August, 2015

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Oxford: BMX Jam, 2015 – part 1

Sunday, August 30th, 2015

This is the first set of my pictures from this year’s BMX Jam that was held at the Oxford Wheels Project skate park on Meadow Lane in Oxford. I always look forward to the BMX and Skate jam’s that are held there in the summer because the events attract a lot of talented riders and skaters. In previous years I have concentrated more on making portraits but this year I decided to focus more on the action. It can be a challenge trying to photograph fast moving action using a completely manual camera (that doesn’t have a motor-drive or a built in light meter) with a lens no longer than 50mm but I enjoy the challenge and my pictures show what’s possible when you put your mind to it.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander Nokton 35mm and 50mm lenses, yellow filter, loaded with Ilford HP5, developed in Kodak Xtol 1+1.

Oxford: Cowley Road Carnival, 2015

Monday, August 24th, 2015

I did some photography at this years’ Cowley Road Carnival and here’s a small selection. The weather was a bit of a mixed bag, combine that with more people than you can ever imagine on the Cowley Road and you can see why photography was rather difficult this year. Still, I did enjoy the atmosphere and look forward to going again next year.

[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Fuij Reala 100 film, developed in Rollei Digibase C41 kit, Pakon scans.

Oxford: Endeavour 3, episode 4 – part 1

Thursday, August 20th, 2015

The Endeavour crew rolled up into town to start filming the fourth and final episode of series three and here are some pictures from when I came across them on the first day of what was to be an exciting six day shoot. I don’t often use colour film when I photograph Endeavour filming but on this occasion it’s what I had loaded from when I was photographing Cowley Road Carnival the previous weekend. This type of film, Fuji Reala 100, is sadly no longer made but I managed to buy a batch of expired rolls from a company that used it to photograph school portrait and group shots before they switched to digital. It’s one of my favourite films that I bring out on special occasions. Lots more pictures to come from this episode.

[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Fuji Reala 100 film, developed in 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: Endeavour 3, episode 3 – part 5

Sunday, August 9th, 2015

When some of the crew headed down river from the Cherwell Boathouse to film punting scenes the rest of the crew stayed on shore and had some very rare down time. It was nice to see crew members relaxing – something I don’t see very often. It was a perfect day to go punting and I can’t wait to see how the final scenes turned out. There are various places in Oxford where you can hire punts but my personal favourite is the Cherwell boathouse because the stretch of river that they’re on is the nicest to punt along and often the least busy.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Eastman Double X motion picture film, developed in Kodak D76 1+1.

 

 

Oxford: Endeavour 3, episode 3 – part 4

Wednesday, August 5th, 2015

Here’s the final batch of pictures from the University Parks shoot on Endeavour 3. These shots span two different days but I decided to post them together to keep things organised by location. I’ve become a huge fan of Eastman Double X motion picture film recently which is why I’ve been posting so many shots that have been made with it and there are still lots more to come. Anyone thinking of trying it I suggest you develop it in Kodak D76 1+1 dilution. Previously I was using Kodak Xtol developer which did a nice job but you don’t get the same tonal range that you get with D76.

[Tech info:] Leica M2, Voigtlander 50/1.5 Nokton, Eastman Double X motion picture film, developed in Kodak D76 1+1, Pakon scans.