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.
Some shots here from a lunch break photo walk where I was testing a lens and a film + filter combination. The lens is a Nikon 28mm f2.0 AIS that is very beaten up. There’s a slight rattle inside if I shake it so I’d say all is not well with it but I’m beginning to like the strange almost lens-baby-style blur it gives when used at wide apertures. The film and filter combination I was testing was Eastman Double X motion picture film combined with an orange filter. The D96 developer I’m using is a 1 litre stock solution that I’ve developed 7 rolls through and these negs look fairly thin so I think I should be increasing the development time although there is no mention of doing that from Nik & Trick (the supplier I purchased it from). The 1 litre solution is said to be good for 18 rolls but I’m not so optimistic.
[Tech info]: Nikon FA (aperture priority), Nikon 28mm f2.0 AIS lens, orange filter, Eastman Double X (expired) developed in D96 for 7 mins.
Some shots from a test roll I put through a Nikon FA which I recently bought. The first roll had some light leaks so I added light seals for the edges of the back of the camera using strips from a foam sheet I bought at Hobbycraft. Looks like it’s fixed the problem. These were all shot in aperture priority mode using matrix metering. The matrix metering mode only works in aperture priority on the FA, something I didn’t realise. I much prefer to use full manual mode.
[Tech info:] Nikon FA, 35/2.0D Nikon lens, orange filter, TMAX 100 (expired), developed in Tetanol Ultrafin developer. Pakon scans.
I’ve been looking for the right light conditions to test out some Lomography 800 colour film that I recently bought and after a friend tipped me off about the twilight vintage bus rides I knew that was it. A couple of years ago I photographed them on Fujichrome 64T tungsten balanced slide film but because the film speed was so slow I had to use a tripod the whole time. On this occasion I wanted the freedom to move around handheld so I went along with fast film and a fast lens.
[Tech info:] Nikon F100, 50/1.2 lens, Lomography 800 film, developed and scanned by FilmDev. Noritsu scans.
It’s been a while since I posted any pictures of post finals exam celebrations (aka trashing) so here are some shots from a couple of weeks ago. This was the day that I noticed the photographer that supplies pictures to the Daily Fail and other so-called newspapers so that they can attach them to an article that tries to put Oxford University students in a negative light. It’s been the same old thing for the past 5 or 6 years. It must have been a slow news day at the Daily Fail offices.
[Tech info:] Nikon F90X, 24/2.8, Fuji Superia 200 film, developed and scanned by FilmDev.co.uk
Here are some of my pictures from the Town vs Gown 2018 boxing event which was held at the Oxford Union. These shots are from the final bout when I decided to try out a film I don’t usually use very often – Ilford Delta 400. I pushed this roll to ISO 1600 because the light levels were low and I’m pleased with the results.
[Tech info:] Nikon F80, Nikkor 24/2.8 lens, Ilford Delta 400 @ ISO 1600, developed in Ilford DDX 1+4. Pakon scans.
For the past four years I have photographed the Town vs Gown boxing event at the Oxford Union and this year I decided to experiment a little with my photography and try some ideas out that I’ve been thinking about recently – multiple exposure and using slow shutter speeds to record movement. Recently I bought a Nikon F80 camera body which has a multiple exposure mode on it which makes it very easy to layer exposures on a single frame so this was a perfect opportunity to use it. The film I used for these shots expired in 1991 which has reduced the contrast somewhat in very contrasty light conditions. I didn’t make any notes on which shutter speeds I used but I think I was between 1/30 and 1/90 for most of these. This roll of film was rated at ISO 400 but developed for the ISO 800 time to account for the age of the film. Overall I’m pleased with how these turned out.
[Tech info:] Nikon F80, 24/2.8, TMAX 400 (expired 1991), developed for ISO 800 time in Kodak XTOL 1+1.
Behind the scenes during a Giffords Circus performance in University Parks, Oxford, June 2017. For this set of pictures I tried out a longer lens than I would usually use to give me some distance for more candid results. It also allowed me to stay out of the way as the performers were preparing for the opening of the show.
[Tech info:] Nikon FM2, 100/2.8 Series E lens, Kodak Supra 200 film (expired), developed in Fuji Xpress C41 kit, Pakon scans.
When I heard that Public Enemy would be performing at the Common People 2016 music festival in Oxford I was really looking forward to photographing them but when Chuck D came on stage he announced that Flava Flav couldn’t make it due to problems with obtaining a visa in time which was very disappointing and quite limiting in terms of photography as I find him the more photogenic of the duo.
[Tech info:] Nikon F100, 70-200/2.8 VR, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 800, HC110 1+31, Pakon scans.
As 2016 comes to a close I am ever conscious of the photography backlog that has piled up from this year that (if I’m perfectly honest with myself) I probably won’t manage to ever get on top of. It’s not much different to 2014 and 2015 but looking on the bright side I won’t ever run out of new material to post. This set of pictures is from March 2016 when we had a few foggy mornings which felt quite unusual at the time.
[Tech info:] Nikon F100, Ilford FP4 developed in Kodak D76. Pakon scans.
Here are some pictures from the Q&A session with Sir Michael Gambon at the Oxford Union. It was a very entertaining talk and I highly recommend viewing the video which can be found here.
[Tech info:] Nikon F100, Ilford HP5 @ ISO 3200, developed in Ilford DDX 1+4, Pakon scans.
The Olympic gold medalist and two-time world heavyweight boxing champion George Foreman came to the Oxford Union and I did some photography at the event. As the event started at 5pm the sun was starting to dip just enough to light up the interior of the library where the event took place so I didn’t have to push the film too much and I really like how these turned out.
[Tech info:] Nikon F100, Kodak TMAX 400 @ ISO1600, developed in Kodak HC110 1+31 for 11 mins. Pakon scans.
