That was 2018…

December 29, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

At the end of last year, one of my goals was to be less erratic and casual with the things I chose to photograph, to avoid flitting from one subject to another with no real consistency. I think, to a point, that I managed it – quality over quantity. The career highlights of 2018 were my white squatter camp project, ‘Plakkerskamp’, and a two-week autumn trip out into the North Atlantic on a fishing trawler – both projects took me […]

Categories: film photography, photojournalism, woman • Tags: 35mm, analog, analogue, black and white, colour, film photography, kodak portra 400, Olympus mju II, pentax 67, portrait, review 2018, trawler life, trawlermen, women

Sea state – moderate

December 5, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

For two weeks in November, I joined the fishing vessel, Ruel na Mara and her crew, working about 100km northwest off the Outer Hebrides. I don’t wish to romanticise something that these men do for work, all year round, but for me, it was an incredible experience. “A proper adventure”, as a friend dubbed it – two weeks on a 24 metre, wooden-hulled trawler, with two Scotsmen and four Filipinos somewhere in North Atlantic, wearing the same underwear for days […]

Categories: Photography, photojournalism • Tags: 35mm, 6x7, analogue, black and white, colour, film photography, fishermen, fuji pro 400H, I shoot film, Olympus mju II, personal project, portrait, scotland, trawlermen

Abigail

September 10, 2018 by Phil Kneen Photography

Models – Abigail Horne and Matt Corcoran Makeup – Kimberley Berridge Assistant – Hannah Yeowell Thanks to Christy Whitton and Max Grelewicz for the loan of the camper van The bottom 5 images were made using Pentax 67 / 105mm with Fuji Pro 400H and Kodak Ektar 100. The rest are 35mm, using an Olympus OM2 / 50mm 1.4 Zuiko with Kodak Ultramax film.

Categories: film photography, Photography, woman • Tags: 35mm, 6x7, colour, film, film camera, film photography, fine art, fuji film, fuji pro 400H, I shoot film, isle of man, kodak, portrait

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

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

That was 2017

December 27, 2017 by Phil Kneen Photography

Another year, nearly over, so while I’m sat here nursing a hangover, I’ll post my yearly review. As usual, these are a selection of my personal favourites. I’ve unquestionably shot a lot less this year, but that’s been a deliberate attempt at quality over quantity. For the first time, all the photographs in my final lineup were shot on film. I never make New Year resolutions; whenever I notice my stomach expanding, I find it easier to do do something […]

Categories: film photography, Photography • Tags: black and white, colour, film, film camera, fuji film, I shoot film, isle of man, kodak, negative, personal project, phil kneen, portrait

Embrace the Shadows

October 14, 2017 by Phil Kneen Photography

They’re everywhere – peachy coloured, backlit portraits of redheads and brides, shot on Kodak Portra 400, over-exposed by 5 stops and metered for the shadows. These images have become, in analogue photography, what HDR is to digital… I don’t even know the word? What’s so hackneyed and worn-out that it goes beyond cliché? This method of shooting colour negative film has become so prevalent that it now seems to be the default, photographers ‘shooting at box speed’ has become the minority. […]

Categories: film photography • Tags: 6x7, analogue, colour, film, film camera, film photography, fuji pro 400H, I shoot film, isle of man, kodak portra 400, negative, pentax 67, personal project, portrait

Be a Cat

October 11, 2017 by Phil Kneen Photography

  “Former achievements don’t count in the least, and everything must once more be put into question. Only in this way can you keep a fresh eye in your work.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908-2004) The French Grandaddy of photojournalism is of course right – he’s talking about creative evolution. Every artist has, at some point, got into a furrow of creativity; I certainly have – we get to a point where we’re just churning out the same thing, maybe it’s […]

Categories: film photography, Photography • Tags: fuji 400H, I shoot film, pentax 67, portrait, Rob Smith

An early morning with Matt Creer

April 20, 2017 by Phil Kneen Photography

For the second time in about three years, I’ve been working with Matt Creer, shooting the artwork for his latest album. I liked the photographs we made in back then, which I shot on digital. However, we are both in agreement that these recent images, shot on film, unquestionably have a depth and an almost fourth dimension that the 2014 shots lacked. Photo sessions with Matt are always enjoyable, despite the odd 5am start; in a city, this wouldn’t represent […]

Categories: film photography, Music, Photography • Tags: 35mm, 6x7, canadian film lab, film photography, fuji superia 400, kodak portra 400, Matt Creer, portrait

Two and a quarter square.

February 13, 2017 by Phil Kneen Photography

I have to confess; I came close to selling my Hasselblad last week. I got another batch of films back, and there were a lot of disappointingly mediocre shots, in my opinion. But then I looked again – I think to go from years of shooting in the rectangular ratio back to square has confused my compositional mind, and I’m just not used to seeing my images that way. So I’m going to persevere – I’ve set myself a challenge; […]

Categories: film photography, Photography • Tags: 501cm, film camera, hasselblad, I shoot film, isle of man, kodak, kodak portra 400, negative, personal project, portrait, square