These images are from a roll of film I shot at the beginning of my Pandora’s Box photo shoot earlier in the summer. I just came across it and realised that it had never been scanned. You can see part 2 here.
[Tech info:] Mamiya M645 1000s with 80mm/f1.9 lens, loaded with Fuji Acros 100 film, processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution b).
Here are the second set of images I made at the Meadow Lane skate ramps on the last day before they were demolished to make way for a bigger and better concrete skatepark.
As of last week the ramps have been demolished and work has begun on the new design. After being tipped off about the demolition day I cycled over there after finishing work to make some shots of the demolition site but I got there a few minutes too late and the van full of builders drove past me as I cycled along Meadow Lane. Doh! There were no holes in the fence big enough to poke my lens through so unfortunately I don’t have any images of it but if you can imagine a big pile of plywood that’s what it looked like.
[Tech info:] Pentax 67, 105mm lens loaded with Fuji Acros 100 film, processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution b).
The next generation
In conversation
Onlookers
Captive audience
Original skater
Final shot
This is the second half of the first roll of film I shot at the Caucus Race on Christchurch meadow. You can see the first set of images here.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f, 105mm lens loaded with Fuji Acros 100, processed in HC110 1:31 (dilution b).
One of the Art Deco swimmers
These Art Deco swimmers were a couple of my favourite characters at this event. They stayed in character and were fantastic.
I'm not sure what character this gentleman was but I thought he looked very relaxed sitting in the shade
I remember this guy coming across as being very nervous at being photographed. I've never seen anyone blink so fast and rapidly but I got my timing just right.
One of the hype men tasked with whipping the crowds into a frenzy
The House of cards built by the crew in my first set of images. This was at the entrance.
I had another photo shoot with Helen recently and here are some of the results. We went to University Parks but used a different area to our last shoot and thanks to some nice late after summer sunshine we had everything we needed to make some nice images. This was a really relaxed shoot just like our previous one and I think that comes through in the images. I’ve had more compliments from people on my shots of Helen than any others on this blog and I look forward to collaborating more in the future.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67, 110mm and 150mm lenses, Fuji Acros 100 pushed one stop in HC110 (8 mins) dilution b.
First shot
Lounging
Near the river
Catchlights
Lotus
The sun was going down directly behind Helen so I'm amazed at how good this turned out.
Last shot
Some more images from my punting photo shoot on the river Cherwell here in Oxford. These shots were all made on film whereas the previous ones were all from Fuji instant pack film (similar to Polaroid). Part one is here. More to come from this photo shoot.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67 with 110mm and 150mm lenses on Fuji Pro 400H film, processed and scanned by me.
I love how this image turned out. One of the first frames of the photo shoot.
Looking at the setting sun.
Despite this being underexposed I like how this has turned out. Note the heavy colour shift towards green.
We kept the punt turning to vary things up. Some shots have the sun to camera right, others to the left.
A lovely bit of rim lighting and lens flare.
At the beginning of July there was a day of celebrations here in Oxford to mark the 150th anniversary of Lewis Carroll’s first telling of Alice in the place her story was originally conceived. There were lots of performers and events on Merton field in Christchurch meadow and it was lots of fun. I wanted to do as much photography as possible to record the event so I started off by making portraits of some of the crew that helped setup and build the sets.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f, 105mm lens loaded with Fuji Acros 100, processed in HC110 1:31 (dilution b).
This gentleman reminded me a little of David Bellamy. I really like his braces.
A very cheerful chap who couldn't stop smiling.
These guys were all sitting in a circle. As I moved round the light on them became harsher from the overhead sun.
This portrait turned out quite nice considering the unflattering sunlight.
I could hardly see this guy's eyes to focus on the shadows were so harsh. It turned out okay though.
This is such a timeless image apart from the camcorder in the Mad Hatter's hand.
Yesterday I had the most amazing photo shoot with a very creative and photogenic couple, Peter and Alexandra. They hired a punt and we all travelled slowly along the river Cherwell while the sun was setting. It was pretty much perfect and felt like I was in a movie. I first met Peter and Alexandra while I was photographing the Oxford Union Society summer ball back in May and I knew that I wanted to do a photo shoot with them but the idea of doing it on a punt was all Alexandra’s. This is a little taster of some of the images I made because I haven’t processed the film yet. These shots were made with Fuji instant pack film (the same as Polaroid) but for these I scanned the negative part after bleaching the black backing off. I can’t wait to see the film shots. Please note that none of these images have been retouched in any way, they are all straight scans. More to come.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67 with 110mm and 150mm lenses. Fuji FP100C instant pack film.
