graflex
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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, September 5th, 2012
Following on from yesterday’s post containing images made with my Graflex Super D large format SLR, here are some more images made with that camera during my lunch hour. The last two images were made on my way home on the same day as the others with the same camera. Technically they’re not lunch hour shots but they belong with this set.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D 5×4 SLR camera, Ilford Delta 100 film (pushed 1 stop), processed in Ilford DD-X.
Richard the tailor on Little Clarendon Street
Street soldier human statue, Cornmarket Street
These two guys were painting and decorating inside a building being renovated on St Giles.
The bride and groom
Horse drawn carriage outside the church at a gypsy wedding
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits | No Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, delta 100, film, graflex, oxford, people, portraits, super d
Tuesday, September 4th, 2012
It’s not often I get the chance to get into town at the weekends so when I had a little time recently I decided to take my Super D large format SLR camera out for a little air. As is often the case the street performers on Cornmarket Street were doing their thing and pulling in big crowds. The lens on the Super D is not particularly wide so I wasn’t about to capture much of the crowds but the performers themselves were great to photograph.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D 5×4 SLR camera, Kodak Tri-X 320 film processed in Kodak HC110 (dilution b).
Fire juggler. It's hard to tell but this guy is holding a fireball behind his back in his left hand. After this he dropped it down his trousers!
Squeezing through a tennis racket
On my way to Port Meadow I passed these people that were guests at a wedding. The gentleman reminded me of Johnny Depp
Meg and her daughter. Meg is a photographer who spotted me with my Super D camera in the Divinity Schools quadrangle.
The grand finale of a street performance.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits | 2 Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, graflex, hc110, oxford, people, super d, Tri-X, txp
Monday, August 20th, 2012
My first time out with the hulking great Super D large format SLR. I used a 6x7cm roll film holder to test it out before using 5x4inch sheet film. The tricky thing when using a roll film holder that is a smaller format than 5x4inches is there are no guide lines in the viewfinder to show you what will be in the frame so I had to use some guess work. As you can see, I wasn’t always successful. The roll film holder already had some Ilford HP5 film loaded in when I bought it but I didn’t know how expired it was. Overall I think the images turned out nicely.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D camera with 6x7cm roll film holder loaded with Ilford HP5. Processed in Ilford DD-X (1+4 dilution).
Plugged in.
I've photographed this guy before.
These guys are a photogenic bunch. They're working in a building on St Giles.
I had a nice conversation with this gentleman about photography. My Super D caught his attention.
This man was handing out some christian leaflets. We had a great chat about film photography especially using slide film.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Portrait | No Responses »
Tags: 6x7, black&white, film, graflex, HP5, people, portraits, summer, super d
Sunday, August 5th, 2012
For the longest time I’ve wanted to be able to do large format street photography but up until now I’ve always found it difficult because of the time required to set up a shot. Most of the people I stop to photograph on the street probably don’t want to have to stand still for a few minutes while I set up a shot so I’ve been searching for a camera that I can hand hold and operate quite fast. My hope was I had found such a camera in the Graflex Speed Graphic which was a favourite among press photographers as far back as the 1920’s but the rangefinder focusing and approximate framing guide never really worked very well for me so my search continued. Once I came across the Graflex Super D which was designed as a large format SLR it looked like my search was over. I’ve wanted one of these cameras for a long time and now I finally have one. It’s a big wooden box with a mirror inside that helps you with focussing and composition and the really nice thing is the image you’re looking at isn’t upside down, it’s just flipped horizontally. My Super D came from New York and dates from the late 1940’s to early 1950’s. It looks like it’s had plenty of use but it still works perfectly. These images were all made in the space of around an hour on my first time using it with 5×4 inch film.
[Tech info:] Graflex Super D camera, 190mm lens and Ilford HP5+ film processed in Ilford DD-X (1+4).
This young lady works at 'Objects of use' on Market street, a lovely shop that is well worth a visit.
I've photographed this fantastic bike a few times but this is the first time I've seen its owner. The girl he was speaking to, just out of frame on the right. said to me 'Oh, so you're the Simply Oxford guy that keeps taking those annoying pictures of pretentious people'. I can't see how my pictures would be annoying. What a strange thing to say.
Brooks saddle, Market street.
I thought I was composing this to be portrait orientation but I was working in a hurry and forgot to rotate the camera back. Ship Street.
Coffee break, Ship street.
This man is an old skool photographer that I bump into from time to time. We usually chat about whatever camera I happen to be carrying. Outside Carfax tower.
Here's a shot I made quite a while ago of the friendly staff at 'Objects of use' on Market street. I struggled a little with the low light.
Posted in film, Oxford, People, Street portraits | 2 Responses »
Tags: 5x4, black&white, film, graflex, HP5, oxford, people, portraits, super d
