documentary film photographer cornwall

only shot once before by..........

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I got the opportunity some time back to shoot a quality example of a Ferrari Dino 246 GT. A local car to us here in Cornwall and a car that has a one owner history attacthed to it. A very rare example indeed

So, we agreed a location in advance which took sometime as did the request to shoot it. It was of course local location and on the day of the shoot, the weather couldn’t of been any better. Classic Cornish early evening lovely blue skies off setting the beautiful Ferrari rosso red colour which turned out to be a superb match. The choice of film on this occasion had to be Ektar. A stock that always brings the best out in colour. Matched with my Konica Hexar and my Pentax 6x7, they all worked so well together

As the shoot progressed, the owner said he had something to show me and produced this framed photo from his car. Who was it in the image I asked, only David Bailey. If you don’t know who he is and your a film photographer, shame on you. Anyhow, this framed photo, see below, is of David shooting the owners car back in the 80’s for a German motor related magazine. Ironically, the location was Cornwall. St Austell in fact. How nuts is that.

Yes I did get to go out in it, owner at the helm of course but what and experience that was as well as the opportunity to shoot it along with David Bailey. The only two times it ever been shot in its lifetime. Additional gallery shots below. RD

what's new for 2025 then

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With the induction of a new year, Im sure I will continue to add more “lives” content to the “a day in the life of a” project as I’m not finished on that front. This is become one of those projects that never really has an end date in mind when I first conceived it.
As long as I keep finding lives to document, I’ll keep working on it.

Writing
Ive a few articles to write for those on line photographic platforms that I submitted content for and Im glad they’ve come back to me for more documentative related copy and imaging. Ive also a first for me on a podcast front. Neale James of Photowalk got in touch and asked If he could interview me regarding the “a day in the life” project. Im not sure how this will go but I thought why not give it a go. Ive never been a lover of hearing my own voice so Im not sure If I will play it back at all. Ive never listened to a podcast before, maybe this is the time to do so - im old school me…..

Travel
With 28% of the planet already covered, I certainly will be travelling more and combining that with work assignments too. Im current in Finland, then in a few weeks later I’ll be in India on a jolly but capturing content for an article for hugo at Grain. See my previous article here if your interested. Its a great on line publication as well as a hard copy read

Commissions
These days I only take on work that Im interested in and thats a great place to be. Im only interested in work that challenges me rather than the easier work routes that some other photographers prefer. Im lucky I guess to be in a position that I only need to can pick and choose what floats my boat. Once again on the commissions front, no pixels here, I only shoot film and I certainly won’t compromise on that front.

Any new kit/purchases?
Nope, Ive got my killer rigs and a fridge fully stocked with film. I love shooting expired E6 stocks the most. There is that phrase through isn’t there, “never say never” but I’ve spent too many years buying and selling kit to find the right set up for me. Now I have that perfect camera/s set up that covers all film formats. RD

why Im not "smart" and never will be

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Since the introduction of smart phones, I never found the need to own one, use one or interact with one. Remember the days when people use to use the power of voice to communicate which these days seems to be completely lost. We as a nation have become so addicted to “smart” that life outside has simply been lost.

Ive been what one might call as a “dumb” user for years. A phone user that enjoys the engagement of voice and the odd text, not the distraction of pushed valueless content. Over the years, Ive endeavoured to stay brand loyal and some years ago I finally found a phone manufacturer that meets my needs and offers something that smart phones will never, Simplicity! Who am I referring to then? well, its Light Phone. Designed by a bunch of clever guys from the US with similar values to me.

Just take a moment to watch one of Light Phones informative video’s (below) to educate yourself and see how dumb is real.

The new LP3 now includes a built in camera which has not been featured on their previous models. Will I use it? I think not but Im sure others will. I tend to use a phone for the simplest of reasons, to speak direct to someone. Texting is so impersonal.

Walking down any street this days and you’ll just how engrossed smartphone users have become as they sit in their own little social bubble or surfing the net whilst on the move. Thats never been me. Im so far removed from the lives that they lead. Thats why I love LP so much. My new LP3 will soon be on its way and I’ll soon be dumber than Ive ever been. RD

fishing - an integral part of Cornish life

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If you live by the Cornish coast, then you’ll know how fishing forms an integral part of our Cornish lives. From the commercial crab fisherman lifting their catch 10 miles off shore, to the sardine ring net fisherman circling Mounts Bay. Thens there the one or two crewed independent small boat fishermen who line catch Bass and Mackerel. Don’t forget those shoreside support guys too.
The skilled net makers. Sadly this has become a dying skill but there are still a few of them out there. You’ll also find a whole team of guys and girls who support are fishermen once on shore. They too form an integral part of the industry.

Ive been fortunate enough to of been allowed aboard these commercial vessels and the captains and crew have aloud me to capture all that I see. This is a dangerous industry but the fishermen that work these waters are well trained in order to help them along the way. Commercial fishing is a super tough industry to work in and only tough men and women need apply. Below are just a few of the shots Ive taken overtime. All on film and all real. A big thank you once again to all of those who allowed me to capture them

he came from nowhere

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There are times, just like in street photography that a shots just comes to you. What I mean by that is that a shot can just randomly present itself when perhaps you least expect it. A classic case of that is the shot below. I was out early one morning shooting street content in downtown Vancouver when I walked past this pile of pallets. As I walked past it I heard this rustling of heavy duty plastic sheeting and then this head popped up. It took me by surprise and the guy also by surprise to see me there looking at him.

My first thought was to say hello and to ask what he was doing there. his reply sadly was “I live here”. Clearly he was homeless. Now Im a believer of chatting to the homeless element of this world and listen to their stories. Of course I offered him and hot drink and something to eat, just common sense for me to do that.

