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.
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.
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.
Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour 9 | FILM 1 in Oxford, May 2022. This was in the fellows garden of New College, a location previously used when Endeavour chases a pickpocket out onto New College Lane in series 7. I was excited to see a Polaroid SX70 camera being used in this scene and it was fully functioning. The props guy was too young to have seen one of these cameras before so I explained how to operate it and loaded a fresh pack of film for him.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, Fuji Pro 400H film, Fuji Frontier scans.
Some pictures from Oxford Matriculation this year, the first time this event has taken place in-person since 2019. Fortunately it didn’t rain. Students from Jesus college were a particularly lively bunch this year, I enjoyed photographing them. This is always a tricky event to photograph due to all the black and white fabric – you’d be hard pressed to find a higher contrast situation. Add backlighting to the mix and all bets are off for a nice tonal range. This year I took a variety of cameras with me, more to follow.
[Tech info:] KIEV 60, Arsat 30mm f3.5 fish-eye lens, mix of films (FP4 and Delta 100 pushed 1 stop).
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour 8 | FILM 2 in Wellington Square, Oxford. Quite a hot sunny day with lots of contrasty light, a perfect opportunity to try out some Fuji 400H to see how it would cope. This was recent fresh stock compared to the expired rolls I usually use.
[Tech info:] Mamiya 6, 75mm/3.5, Fuji 400H, Frontier scans.
Sunrise in Bagley Wood, September 2020. I hadn’t used my Pentacon Six for quite a long time up until this point so I decided to take it out for some exercise.
[Tech info:] Pentacon Six, Fuji 400H (expired), Noritsu scans.
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour 7 | FILM 3 in Merton college, Oxford at the end of October, 2019. These shots are from two different days that the crew spent in Merton College making good use of the lovely grounds and some of the rooms (second unit also filmed a brief scene on Merton Street). Fortunately we had nice weather the whole time, dry but very cold.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, Zeiss Planar, Fuji 400H (expired), Noritsu scans.
First test roll with a 40mm wide-angle lens I recently picked up for my Bronica SQ-A. I’ve had the lens for a while but I needed some dry weather during my lunch break to test it out. The lens is very wide and allows close focusing which I like. The interior shot of Worcester College chapel was an 8 second exposure which is the slowest shutter speed on the camera. I can see that being very useful in some situations. The roll of Ilford Pan F I used expired in 2007 so I rated it at ISO 25. Even though slow films are meant to lose sensitivity over time slower than faster emulsions Pan F tends to suffer quite badly for a film with a box speed of ISO 50. Not a problem on this occasion because I wanted to use the 40mm lens fairly wide open. I’m pleased with the results from this lens and it’s a keeper.
[Tech info:] Bronica SQ-A, 40mm Zenzanon lens, Ilford Pan F (expired), developed in XTOL 1+1.
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour 7 | FILM 3 in Merton College, Oxford. More pictures to follow after UK broadcast – no spoilers here.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F, Zeiss Planar, Fuji 400H (expired), Noritsu scans.
Some behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour 6 | FILM 4 in Oxford, October 2018. After filming some scenes in the main quad of Teddy Hall the action moved out to New College Lane. This was late in the afternoon with rapidly fading light as I recall. The light seemed to suit the mood of the scene.
[Tech info:] Rolleiflex 2.8F Zeiss Planar, Ilford HP5 film.
