Off Plus Camera International Film Festival

Behind the red carpet and beyond those constant flashes, a film festival is a strange beast. The celebrity shine doesn’t dazzle so brightly when they’re boxes you have to check, faces in places which need to be photographed. The images I was supposed to take can be seen (in all of their unedited glory) over at the Off Plus Camera website, but when it was all finished these are the images I liked the most:

Lukasz Bulka (R) and others stand watching the stage during Peter Weir's interview in Kino Kijow.

Elvis Mitchell and Peter Weir on stage in Kino Kijow.

Brandon Harris and Elvis Mitchell kid around during the filming of interviews for the festival.

Conor Horgan gives an interview in Market Square.

Amitabh Bachchan smiles to the cameras as he casts his hands for the Krakow Walk of Fame.

A volunteer leans on the stage as she awaits the arrival of stars in the festival centre's conference room.

Makeup lies on a table during a television interview.

Peter Weir prepares to cast his hands in plaster for the Krakow Walk of Fame.

A festival organiser listens to a press conference happening in an adjacent room.

Ania Trzebiatowska gives an interview to a radio reporter after the festival's opening press conference.

Krzysztof Slusarz, the festival's managing director, makes final preparations before the opening press conference of the festival.

Tim Roth and festival organiser Ania Trzebiatowska are illuminated by a camera lamp as they sit in Kino Kijow.

Mr Jacek Majchrowski (R), the Mayor of Krakow, addresses the audience in Kino Kijow during the Closing Gala.

Tim Roth is surrounded by press as he casts his hands in plaster for the Krakow Walk of Fame.

Photographers wait below the stage in Kino Kijow.

Amitabh Bachchan pauses outside the door of Krakow City Hall, on his way to collect the freedom of the city.

Amitabh Bachchan stands in a doorway in Collegium Maius, the oldest part of Jagiellonian University, during a tour.

Portraits of Amitabh Bachchan and an interview script lie on a table after his final press conference.

Festival Director Szymon Miszczak and film critic Elvis Mitchell share a joke at a guests' dinner.

Christian Gaines of IMDB.com gives a talk during the festival's 'Confrontations' section.

Slawomir Idziak, the cinematographer behind Black Hawk Down, sits in one of the cinemas in Kino Ars, waiting to give a talk on how to start out in film-making.

Tim Roth signs the wall in a bar in Kazimierz, the Jewish district of Krakow.

Zach Clark, director of 'Vacation!', enjoys a cake.

Festival Director Szymon Miszczak, and Agata Kukulka accompany Andrzej Wajda, the Oscar-winning director, as he waits in the rain for his car to arrive.

Staff in the office on the second-to-last night of the festival.

Peter Weir takes coffee during a brief pause between interviews.

Peter Weir chats with Radoslaw Sikorski, the Polish Minister for Foreign Affairs, during the Opening Gala.

The Cliks live on stage. They were performing as part of the festival's 'Filming Women' section.

Zach Clark is interviewed by Grzes Stepniak (r) after the screening of his film 'Vacation!'

The statuettes, lined up on a table at the start of the final awards ceremony.

It really was a formative experience, though. The constant flux of subject matter meant it was impossible to switch off or relax- every shot had to be thought through, and a vast majority of the most interesting events were happening in locations with little or no ambient light. I was trying to avoid the use of flash (I own one but I loathe the results I get from it) so I used high ISOs (notice heavy noise in several shots, including very odd ‘grid’ noise in the first image. High ISOs also affects the way colour casting can be dealt with), low apertures and a lot of careful maneuvering to make use of other peoples’ lights.

But what a fun job. Deeply entertaining and an opportunity to really step out of what I usually do and try something new. I’d love to know your thoughts on the images.

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