First frame
We are all still in the punt for this shot. The Willow was overhanging the river. Zero Photoshop effects, this is a straight scan.
Looking at the setting sun.
Leaning back.
My first time out with the hulking great Super D large format SLR. I used a 6x7cm roll film holder to test it out before using 5x4inch sheet film. The tricky thing when using a roll film holder that is a smaller format than 5x4inches is there are no guide lines in the viewfinder to show you what will be in the frame so I had to use some guess work. As you can see, I wasn’t always successful. The roll film holder already had some Ilford HP5 film loaded in when I bought it but I didn’t know how expired it was. Overall I think the images turned out nicely.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D camera with 6x7cm roll film holder loaded with Ilford HP5. Processed in Ilford DD-X (1+4 dilution).
Plugged in.
I've photographed this guy before.
These guys are a photogenic bunch. They're working in a building on St Giles.
I had a nice conversation with this gentleman about photography. My Super D caught his attention.
This man was handing out some christian leaflets. We had a great chat about film photography especially using slide film.
These images are from the second half of a roll I shot during my lunch hour photo walks a few weeks ago. The first half of the roll is here. I’ve got a bit of a backlog of images to scan and post but I’ll have more time in the coming weeks to catch up so if you haven’t seen your portrait yet don’t worry, it’s more than likely coming soon.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f and 105mm lens loaded with Fuji Acros 100 film, Processed in Rodinal 1:25.
Lock and load. There's not much some WD40 can't fix.
Coffee break on the Walton Street construction project.
This guy was a bit camera shy. I like his flat cap and rolled up jeans.
David, a fellow film photographer carrying a camera that I don't own. A real beast of a medium format.
Olympic photographer from Uruguay. He didn't speak any english but somehow I managed to communicate with him. I'm sure he was intrigued by my camera.
Scaffolding on the Walton Street construction project at the corner of Little Clarendon Street.
Some more portraits of people that use the ramps on Meadow Lane run by the Oxford Wheels Project. The current ramp is due to be knocked down in two weeks’ time to make way for a massive redevelopment of the whole site which is to build a concrete ramp that is sunken into the ground. It’s going to be amazing. I made these portraits without any prior arrangement, I just randomly turned up at the ramps with my old large format camera and explained my documentary project to this group of friends that were hanging out at the ramps. My thanks to all of them for allowing me to photograph them.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D 5×4 large format camera, Kodak Tri-X 320 film processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution b).
I set this up in a hurry with fading light and should have included his feet.
Skateboarder 2
The only BMX rider in this group.
Skateboarder 3
Skateboarder 4. I had a great conversation with this guy about photography.
The camera I used to make these portraits, a 5x4 inch large format SLR.
After months of rain we finally had a short lived spell of dry weather. These images are from the first half of a roll of film I shot recently during my lunch break. We are now back to wet/overcast weather. Is it summer yet?
I used this roll to experiment with a different developer that I usually use with this brand of film and so far I like the results. My developer of choice for Fuji Acros 100 film is Kodak HC110 but with this roll I used Rodinal at a dilution of 1+25.
[Tech info:] Mamiya C330f with 105mm lens loaded with Fuji Acros 100 film, processed in Rodinal 1+25.
This gentleman wasn't keen to be photographed but after we chatted a little about photography he seemed okay with it. I hope he agrees that it was worth stopping for.
This man called me over after he saw me photographing the building project on the corner of Walton street. We had a good chat. He's a local musician.
This girl was waiting for a friend outside Brasenose college. The friend turned up right before I made this shot. She's standing to camera right just out of frame.
High street. I like the arrows in this frame.
A Police speed trap on St Giles. I saw a few cars being pulled over for speeding. Easy money.
The building project on the corner of Walton Street and Little Clarendon Street is beginning to take shape.
This is a short post of some frames from a a lunch hour session a few weeks ago. I’ve already posted the other frames from this roll but I forgot to post these.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex SL66, 80mm Zeiss lens, with Fuji Acros 100 film processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution b).
Top: David working on his bike, middle: builders working on the Walton street site, bottom: waiting for the bus, Magdalen Street.
Top: Martin, middle and bottom: Korky Paul and Valerie Thomas book signing. They're the duo behind the Winnie the Witch series of books.