We chatted for a while and I explained to him that I was a documentary film photographer with a love of portrait. You can see where this was leading. I had to ask him the question “may I take your photo” The reply was short and sweet, “yep”. I didnt ask him to pose and dress the shot, just to relax and I kept cahting to him until the shutter finally closed. I never got his name but I enjoyed our chat. Choice of camera and film that day? My Hassy 500CM and a roll of Ektar. A great portrait combo. RD

Simple can also be effective

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Im a great believe that us photographers see things thats others don’t and we then capture the most basic of images. Having said that, the production of an image is all about what works for us. In this first example below, the light was the first element that drew me to it, then the colour and then the whole balance of the shot. Basic but, its works for me

Within this gallery below are a series of images that all work for me on the simple and basic front. I saw some element of interest in the first instance that attracted me to the content. All shot on film as always - no digi here thank you very much, and all shot on a series of formats and film stocks

shooting Expired with the odd colour shift - but it works..... →

Ive been shooting expired film for years and I get some great results from them. In fact at one stage, I was shooting 80% of my work on expired stocks. Why you might ask? Well, I l just love too and more so with E6 stocks. Now there are a number of you out there that are nervous about shooting expired and maybe more so E6. Expired slide film is so much more stable than c41 stocks so dont be nervous on that front.
The latest slide roll Ive just shot some content on is a roll of EliteChrome 100. I did a little review on it some time back and I love it so I shot another roll. As with the first roll, I did experience some colour shifts but I reckon that was down to poor storage in its earlier life before I bought it. As I said before, E6 is so stable

So, here’s the first shot for you. Whilst it might appear that the colours look real, and they do, there Cornish, there are further elements of blues tones. Take a look at the second shot and you’ll see what I mean in more detail. The sand is now blue but the colours of the flag in the reflection remain the same.

Ive placed the next set of images in a small gallery so you can compare the tones and the shifts in colour and blue here seems to be the primary one. Now there’s this photography rule I’d really like to quash or should I say Id like EM from Emulsive to tell you more. the One stop rule! its rubbish - here a link to his article - https://emulsive.org/articles/rants/how-to-shoot-expired-film-or-no-you-do-not-need-to-add-one-stop-per-decade

Personally, I dont do it with slide, there is no need. However, with C41 I have done it a few times with rubbish results. Hence why I don’t do it now. Shoot your stocks at box and see what you get. I like the results here and that colour shift for me works. RD

what 50p got me on the camera front

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Im still amazed at what turns up at car boots these days on the photographic front. From old slides to box brownies and even the occasional real find like a Leica. However, on this occasion my latest find was this cracking little Kodak Pocket Instamatic 100. In its original box plus a set of flashes at a price of 50p, yes, 50p - a steal!!

So, given the fact that the camera didn’t come with a film, I went on line to that well known auction site and purchased a 110 cartridge of Kodacolor II at a cost of £9.00. The film arrived in the most amazing condition inside and out bearing in mind it expired back in 1974. It looked as if it had just come off the shelves.

At this stage, Im now into £9.50 for the camera and film, and yes I did check before hand as regards getting a 110 film developed and here in the UK too. Give the fact that this film of C41 is nearly 50 years old, I don’t expect that the film will be stable on the colour front and I’d expect some colour shifts, but that expired film for you. i might be lucky though.

The film is 12 exposures with an ASA of 80. With that in mind I’ll be shooting in bright sunshine with a little luck. With regards to the subject matter Ive chosen for this, it will be Sicily, somewhere Ive not shot before…… I’ll keep you posted



Portraits - my spin on them

One of the single most interesting aspects of photography I really enjoy working on over the years is portrait work. It’s a subject Ive really got into and really enjoy that one to one engagement. Each and every time I capture a portrait, I always see elements of improvement. That stems from me never being 100% happy with what Ive shot. I look back and think, I reckon next time I can improve on that. That’s all about learning for me. Something I do every day.
My camera choice here, my Hassy 500 C/M. One of the finest cameras ever made and so good for portrait work

Just one example of my portrait work is this shot of Shelley. Now, there are loads of you out there that believe to get the best out of a portrait shot is to “dress it”. A phrase often known as putting it all together. Im not of the opinion on that front. I believe that you’ll get the best out of your subject by making them relaxed, engage in conversion then open and close your shutter. Only my view, never rock up and shoot straight away. I loved this shot for one simple reason, Shelley just said to me “shall I sit here” and the camera did the rest. Under a minute from his arse on the chair, till the shutter closed


What film stock then? Colour or black and white

Well, I’ll always be a colour man, and thats a fact but some black and white stocks certainly adds their own elements. I love the deep contrast that the likes of Kodaks Double X gives. It also has a period look to it as well as you can see in this example of local artist, Stuart. When is comes to colour, Ektar is my main choice on both 35mm and medium format but I also love Velvia and Provia. Such rich tones….


Camera choices?

My two main choice’s here on the medium format front would be my Hassy 500 c/m and my Pentax 6x7. Both deliver great clarity and both have lenses that are equally matched and super pin sharp. On 35mm, a little mixed there. First choice would be my Konica Hexar closely followed by my Nikon F2. Again, great rigs and a great lenses selection across the board but I like to run with say a 50mm 1.2 and a 105mm 2.5. For me, Nikon produced their best lenses back in the 60’s and that why I run with those now. On the Konica front, any 35mm and 50mm versions. All pin sharp and great to work with

Why film then?

Well thats simple. It offers something that digi never will. Depth, contrast and its real! Everyone has their own opinion on photography and thats the beauty of freedom of speech. Im not saying Im right, all Im saying is thats my choice and I believe I get so much more out of my subjects with a rolls of film rather than a set of pixels - Judge for yourself, RD