed and scanned by FilmDev.co.uk
The final day of Summer Eights is always a favourite event of mine to photograph during the summer. Here are some shots I made with a Russian panoramic camera. Each frame is approximately 1.5 times the width of a regular 35mm frame and the camera has a built in spirit level that you can see through the viewfinder to help you keep the camera level when required. It’s fun to use and I like the results especially at an event where there is so much going on around you.
[Tech info:] Zenit Horizon S3 Sport, Fuji Superia 200 film, dev and scan by fimdev.co.uk
Glenn Close visited the Oxford Union for a Q&A event and here are some of the pictures I made to document what was a fascinating, funny and quite moving talk. The video from the event isn’t on the Oxford Union YouTube page yet but hopefully soon. I highly recommend it. My go to film for Oxford Union events is usually Ilford HP5 but on this occasion I decided to give Delta 400 a try and I do like the results. It feels like there is slightly less grain and a tad more shadow detail than HP5 but I need to do a more controlled comparison to really tell. In any case I’m very pleased with these results.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford Delta 400 @ ISO 1600, developed in Ilford DDX 1+4. Pakon scans.
Here are some of my pictures from the Town vs Gown 2018 boxing event which was held at the Oxford Union. These shots are from the final bout when I decided to try out a film I don’t usually use very often – Ilford Delta 400. I pushed this roll to ISO 1600 because the light levels were low and I’m pleased with the results.
[Tech info:] Nikon F80, Nikkor 24/2.8 lens, Ilford Delta 400 @ ISO 1600, developed in Ilford DDX 1+4. Pakon scans.
For the past four years I have photographed the Town vs Gown boxing event at the Oxford Union and this year I decided to experiment a little with my photography and try some ideas out that I’ve been thinking about recently – multiple exposure and using slow shutter speeds to record movement. Recently I bought a Nikon F80 camera body which has a multiple exposure mode on it which makes it very easy to layer exposures on a single frame so this was a perfect opportunity to use it. The film I used for these shots expired in 1991 which has reduced the contrast somewhat in very contrasty light conditions. I didn’t make any notes on which shutter speeds I used but I think I was between 1/30 and 1/90 for most of these. This roll of film was rated at ISO 400 but developed for the ISO 800 time to account for the age of the film. Overall I’m pleased with how these turned out.
[Tech info:] Nikon F80, 24/2.8, TMAX 400 (expired 1991), developed for ISO 800 time in Kodak XTOL 1+1.
Whenever I photograph Q&A events at the Oxford Union I try to use both 35mm and medium format film cameras for a bit of variety. These shots were made with my Rolleiflex TLR during Baz Luhrmann’s visit to the Oxford Union. I had the opportunity to make a quick portrait of Baz before the start of the event and quickly positioned him next to a floor standing lamp that was in the Gladstone room where the drinks reception had taken place. I only had time to shoot one frame but sometimes that’s all you need.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F Zeiss Planar, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak HC110 1+15.
Monica Lewinsky visited the Oxford Union to speak about harassment and bullying especially online via social media and I went along to do some documentary photography. It turned out to be a difficult event to photograph because Monica was uncomfortable with cameras of any sort so I did what I could to be respectful and discreet. As a result I ended up with less than a full roll of 35mm shots and nothing from my Rolleiflex but I’m pleased with what I did manage to record. There were no video cameras present.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600, developed in Kodak XTOL stock. Pakon scans.
Legendary guitarist and Led Zeppelin founder Jimmy Page came to the Oxford Union for a Q&A event and I went along to do some documentary photography. I must admit to not knowing very much at all about Jimmy Page but it was very interesting to hear him speak about his music career and how he started by teaching himself to play the guitar. It was obvious how passionate he is about music and how being in a band with equally passionate and talented musicians was a perfect recipe for creating so many rock anthems. This Q&A event was video recorded so keep an eye on the Oxford Union YouTube page, I highly recommend it.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 40/1.4 Voigtlander Nokton, Ilford HP5 at ISO 1600, developed in Kodak HC110 1+15 for the 3200 development time, Pakon scans.
