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Monday, April 15th, 2013
Here are some portraits I made at the new OWP (Oxford Wheels Project) skate park on Meadow Lane yesterday. This is a personal project to document some of the users of the park because I think it will be great to look back at these images many years from now. I’ve never owned a BMX and I could never balance on a skateboard to save my life so I never found myself visiting the old ramps which is a real shame. I wish I had thought about starting this project years ago because it would be interesting to see how the bikes and fashions have changed over time as well as the riders and skaters themselves.
[Tech info:] Speed Graphic 5×4 large format camera with a Kodak Aero Ektar lens on Ilford FP4, processed in Kodak HC110 (1+31) for 7mins.
Setup shot - photo by Alex Leech
Posted in Equipment, film, Oxford, People, Sport | 6 Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, bmx, film, fp4, graflex, hc110, owp, oxford, people, portraits
Wednesday, April 10th, 2013
We finally had some nice weather last weekend so I made the most of it and did some large format film photography at the new Meadow Lane ramps. On Saturday I took a Super D 5×4 SLR camera (first two shots) and on Sunday I took a Wista 10×8 field camera. I’m not sure how much BMX action photography has ever been done with a 10×8 camera, I suspect not much at all. It was my first time photographing at the new ramps and I really like the new layout. I hope to spend more time there documenting the riders and skaters through the summer if the nice weather continues.
[Tech info:] 5×4 shots made with a 190mm lens on Ilford HP5, processed in Kodak HC110 (1+31) for 7:30. 10×8 shots made with a 300mm/5.6 lens on green sensitive x-ray film, rated at ISO50. Processed in Rodinal 1+50 for 6mins.
A rider from Carterton
Oxford rider
Hitting the mark
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait | No Responses »
Tags: 10x8, black&white, bmx, film, graflex, hc110, HP5, owp, oxford, people, portraits, rodinal, super d, wista
Sunday, March 17th, 2013
The first shot below and the rest were made over a month apart because the camera (a Mamiya 645 Super) jammed after the first frame. It had arrived earlier that morning from a dealer that I purchased it from so fortunately I was able to return it for a refund. The other shots were made with a Mamiya 645 Pro TL on the same roll of film (thank goodness for removable roll film holders). The Pro TL was part of a whole kit which included a 150mm/f2.8 lens which I haven’t come across before so I was keen to try it out. So far I really like it and the shallow depth of field it gives even at f4. It’s a bit on the large size so it tends to attract a lot of attention in a paparazzi kind of way but I can live with that. These shots were all made in Radcliffe Square, one of my favourite places for street portraits.
[Tech info:] Mamiya 645 (Super & Pro TL), 80/1.9 and 150/2.8 lenses on Kodak TMAX 400 film, processed in Kodak HC110 1:31.
Late afternoon light along Broad Street. My 150mm lens kept attracting attention so I waited patiently to pick my moment to use the last frame on the roll.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, students | No Responses »
Tags: 645, black&white, film, hc110, oxford, people, portraits, students, tmax
Wednesday, March 6th, 2013
Here are some shots from a recent lunch break photo shoot that I had with Jess to test out a new (to me) camera and lens combo that I picked up. Despite the sunny weather that we had on this day I decided to use some fast speed film that you’d only usually use in low light because I already had one roll of it to process and I like to process two rolls at the same time whenever possible. I really like how these turned out with the grain and I can see myself doing this a little more often.
[Tech info:] Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 150mm/f2.8 lens, Kodak Tri-X rated at ISO1600, processed in Rodinal (1:50).
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 645, black&white, film, jess, oxford, people, portraits, rodinal, Tri-X
Sunday, March 3rd, 2013
Here are some shots from a lunch hour photo shoot I had with Chloe a couple of weeks ago on a day where we were lucky enough to have a little sunshine to photograph in. Regular visitors to this blog are probably familiar with the location because I’ve used it a number of times. I like the lines, angles and shadows and I also like the challenge of trying to make good use of the same location. I’m sure there are some great shots still to be made here.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 90mm & 180mm lenses, loaded with Kodak Tri-X, processed in Kodak HC110 (1:31).
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x7, black&white, chloe, film, hc110, oxford, people, rb67, students
Thursday, February 28th, 2013
One of my favourite cameras is my Graflex Super D which is a large format (5×4) SLR. The problem is I haven’t been able to use it very much this winter because the viewing screen inside it is quite dark so I need bright conditions to help me with focussing. The weather this winter has been overcast and cloudy most of the time which has been frustrating for me. This set of portraits were made on a rare sunny day last week during my lunch hour. There always seems to be more people around when the sun comes out.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D, Carl Zeiss 18cm/f4.5 lens, Ilford HP5 film processed in Kodak HC110 for 5mins at 20C.
