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Tuesday, May 1st, 2012
Here’s the second instalment of images from the Lincoln College Ball 2012. A few tidbits of info – all of these images were made using the available light except for the second image down on the left for which I had to use the pop-up flash on my digital camera (which never gets much use) because the bar staff in the picture were completely backlit. The third image down on the right was made looking through a window. I’m not sure what was going on in that room but it looked like everyone was having a good time. I couldn’t get in because of the queues. The image in the bottom right hand corner was made while I was standing in pouring rain, umbrella in one hand, camera in the other. The light is coming from an outside miniature street lamp to the right.
This evening I processed some of the black & white film I shot at the ball and I’m excited to get around to scanning and posting those. So many images, so little time…
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 digital camera with Zeiss 50mm/f1.4 lens (wide open).
Even the rain couldn't dampen the spirits.
Posted in Oxford, People, students | No Responses »
Tags: ball, black&white, D700, digital, lincoln, oxford, people, portraits, students
Monday, April 30th, 2012
Last night I was fortunate enough to be given permission to photograph at the Lincoln College Ball here in Oxford (thank you Rachel Savage). Despite the cold howling wind and rain I think a good time was had by all. I enjoyed it but due to the weather there wasn’t much opportunity for outdoor photography which meant doing lots of flash photography (not my favourite) or trying to make use of what little ambient light I could find. As a photographer we work with what we have in any given situation and I enjoyed the challenge even if it was so dark that I could hardly tell whether my subjects were in focus most of the time. In the top two shots below you can see the rain dripping down from the edge of the marquee.
There was a great diversity of outfits being worn last night and I couldn’t help noticing so many photogenic people that I’d love to have the opportunity to photograph again in a less busier setting. Please get in touch if you like my photography and would like to do a test shoot with film and old cameras.
Below is a little taster of some of the images I captured during the evening. These are all from my digital camera, the film shots will follow on later once I’ve processed and scanned the film. I ended up using my digital camera more than I would have liked simply because the light levels were so low and it’s handy to see a preview when using flash. All of the images below were made without any flash, I searched for the places with the best ambient light and waited for willing subjects. More to come.
[Tech info:] Nikon D700 with Zeiss 50mm/f1.4 lens (used wide open).
A fun time was had by all.
Posted in Oxford, People, students | No Responses »
Tags: ball, black&white, D700, digital, lincoln, oxford, people, students
Sunday, April 1st, 2012
Here’s another batch of images from the Balliol college ball that I attended a few weeks ago. The images are very grainy due to the expired film I was using. I’m not sure of the expiry date of this film, it came in a batch of different films that I bought as a job lot. Despite the grain I like how these images have turned out, they capture the mood of the evening which was people having fun.
Some exciting news related to my Balliol ball photography is that a couple I photographed that evening liked my photography so much that they’ve booked me to photograph their wedding next year and I’m going to be doing it on film! It’s not obvious from this blog but I do photograph weddings as well as doing other photographic commissions and I’m really glad they emailed me to enquire about it. Here’s a little extract from the lovely email I received “…have been looking at the websites of wedding photographers around Oxford, and we haven’t found a single one whose work we like as much as the photographs on your blog.”
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f camera and 80mm lens on expired Ilford Delta 3200 film, processed in Kodak HC110 dilution B (1:31).
Backlit in the live music marquee
Hai Lin and friend
Outside the live acts marquee
I really like the moment I've captured here, especially with the guy laughing next to the very serious guy next to him
Outisde the live acts marquee
I asked these girls to follow me all the way to the side entrance of the college just so we could use the light in the archway. It worked out well.
Posted in film, Oxford, People | No Responses »
Tags: ball, balliol, black&white, c330, hc110, oxford, people, portraits, students
Wednesday, March 28th, 2012
It’s been while since I posted some lunch hour street photography so I apologise if you’ve been needing your fix. There’s no shortage of it to post (as I’m out with a camera just about every weekday if it’s not raining) it’s just that I wanted to get the bulk of my Balliol College Ball photography posted. Speaking of College Balls, I’m going to try to obtain permission to photograph some more this summer so fingers crossed on that. If you know anyone that can authorise permission please send them a link to this blog and ask them to contact me. Thanks.
All of the images here are from the same roll of expired Tri-X. I don’t know how expired it was because there was no wrapper on it but judging from the base fog of the film I’d say it’s over 10 years out of date.
[Tech info:] Expired Kodak Tri-X film loaded in a Mamiya C330f with 80mm lens. The film was rated at ISO 200 and processed in Kodak HC110 dilution b.
This guy was visiting Oxford for the day. We had a pleasant conversation about photography, film and digital. He had travelled from Ohio.
This scout was visiting from British Columbia, Canada.
Creative graffiti on a red telephone box on St Giles.
Construction work going on inside the Bodleian Library. The openings on the right will be the new entrances.
This bike was all chrome.
