alan frost photography

Churches Project no.9 – Candlelight in The Priory

By alan frost on April 14, 2016

There are many reasons why I enjoy visiting and photographing churches and their interiors. Without question one of them is the unexpected play of light inside a church when the outside is bathed in bright sunshine. The way shafts of light come through the windows can be an absolute joy, as was the case just this week when I called into Boxgrove Priory. It’s a beautiful building which lies to the east of Chichester, and one I shall return to photograph again.

I had not visited the Priory for many years, in fact I think the last occasion was for a funeral. The church was empty so I was able to look around in complete freedom. After about twenty minutes I noticed the sunlight illuminating one of the elegant candlesticks on the altar. The light was very bright and I knew the background to the image would be quite dark if I correctly exposed for the main subject of the picture. I knew I didn’t have long to take the shot as the sun was moving round and the light on the candlestick would soon be lost. The stone arch and stained glass window give context to the picture but the main subject will always be the candle bathed in lovely spring sunshine.