Test shots from my Ensign Reflex camera which unfortunately have failed because of the cheap reading glasses I was using to focus the dim image on the ground glass in the waist level finder. All the shots are out of focus to varying degrees and I can only apologies to the nice people I photographed. It was a fun session so not a complete loss.
[Tech info:] Ensign Reflex, Aero Ektar 7 inch lens, 6×9 roll film holder, Ilford HP5 (expired), developed in Promicrol 1+14.
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.
Here is my first portrait on dry glass plate. I found a box of old Ilford FP4 glass dry plates at home and have no idea when I bought them. The box doesn’t have an expiry date on it. As luck would have it they’re the correct size (2.5 x 3.5 inches) to fit the Mamiya Press plate holders I’ve got but so far have been unable to make use of. This portrait of another fellow photographer during his visit to Oxford was made last weekend in Radcliffe Square. I don’t know him but I enjoyed chatting about photography with him as I set up the shot. I’m very pleased with this result (it has a vintage feel to it) and look forward to making more portraits with the remaining glass plates. The emulsion is very fragile when wet and you can see it lifted along the right hand side.
[Tech info:] Mamiya Press Super 23, 100/2.8 lens (at f4), FP4 glass dry plate exposed at ISO 10, developed in Rodinal 1+25. (Thanks to Nicholas Middleton for his inspiration and blog posts full of info about using old glass plates).
Some shots from yesterday when I was testing a Schneider Xenotar lens I recently picked up. Very overcast flat light but the results are OK.
[Tech info:] Chamonix 45F2, 135/3.5 Xenotar lens (yellow filter apart from the portrait), Fomapan 100 @ ISO 64, developed in ID-11 1+1 for 10m 30s.
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.
A few portraits made by the river to test a lens I’ve had for a while. Aperture used for these was f8-f8.5.
[Tech info:] Chamonix 45F2, 10 inch f6.3 Kodak Commercial Ektar lens, yellow filter, Fomapan 200 film @ ISO 100, developed in Adox XT-3 stock for 6 mins.
There was some flooding in Hinksey back in January and here are a few pictures from that time which I made during my lunch break. I had spotted the gravel mounds the previous week and was waiting for appropriate light and a dramatic sky to photograph them in.
[Tech info:] Pentax 645NII, 45-85mm lens, Ilford HP5 developed in Kodak HC110 1+31.
Some misty morning shots from April this year. I have photographed this location with various different cameras but this was the first time with a wider format. I feel 6×12 worked perfectly for these shots.
[Tech info]: Wista 5×4, 90mm Schneider lens, Ilford FP4+ developed in Adox XT-3 stock.
Recently I came across an interesting lens I was curious to try out – a Leitz 125mm f2.5 modified for use on a Rolleiflex SL66. The lens was originally designed for use on a 35mm format system but amazingly it covers 6×6 without any issues. The previous owner carried out the modification and it’s very nicely done. Here are the first test shots from a photowalk with a photographer mate of mine.
[Tech info]: Rolleiflex SL66, 125mm f2.5 Leitz lens, shots 1-3 Ilford FP4, the rest are Ilford HP5, developed in Adox XT-3 stock.
We’ve had some unusually warm weather for mid September recently so I decided to make the most of the evenings after work this week and took a 10×8 camera out along the tow path to make some portraits. It’s been quite a while since I’ve taken a 10×8 camera out, mainly because of the weight, but this time it was a lot easier because I used a trolley to transport my gear. It worked extremely well and I look forward to making more trips out when the weather is suitable. Thank you to everyone who stopped for a chat and a portrait.
[Tech info]: Shots 1-4 Kodak Commercial 10×8, 10inch Wide Field Ektar lens. Shots 5 & 6 Intrepid 10×8, 240mm Schneider lens. Shanghai GP3 100 (expired 2014), rated ISO 50, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 8 mins.
Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour 7 | FILM 3 in Oxford, October 2019. These pictures are long overdue and I apologise to the SA’s in these pictures who have been waiting patiently to see them, especially the man holding the newspaper who I frequently saw on subsequent series of Endeavour and every time I would promise the pictures would be posted. I got there in the end!
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, TMAX 400 @ ISO 800, developed in TMAX developer 1+4.
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour 9 | FILM 1 in Oxford, May 2022. I used a few different rolls of film through my Rolleiflex at this location because there were quite a few different setups which gave me enough time without too much of a rush.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, Kodak Tri-X film developed in HC-110 dilution B.