A shady spot underneath the scaffolding on Walton Street
This seat has had a lot of use. The bike it's on is nice and old but it's had a recent paint job which is a bit of a shame
It's a bit of a shame I didn't have colour film in the camera because the colour scheme of this guy's outfit was pretty cool. I like the shadows cast by the sun.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits, Street style | No Responses »
Tags: black&white, c330, hc110, oxford, people, portraits, street style, students, Tri-X
Sunday, March 11th, 2012
These images were all made with a 35mm camera – my first SLR that I bought back in 1987 and it’s still going strong. I really enjoyed using it for these available light shots because it’s smaller and lighter compared to using medium format.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2 with 35/f2.0 lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X film rated at ISO 1600, processed in Kodak HC110 dilution b (1:31) for 17mins.
On the dance floor in the live acts' marquee. Notice the band on stage in the background
I think these guys really wanted to be photographed because they wouldn't move from in front of my camera
Immediately to my right was a spotlight that gave a very film noir look to anyone that stood in the light beam
Enjoying the music
After the band had finished
Eye contact
Group shot
Posted in film, Oxford, People | 1 Response »
Tags: black&white, fm2, hc110, oxford, people, portraits, students, Tri-X
Thursday, March 1st, 2012
The majority of my photography last Sunday during the Oxford V Cambridge Varsity competition was done during the Powerlifting. I started off by doing portraits of some of the competitors (which I will post soon) in the warm up area. Right next door was where the actual lifting was taking place. It was a great atmosphere with clouds of chalk dust everywhere and black walls which reminded me of black boards from school. The light level was low for photography (too low I thought) but the quality of the light looked really nice and I thought it was worth giving it a shot.
For these shots I used a roll of Kodak Tri-X that I rated at ISO 1600. I thought the light level was so low that I didn’t bother with taking a light reading. I simply set the shutter speed to the lowest I thought I could hand hold steady (1/60) and kept the lens wide open (f4.5). If I had known that the images were going to turn out this well I would have shot a lot more.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67 and 50mm lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X rated at ISO 1600. Processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution b, 1:31) for 17mins at 20C.
It's a shame I cut this guy's feet off but I was standing directly behind and over the judge so I couldn't get a better angle.
With all of the health and safety rules and regulations these days it's amazing that this guy doesn't have to wear steel toe protectors!
Taking the strain.
Bench pressing.
Posted in film, Oxford, People | No Responses »
Tags: black&white, hc110, oxford, people, RZ67, students, Tri-X
Sunday, February 19th, 2012
It feels like ages since I did any street portraits so getting back into it this week has given me a real buzz. The weather in January was really bad so I didn’t get many opportunities to do much street photography. The shots here are all from the same roll of film shot during the past two days which makes them the fastest turned around images (from my camera to this blog) so far. The film I used is one of my favourites (Fuji Acros 100) but for this roll I decided to test out a developer that I haven’t used with this film before (Kodak HC110). I was a bit nervous because I had shots that I was very excited about and didn’t want to lose but nothing ventured nothing gained as they say. I’m pleased to say that it all worked out well and I’m very happy with this film/developer combo.
[Tech info:] Mamiya M645 and 80mm/f1.9 lens loaded with Fuji Acros 100 film. Processed in Kodak HC110 dilution B for 5mins at 20c.
I love the outfits this couple are wearing (I think they're a couple) and I hope I get to photograph them again.
- I photographed this smartly dressed gentleman last summer on Cornmarket Street and when I saw him walking towards me on Turl Street I had to photograph him again.
One of the security guards where I work.
There's something very classic about the way this gentleman is dressed with his wax cotton coat and scarf. As he came walking towards me I had the feeling that he wouldn't want to be photographed but I was happy to be wrong.
On the steps of the Clarendon Building. The first time I passed this guy he was eating some lunch so I decided not to interrupt him. By the time I'd done a circuit of my usual haunts he had finished. Funnily enough someone else had asked to photograph him the other day.
These builders are working on the Walton Street site at the corner of Little Clarendon Street. When i approached them they didn't want to be photographed but after I explained my street photography project they were happy to. I think there's something about using a film camera that shows people you're serious about photography in a way that digital cameras don't.
I think this camera is a Leica. All of the logo's have been covered in black tape. It reminds me of what I did with my first Nikon SLR to prevent it from attracting attention.
Posted in film, Oxford, Street portraits, Street style | 1 Response »
Tags: 645, acros, black&white, oxford, people, portraits, street style, students
Sunday, December 11th, 2011
The weather hasn’t been particularly great for photography recently. These shots are from a couple of weeks ago. A lot of the University students have packed up and are away for the Christmas holidays so the streets I usually photograph on in town are noticeably quieter. This might mean less photography for me but in some ways that’s not a bad thing because I still have a huge backlog of film to scan from earlier in the summer. If you’re one of the people that I photographed and you’ve been visiting this blog to see your picture I apologise for the delay. There have been some unfortunate accidents that happened where I lost some images (either by the film running out in my camera without me realising it or a mistake I made in the darkroom where I ended up with two completely blank rolls of film) but fortunately that only happened on a few occasions.
