On Any Sunday

July 18, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

Open-water swimmers are a difficult lot to photograph, they don’t hang around; clad in anything from a pair of Speedo’s and a latex cap, right through to full neoprene wetsuits, sea swimmers are in the water and gone. I have attempted to swim alongside these athletes but swimming on my side whilst operating a camera, even wearing large fins, isn’t easy… and I’m not an athlete. I’m going to persevere though because I really like the images I’m getting. I […]

Categories: Photography, photojournalism • Tags: isle of man, nikonos, Nikonos III, Nikonos V, open water, sea swimming

The above. The below.

July 8, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

I’d describe my current style of aqua-imagery as ‘around the surface photography. I’m not a scuba diver, I tried it once, but I don’t think it was for me; in my opinion, any activity that results in almost certain death if/when something goes wrong is best avoided…although I’m not sure how much logic there is in my own theory because I spent most of my 20’s and 30’s rock-climbing, ice-climbing and high altitude mountaineering (and a lot did go wrong, […]

Categories: film photography, Photography • Tags: 35mm, analog, isle of man, nikonos, nikons V, underwater

Positive Buoyancy

June 30, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

My recent exploration into underwater photography has rekindled a passion and interest in the medium that has been somewhat lacking over the past few months; thrown me out of the rut and into the sea. There’s a system, a ritual, almost, that goes with the process – methodically checking the cameras before entering the water, knowing that you only have 36 goes at getting it right before you need to get out, rinsing the cameras in fresh water… even the […]

Categories: film photography, Photography • Tags: 35mm, analog, analogue, isle of man, kodak, Nikonos III, nikons V, sea swimming

The Curve

June 3, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

Just when I thought I’d learned all I needed to know about the technical side of photography, along comes my desire to shoot underwater. The mechanics of photography, above water, despite how complicated it may look, is actually very simple. Essentially, to get the ‘correct’ image, you have about eight aperture sizes and twelve(ish) shutter speeds – all you need to do is combine one of each to get the right amount of light onto your film, you point your […]

Categories: film photography, Photography, woman • Tags: Fuji Venus 800, nikonos, Nikonos III

“Sharpness is a bourgeois concept”

May 16, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

Shooting with the Nikonos III underwater camera has been a harsh lesson in disappointment; it’s difficult to use, considering it’s such a simple camera. There appears to be a lot of physics involved in underwater photography? Or is there? Perhaps I’m just making excuses for the high rate of unusable images I’ve ended up with since becoming obsessed with this forty-five-year-old water-tight temptress. Well exposed images, I don’t generally have an issue with – what’s giving me cause for concern […]

Categories: film photography, Photography • Tags: Nikonos III, underwater

Nikonos III test roll

March 22, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

As far as cameras go, the Nikonos III underwater setup is pretty much as basic and elementary as it gets – five shutter speeds (1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500 and B) on the body – apart from the winding mechanism, there are no more moving parts. Depending on which of the six lenses you choose, seven apertures are available (on the 35mm l use – f2.5, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, 22). There’s nothing automatic on this camera, not exposure […]

Categories: film photography, Photography, photojournalism • Tags: film camera, film photography, I shoot film, isle of man, kodak, negative, Nikonos III, personal project, portrait, scallops, ultramax 400, underwater

The Latent Image

February 27, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

Ask any diehard black and white photographer what he, or she, like most about their craft, and they’ll usually tell you about the excitement of developing and printing their work in an old-fashioned darkroom, the smell of the chemicals and the thrill of seeing the image materialise from a blank piece of paper. Well, I’m not one of those people – I hate the smell of the chemicals, that vinegary stench makes me gag, and I’m far too impatient to […]

Categories: film photography, Photography • Tags: mono, pentax 67, the latent image

Wet Work

February 26, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

After all my research into seasickness, the almost endless conflicting advice and remedies, I’ve finally cracked it. Ginger tablets, wristbands, stare at the horizon, don’t look at the horizon, cheese and onion crisps, run on the spot, lie down, stand up, earplugs, pour urine over yourself (that one might have been for box jellyfish stings, actually) … I should have just listened to what almost every seasoned fisherman has been advising me for the last few months – “You just […]

Categories: Photography, photojournalism • Tags: fishing boat, isle of man, nikonos, Nikonos III, scallops

Mae Challis

February 20, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

I had a bit of a change last week, photography wise. Well, a total change, to be honest; photographing Singer Songwriter, Mae Challis, is probably the opposite end of the spectrum to gnarly scallop fishermen. I photographed Mae in what turned out to be, thanks to its full-length, south-facing windows, an excellent natural daylight studio – Noa Bake House cafe. At the time of writing this, I’m waiting for the medium format, 6x7cm scans to land in my inbox. The […]

Categories: film photography, Music, Photography • Tags: analogue, film photography, fuji superia 400, Mae Challis, portrait

54.26° N, 4.68° W

February 13, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

These are the last images from ‘Holmtown’ that I’ll be sharing, for now; I’ve got to the point where I need to collate everything I have and get it all into some order. Also, there are dozens of faces I want to photograph in and around the harbour and breakwater area of Peel, some of them who are involved in the fishing industry on the Isle of Man but don’t necessarily go out to sea. Since I started this project, […]

Categories: film photography, Photography, photojournalism • Tags: colour, film camera, film photography, isle of man, kodak, peel, personal project, trawlermen