Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour 9 | FILM 1 in Oxford, May 2022. The location was New College fellows garden which isn’t within the main New College grounds but tucked away on the opposite side of New College Lane.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, 50/2 Voigtlander Nokton and 75/1.8 Voigtlander lenses. Ilford FP4 film developed in HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
Some pictures from an evening walk around Happy Valley in March 2021. I was experimenting with depth of field as the sun was dropping. I keep meaning to go back here with a larger format camera and feel the pond there has potential in different seasons.
[Tech info:] Nikon FA, 50/1.4D, Ilford FP4, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
Here are some shots made during a foggy night in Oxford on Boxing Day last year, between 10pm and 12am. I chose to develop the film in 510 Pyro to see how well it held the highlights and I’m pleased to say it did exceptionally well as you can see from the pictures. The dynamic range between the street lights and the dark shadows in these night shots is huge but it didn’t seem to give 510 Pyro any problems. One of the last shots I calculated to be a 4 minute exposure with reciprocity but in hindsight I feel I miscalculated and overexposed the shot by at least 1.5 stops but the shot it still totally usable.
[Tech info:] Pentax 645N, 55/2.8, Ilford FP4, developed in 510 Pyro 1+100 for 11mins.
Here are some pictures from a recent walk around Jericho with a mate of mine. I wanted to test out a camera and it’s been quite a while since I walked around Jericho so it was nice to combine the two. This roll of FP4 film is part of the blotchy batch I have and rather than throw it away, I use it for testing.
[Tech info:] Mamiya 645 ProTL, 80/2.8N, Ilford FP4, developed in HC110 1+31.
During December 2020 the UK saw a lot of rainfall and some parts of the country were flooded. I don’t remember Oxford receiving enough rain to cause flooding but as the massive volume of water from other parts comes rushing through Oxford the rivers swell which in turn causes some areas to flood, especially a local meadow. I made the most of the flooding and did some photography with a large format camera I’ve been wanting to try out for a while. It’s custom made with a 75mm Schneider lens which is fitted to a helicoid for focussing and the back rotates – something I found out by accident which was a nice bonus. There is no branding on it but it’s extremely well designed and made.
I wanted to fill the frame with sky and the reflection in the water so I had to stand in the water because a 75mm on 5×4 film gives an extremely wide angle of view. The Benbo Mk 2 tripod is perfect for this because the legs extend upwards from inside the bottom part of the legs and is designed to stand in water. What a didn’t realise was how easily one of the feet would end up coming off in the mud because it had a split in it, something I only noticed once I got back home. Fortunately Paterson in the UK still sell spares and supply them in a pack of 3. I’ve included some behind the scenes pictures below.
[Tech info:] Custom red dot 5×4 camera, 75mm Schneider lens, FP4 film (expired), developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 (-1 minute to prevent the highlights blowing out).
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour series 5, FILM 1 in Oxford on 30th October 2017. Despite the overcast looking light I think it was fairly bright on this day because I used a relatively slow film, certainly slower than I usually would on a dull day. It was nice not to be fighting contrast for a change.
[Tech info:] Konica Hexar AF, Ilford FP4, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31. Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography during the filming of Endeavour series 5, FILM 6 in Oxford. This was a busy day of filming for the crew with the bulk of the time spent on the drive-by shooting outside the pet shop on Turl Street (the Oxfam bookshop on any other day). The first set up was outside Joan’s flat – you can see leaves on the ground as this was the end of October and Autumn was on the turn. More shots to come from this day of filming.
[Tech info:] Hexar AF, Ilford FP4 film developed in Kodak HC110 1+31. Pakon scans.
Last month I visited the Black Country Living Museum in Dudley for the second time and on this trip I decided to take along a large format camera for a change. The most portable 5×4 camera I have is a modified Polaroid 110B which folds up nicely to make it very portable and easy to travel with. I’ve got some sheets that I haven’t developed yet and those will follow in a future blog post.
[Tech info:] Polaroid 110B, Yashinon 127mm lens, Ilford FP4 film (expired), developed in Kodak HC110 1+31. Last shot was made on Fomapan 100 (expired), developed in Rodinal 1+25.
Behind the scenes during filming of Endeavour series 5, episode 4 in Oxford. At the start of this roll the main action was taking place inside rooms at Exeter College – you can see the big lights used to simulate sunlight through the windows. After that it was a location move around the corner to Radcliffe Square for a very quick shot involving supporting artists only and once again a big light was used to simulate sunlight. It’s amazing how much work goes into what will probably end up being seconds on screen.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, Voigtlander 40/1.4 Nokton lens, Ilford FP4 developed in Tetanol Ultrafin. Pakon scans.
Last weekend I visited a war and peace reenactment event in Kent and here are some of my first pictures I made there. Most of the other film I shot there was colour so those pictures will follow in the future. The event was spread over a huge area of fields that usually make up a camping ground but it was easy enough to walk around. Weather in the morning was fine but in the afternoon rain clouds rolled in very quickly and rain stopped play – for me at least – which was a shame as it was right after having discovered the home front village which had a little street scene that had been recreated complete with a row of shops and a fully functioning barber!
[Tech info:] Leica M6, Voigtlander 40/1.4 lens, Ilford FP4 film developed in Tetenal Ultrafin 1+10, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography from filming of Endeavour series 5 episode 2 in Oxford a couple of weeks ago. I’ve picked out a selection of spoiler free shots, others will follow after the broadcast of the episode. I did a good amount of colour photography as well which is not my first choice but sometimes a situation calls for it and I couldn’t resist it when I saw the vintage bus pull up – those pictures will follow in the future. I am beginning to really like the Voigtlander 40/1.4 lens that I used for all of the these shots to the point that I don’t even pack my 50/1.5 Nokton classic – something I never thought would happen.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, Voigtlander 40/1.4, Ilford FP4 developed in Kodak HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
Behind the scenes photography during filming of Endeavour series 5, episode 1 in Oxford. These are spoiler-free images of the crew hard at work. I’ll post the rest of my pictures after each episode has been broadcast.
[Tech info:] Leica M6, Voigtlander 40/1.4, Ilford FP4 developed in HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