It would be nice to see some comments so please feel free to leave one. I’d especially like to hear from people that feature in my pictures. Thanks.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f with Kodak Portra 400 film.
Marco, Broad street. A really pleasant guy that I enjoyed speaking about photography with.
I really liked this students' outfit and ended up chasing after her. I'm amazed at how well this has turned out considering the lack of light, I could hardly focus it was so dark.
Maria. This was shot in colour but I prefer this black & white version. Again, it was very dark and cold on this day but film renders everything so nicely.
Tourists eating lunch on the Martyr's memorial.
Some of the demolition crew that are working on the shops along Walton Street. This is the corner of Walton Street and Little Clarendon Street. Notice one of the guys is hiding.
Posted in film, Oxford, Street portraits, Street style | 3 Responses »
Tags: oxford, people, Portra, street style, students
Sunday, August 28th, 2011
Regular visitors to this blog will have noticed a huge difference in the design and layout. This is because I received so many comments about how difficult the old design was to navigate.
Here are the first images from a new lens (110mm/2.8) I got for my Mamiya RZ67.
Celebrating the end of exams
I'm always attracted to cool looking sunglasses. You can see me on the left.
Fellow photographer and work colleague, Martin. He used to be the lead singer and guitarist in one of Oxford's biggest bands in the 80's, TARGA. Not a lot of people know that.
Ice-cream seller, Radcliffe square.
Artist
Street style, Broad street, Oxford.
Posted in Oxford, Street portraits | 3 Responses »
Tags: black&white, oxford, people, portraits, RZ67, students
Thursday, August 11th, 2011
Here are some images from the colour films that I shot during Summer VIII’s 2011. The delay in posting these was because of the expense of posting one or two rolls away for developing. It’s much more economical to send off a batch of film but as I mostly use b&w film it’s taken me a while to use up enough rolls of colour for a batch.
In the coming weeks I intend to start developing my own colour film so look forward to seeing some of my results. I have the chemicals ready, I just need some spare time. More colour images from Summer VIII’s coming soon.
[Tech info:] Camera: Pentax 67, film: Kodak Ektar 100.
Cheer leader practice. Between two of the college boathouses I noticed this group of cheer leaders practicing. It looked quite bizarre with all of the rowing going on behind me.
Curiouser and curiouser
Spectators
Another film photographer. I had an enjoyable chat about film photography with this photographer. The camera was in mint condition and had belonged to his mother. I still own and use the previous model that I bought in 1992.
Cup cakes for sale.
Posted in Oxford | No Responses »
Tags: oxford, pentax, people, rowing, students, summer 8's
Thursday, June 9th, 2011
This is the first of a multi-part series of images from the Summer 8’s Oxford University rowing competition. I always look forward to this every year because of the mix of different people you find along the river. I especially like to see the different generations where grandparents and parents come along to show support for the young blood.
The ones that got away
One of my film cameras has developed a fault with the winding on of film and unfortunately it’s the camera I used the most during the Summer 8’s competition. The fault meant that I didn’t know when the film roll had finished so there are a lot of shots that I thought I was getting on film when in fact there was no film in the back of the camera. Argh! To make matters worse I tried to tell everyone that I photographed about this blog so there will be quite a number of people visiting who’s portrait have been lost. I’m really sorry about this and no one is more disappointed that I am. The camera in question is still being repaired so hopefully this won’t ever happen again.
Make sure you wait for the rest of this series because it’s possible that your portrait might be included in a future post.
[Tech info]: Pentax 6×7, Fomapan 100 and 400 film rated at ISO 80 and 200 respectively. Developed in ID11 (stock), 10secs agitation every minute.
Rowing boats in boat house
Oxford university students
Red carnation for luck?
Rowing crew celebrating with a group photo
Photographer using a Leica 35mm film camera
Photographer using a Nikon F3 film camera
Obey
Posted in Oxford, Street portraits | 2 Responses »
Tags: pentax, people, portraits, students
Monday, June 6th, 2011
Here’s a set of images made on the same roll of film during one of my lunch hours. I’ve been experiencing some problems with the wind on in my Pentax 6×7 medium format camera which has meant that the frame counter tells me I have a few shots left to use when in fact the film has run out. This has meant that I’ve lost images that I thought I had made so if you’re one of the people that I photographed and told to visit this blog I’m very sorry that your image didn’t come out. No one is more disappointed than I am about it especially as I had the camera serviced at the end of April. I’m going to post it back to the repair company tomorrow morning to have it looked at.
Last week was the Summer Eights rowing competition here in Oxford and I have lots of rolls of film still to develop from that but unfortunately I lost quite a few great shots during that time as well. I won’t know the full extent of the loss until I’ve developed all of the film so stay tuned.
[Tech info]: Pentax 6×7, 135mm.
Frills and platforms (Catte street)
The rugged look (Broad street)
Leather bags in shop window (Ship street)
Annabelinda shop front
Posted in Oxford, Street portraits, Street style | No Responses »
Tags: pentax, people, street style, students
