I took my medium format camera to OpenTech this year, as part of my on-going project to take photos of cutting edge geeks with trailing edge technology (see also ETCON 2003, Evolution 2003 and New Media Art at the Tate).

The light wasn’t great at the venue – there wasn’t much natural light, so I used a spot in the main lecture theatre where there was a slightly angled soft spot overhead. This, and a high contrast film, has given the pictures a more dramatic contrast, but it meant that some of the pictures look a bit too shady for my liking, especially in the eyes. It also gives a great level of modelling on the skin, which I like a lot, but i’m not sure my subjects all will… I might have to invest in a softbox or go really pro and get a ringflash.

Here’s some of my favourites. You can see more over at my Flickr site.

Matt Webb



Ted Nelson



Paul Hammond



Tom Coates



Lee Maguire



Gavin Bell



Ben Metcalfe