Christy & Helen, slightly out of focus. It's very difficult to focus when your subjects are backlit by the sun. I must remember not to do this.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits, students | 4 Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, film, graflex, hc110, helen, HP5, oxford, people, portraits, students, super d, Tri-X
Wednesday, February 27th, 2013
Here’s a set of images I made at the dress rehearsal for Rope which was being staged at the Oxford Union Society (one of my favourite venues for photography). It was a tight schedule but fortunately for me things were running a little behind so I had time to try some different setups. When I arrived the last rays of sunshine were streaming into the windows to produce the most amazing ambience but sadly the actors weren’t in costume at that time. It was completely dark outside by the time the actors were ready so I lit all of these shots with the floor standing lamps that were part of the set. I’m pleased with how they turned out and I especially like the shot at the bottom right hand corner.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67 with 90mm and 180mm lenses, loaded with Kodak Tri-X rated at ISO 1600. Processed in Rodinal 1:50.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x7, black&white, drama, film, oxford, people, portraits, rb67, rodinal, students, Tri-X
Wednesday, February 20th, 2013
When the sun comes out so do lots of people to the streets of Oxford. You can feel a completely different buzz on the street when the weather is nice. People seem to be in a much happier mood and that makes for perfect conditions to do some street portrait photography. These shots were all made during the same lunch hour photo walk. I particularly like the shot of Mo, the cat that belongs to James (aka Cowboymod), the hairdresser on Walton Street.
[Tech info:] Bronica ETRSi, 75mm lens, loaded with Kodak Tri-X 400, processed in Rodinal 1:50.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits, students | No Responses »
Tags: 645, black&white, bronica, film, oxford, people, rodinal, students, Tri-X
Sunday, February 17th, 2013
Here are some images from my first lunch hour photo shoot with Chloe on film. I first shot with Chloe on the Oriental-inspired fashion shoot for The Oxford Tab here. We lucked out with some nice weather and although the sun was in and out I did my best to make the most of it. I juggled two different cameras (medium and large format) and I really wish we had more time to shoot because there were so many more shots I wanted to try at this location but they’ll have to wait for another time. Chloe was great to work with and there will be more collaborations to come. The colour image below was made on Fuji FP100C instant pack film (similar to Polaroid).
[Tech info]: Mamiya M645 1000s with 80mm/f1.9 lens loaded with Acros 100 film, processed in Rodinal 1:50. Graflex 5×4 Super D (top & bottom right), 190mm/f5.6 lens loaded with Ilford HP5 processed in HC110 (1:31).
Posted in film, Oxford, Photo shoot, students | No Responses »
Tags: 5x4, 645, acros, black&white, film, fujiroid, HP5, oxford, portraits, rodinal, students, super d
Friday, February 15th, 2013
Last week there was a salon day at Keble College where a designer dress hire company (Wish Want Wear) brought in lots of ball gowns for girls to try on to see whether they wanted to hire them for one of the many college balls that are being held this summer. I was invited along to do some photography (I photographed Keble’s ball last year) and here are some of the results. I shot quite a lot so there will be other shots to follow. For this shoot I decided to experiment quite a lot more than I would normally as a way of learning. For example I wouldn’t usually photograph someone backlit by a window. My thanks go to Mel for being so patient while I juggled with different cameras and to Katherine for inviting me. I’m really looking forward to this year’s Keble ball.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 90mm lens loaded with Kodak Tri-X rated at ISO1600, processed in Kodak HC110 (1:31).
Posted in Fashion, film, Oxford, Photo shoot, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x7, black&white, film, hc110, keble college, oxford, portraits, rb67, students, Tri-X
Saturday, February 9th, 2013
A few weeks ago I received an email asking me if I’d like to do a photo shoot for the second issue of Industry magazine which is produced by the Oxford Fashion Society. The first issue was digital only but the second issue is to be printed and anyone that knows me knows that I’m a sucker for real ink of paper so of course I said yes! We did the shoot last Saturday on a cold but very sunny morning which was a real blessing after a week of bad weather. I can’t show the official shots until the magazine is out but as they were shot on digital I used film for my own personal shots. The ones below were made in the Oxford Union library which is a location that I am very fond of and somewhere I’ve been wanting to do a photo shoot ever since I photographed the summer ball there last year. As my main priority was to get the shots for the magazine I didn’t have much time to shoot as much film as I would have liked which is a real shame because the models looked amazing. Hopefully I’ll get to work with these models again.
My thanks go to Anna for organising everything and for pulling together some amazing outfits and to the models for braving the cold and for working so hard. More images to follow.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RB67, 90mm/f3.8 lens, loaded with Tri-X rated at ISO 1600, processed in Rodinal 1+50.
Posted in Fashion, film, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | 4 Responses »
Tags: 6x7, black&white, film, industry, oxford, people, portraits, rb67, rodinal, students, Tri-X, union society
Wednesday, February 6th, 2013
A few weeks ago I had a lunch hour photo shoot with Xin and these are some of my favourite shots from that session. I first met Xin while I was photographing at the Keble summer ball last year. We really lucked out with the weather and light on the day of this shoot because for the most part January hasn’t been a particularly great month for outdoor photography – not for me at least. When the weather warms up a bit I hope we can shoot together again.
[Tech info:] Mamiya RZ67 with 6×6 back. Lenses used were 110mm/f2.8 and 150mm/f3.5 on Fuji Acros 100 film. Processed in HC110. The last two images were made on a Nikon FM2 with 50mm/f1.4 lens on 35mm Ilford Delta 100 film.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Photo shoot, Portrait, students | No Responses »
Tags: 6x6, acros, black&white, film, hc110, oxford, portraits, RZ67
