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Oxford: Matriculation, 2017 – part 1

Tuesday, October 24th, 2017

The start of a new academic year at Oxford University involves a matriculation ceremony for the new students at the Sheldonian theatre and it’s one of my favourite things to photograph on the streets of Oxford. Thousands of students dressed in their black and white subfusc filling the streets is quite a sight. Here are some pictures from this year. The sky was very heavily overcast so I had to push my film one stop for a speed boost and I decided to use a little fill-flash for some shots because the black fabric soaks up light.

[Tech info:] Nikon F100, 17-35/2.8, Eastman Double X film @ ISO 500, developed in D76 stock. Pakon scans.

 

Oxford: On the way to the ball

Monday, July 24th, 2017

During the summer ball season here in Oxford you will find that Radcliffe Square is a popular place for students to visit for group pictures before they carry on to the college where their ball is being held. On this particular evening last June there were quite a few summer balls being held so Radcliffe Square was fairly busy with activity. I had been waiting for an opportunity to try out some Kodak Portra 800 film that I bought a while ago and this was the perfect occasion with low light levels but not too low.

[Tech info:] Pentax 6×7, 105/2.4 lens, Kodak Portra 800 film developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit.

 

Oxford: Town v Gown Boxing, 2017 – part 1

Tuesday, February 14th, 2017

Lots of images to share in this post. All from the same roll of film shot at the Town v Gown 2017 boxing event which was held in the debating chamber at the Oxford Union Society. As in previous years I tried to document both the behind-the-scenes goings on as well as some of the actual boxing in the ring which wasn’t easy because of the distance between the two buildings where both of these things were happening. I wanted to travel light so I only took two lenses with me for my Leica M2 – a 40/1.4 and a 50/1.5 but I ended up using the 40/1.4 for the whole evening.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 40/1.4, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 3200, developed in HC110 1+31. Pakon scans.

Oxford: Summer Eights, 2015 – part 1

Thursday, May 5th, 2016

It’s a few weeks to go until Summer Eights 2016 and I’ve just realised that I didn’t seem to post any shots from 2015 so here’s the start of some. I remember the weather on the final day was sunny and hot but the number of spectators seemed to be a little down on the previous year. More to come.

[Tech info:] Pentax 645N, 105/2.4 lens with 67-645 adapter, Fuji Reala 100 (expired) film.

Oxford Union: Mary Berry Q&A – part 2

Tuesday, March 29th, 2016

These shots from the Mary Berry Q&A session at the Oxford Union were made on a different roll of film from the previous set and I wanted to post these as a comparison. The previous set were made with Ilford HP5 and these were made with Ilford Delta 400, both were pushed two stops to ISO1600. After the Q&A there was a book signing session where the light level was extremely low but the Delta film handled it very well thanks to my fast Voigtlander lenses.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 35/1.2 and 50/1.5 lenses, Ilford Delta 400 at ISO1600, developed in Ilford DD-X. Pakon scans.

 

Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Boxing 2016 – part 1

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2016

The Oxford vs Cambridge Varsity Boxing 2016 event was held at the town hall in Oxford and I was invited along to do some photography to document the occasion. I had previously photographed this event in 2014 and it was nice to be back. It was also nice to see some familiar faces from previous alumni who had come along for support. The overall score was 52 – 52 so tension was high and I’m pleased to say that Oxford won to bring the trophy back home for another year. More pictures to come.

[Tech info:] Nikon F100, 17-35/2.8, Ilford Delta 400 @ ISO3200, developed in Ilford DD-X 1+4, pakon scans.

Oxford Union: Mark Hamill Q&A

Monday, March 7th, 2016

Mark Hamill came to the Oxford Union last week for a Q&A session and I was fortunate to have permission to do some photography (thanks Stuart). Not only is Mark extremely funny but he’s also very talented at doing different voices and impersonations of people as he shared stories and anecdotes that only he can tell. The hour went by far too quickly but I’m sure this is a talk that everyone present in the room will remember for a long, long time to come. Video from the event can be viewed on the Oxford Union YouTube channel here.

I shot one roll of medium format film in my Rolleiflex 2.8F TLR but haven’t scanned those yet.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 and 35/1.2 Nokton lenses. Ilford HP5 @ ISO 1600. Developed in HC110 1+31 for 11mins 45secs.

Oxford: Town vs Gown Boxing, 2016 – part 3

Tuesday, February 9th, 2016

This is the third instalment of my photography from the Oxford Town vs Gown Boxing event at the Oxford Union last week. 

[Tech info]: Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Kodak TMAX 400 @ ISO1600, developing in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 8mins. Pakon scans.

Oxford: Town vs Gown Boxing, 2016 – part 1

Saturday, February 6th, 2016

The Oxford University Boxing Club invited me to photograph this years’ Town v Gown Boxing event at the Oxford Union because they really liked my pictures from the previous two years and I was very happy to go along. It was nice to see some familiar faces and new ones too. I tried to mix things up with photographing some action in the ring along with behind the scenes shots but the lighting on the ring was too harsh to record it well. More to come.

[Tech info]: Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Kodak TMAX 400 @ ISO1600, developing in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 8mins. Pakon scans.

Oxford: finals exam celebrations, 2015 – part 1

Sunday, December 6th, 2015

One of my favourite things to photograph at the beginning of summer is when Oxford University students celebrate the end of their exams which is also known as trashing. I love the riot of colour and carnival atmosphere of pure celebration and relief all mixed together. I’ve got quite a backlog of pictures to post going back to last year. Here are some pictures from this year with lots more to come.

[Tech info:] Nikon F100, 85/1.8D, Fuji Press 400 film (expired), Rollei Digibase C41 kit, Pakon scans.

Oxford: Torpids 2015 – part 2

Monday, August 17th, 2015

If you want to see how beautiful Kodak Vision 3 motion picture film can look when used in a still camera look no further. The film stock I used for these shots was 50D and it’s the same stock that was used to shoot Star Wars Episode VII – I purchased some surplus stock left over from the production. This film loves sunlight and does a superb job at retaining detail in both shadow and highlights in contrasty light when exposed properly. I developed this film myself and removed the dreaded remjet layer by using only hot water and a sponge.

[Tech info:] Minolta Hi-Matic 7, Kodak Vision 3 50D film, developed in Rollei Digibase C41 kit, Pakon scan.

Oxford: Magdalen College Ball, 2015 – part 1

Tuesday, July 7th, 2015

The only summer ball I had time to photograph this year was at Magdalen College and here are some images from the evening. Ambient light was quite scarce around the college grounds so I had limited options of where I could photograph after dark. For the first time I decided not to use a flash and I’m glad about my decision because it forced me to make pictures I probably wouldn’t have made otherwise. Trying to decide which cameras to take was difficult but in the end I opted for my Leica M2 because of the ease of focussing with the rangefinder in low light and the quality of the lenses. More images to come in a follow up post.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Ilford HP5, ISO 1600, developed in Kodak D76 stock, Pakon scans.