alan frost

Posts by alan frost

A Monochrome Masterclass and a visit to Wells

Chimneys and cobbles
Vicars Close, Wells

Last weekend I was staying near Bridgend in South Wales so that I could attend a ‘Monochrome Masterclass’ being run by Andy Beel FRPS. It was an excellent day. Cameras never saw the light of day but the four participants, including myself, had the opportunity to share our work and discuss ways in which our monochrome images could be improved. Andy provided a comprehensive set of notes for us to take away, as well as showing us many examples of his own work to illustrate the points he wanted to get across.

For me it was a very thought provoking day. So often my photography is reactive, not planned, and I realise I need to give much greater thought to the images I am taking. Why am I pressing the shutter at that particular moment and from that particular position? What do I want my images to ‘say’ to the viewer? Am a trying to put together a body or panel of work? Am I working on a particular project, whether short or long term? Do my images have a certain style? Does it matter if they don’t? After all an image can stand on its own, although a collection of images can work even better if you are trying to tell a story or make a statement. All these questions require thought and hopefully some answers. In many ways they are not just about photography and could be applied to many other art forms.

The workshop took place on Saturday. I stayed overnight and planned to return home on Sunday, picking my daughter up from Bath on the way. This would give me some time on Sunday morning to take some photographs. Unfortunately the weather was appalling. Heavy rain and strong winds ruled out any outdoor photography, so I decided to head for the Cathedal City of Wells which is about a 20 minute drive from Bath. It would give me the opportunity to take some images inside the Cathedral and in and around the city if the weather improved. Wells is a small and beautiful City and with hardly any tourists around there was plenty to see and photograph. The wet conditions actually worked to my advantage as the photograph at the top of this entry illustrates. I think the wet cobble stones really add something to the atmosphere of this shot.

Here are a selection of other images –

The Scissor Arches

The Nave, Wells Cathedral

Underneath this stone

I particularly like the above image. The light on the line of chairs and on the memorial floor stone are ideally suited to monochrome. The fact the chairs are empty, could be interpreted as people who are no longer with us but the inscriptions in the slabs mean that their lives will be remembered forever.

The Cloisters in Wells Cathedral

A classical and arguably a rather cliched view of the cloisters but one that just had to be taken.

Cloisters in Wells Cathedral

Cloisters’ End

South Aisle, Wells Cathedral

Something I learnt on the workshop – From a compositional point of view something on the the edge or in the corner of an image can work well; you don’t always have to apply the ‘rule of thirds’, in fact it can be rather boring and repetitive if you do!

‘Vicars’ Staircase

This staircase and doorway leads from Vicars Close back towards the Cathedral. Warn steps and doorways have great appeal to me. You just can’t but help wonder how many people over many centuries have walked up and down this staircase and opened and closed the arched door.

Wells Cathedral
An empty cafe on a wet day, overlooking the Cathedral

I thoroughly enjoyed my short visit to Wells and like so many places it’s definitely worthy of a return journey. Nor will I worry if it’s raining or not. In fact the inclement conditions kept the crowds away and in the case of ‘Chimneys and Cobbles’ made the photograph all the more interesting.

All of the images in this post were taken with an Olympus OMD EM1 and Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8 lens, processed in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro2. Click on any of the images to view a larger version.

Finally a big thank you to Andy Beel and to the other participants of the Monochrome Masterclass. In March I didn’t post a single entry on this blog but hopefully my creative juices have started to flow again!

West Dean Estate – walking the dog plus some shutter therapy.

At about 3.30 yesterday afternoon our cocker spaniel wanted to be taken for a walk. He always does at this time of day, and the temptation is to revisit one of many well trodden paths because it’s familiar and easy to do. On this occasion I decided to go somewhere new. So I took him in the car, and with a camera in my coat pocket we headed towards a part of The West Dean Estate to the north of the village of Chilgrove and walk from there. There was some lovely late afternoon sun mixed in with light and dark clouds. I just love these weather conditions for both walking and photography.

By way of some background, The West Dean Estate covers approximately 6,400 acres (2,590 hectares) along the Sussex South Downs. It stretches over 6 miles (9.7 kms) from the South Downs escarpment overlooking the Sussex Weald to the edge of the Trundle Hill overlooking the English Channel and the Isle of Wight. While much of the village of West Dean and West Dean College is sheltered within the Lavant valley, the Estate rises to its highest point of almost 750 feet (280 m) on the top of the Downs. The estate is a mixture of farmland, commercial woodland and is home to West Dean College and the village of West Dean itself. There are about 20 miles of footpaths and bridleways, including a section of The South Downs Way.

Interestingly all of the heating and hot water needs of West Dean College (and parts of the village) are met entirely, and on a sustained basis, by using wood fuel grown on the West Dean Estate. The biomass district heating scheme was one of the first, and remains one of the largest of its kind, in the UK.

I was pleased I made the effort to walk our spaniel along some new tracks. Wherever I go I always find something to photograph and in the space of just an hour or so, I was able to return with some images hopefully worth sharing on my blog.

All of the photographs were taken with an Olympus OMD EM5 and 1.7mm f1.8 Olympus lens and processed in Lightroom and Silver Efex Pro2.

Frazzled in London – with a little ‘ICM’

Buckingham Palace

I was in London recently for business purposes. A rare occurrence, so rather than waste the opportunity I took my camera with me in the hope that I could take a few shots at the very end of the day before catching the train home.

I also wanted to take a look at a second hand 90mm f2 summicron lens being sold by Richard Caplan in Pall Mall. The lens appealed to me but when I tested it on my camera it did appear to be ‘back focusing’. I tried a couple of other lenses including my own 50mm summilux and the results were the same. In real world use it probably wouldn’t be a problem but I was left pondering whether or not the rangefinder on the camera needed a fine adjustment. They did offer to send it away to be repaired but I decided not to do anything there and then, and simply make my way home.

By the time I left the shop in Pall Mall it was already dusk, so I walked down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace, heading for Victoria Station. I had joined the commuter conveyor belt all heading for the next train back to the comfort of their home.

The Queen’s Gallery

Antiquarian bookshop

A couple of days ago I was in the lovely town of Lewes in East Sussex. My brief visit had nothing to do with photography, but I did have my camera with me. There wasn’t the time to explore the town, but I was struck by the number of secondhand bookshops there were.

This image of ‘A & Y Cumming’ takes me back to another time. This photograph could have been taken many years ago, as so little has changed. The only modern item clearly visible is the alarm box in the top left hand corner, but even this is relatively old if compared with what might be installed today.

In these days of Amazon and ‘online shopping’ etc, it’s rather appealing that a shop like this can still trade and survive. Even its opening hours are hardly 24/7. The sign writing on the door informs you the shop will open at 10am on weekdays and close at 5pm. On Saturday it stays open an extra half an hour until 5.30pm but not surprisingly it’s closed on Sundays. How very civilised.

The sign writing above the door is old fashioned, but befitting of what’s on sale. The telephone number simply says Lewes and does not display the area code, so you would have to know what this is if you wanted to ring the shop from outside the area. It’s all very quaint and says a lot about Lewes as a town. Yes, it has a large Tesco superstore, a Waitrose and other well known shops, plus a number of independents, but none of these has the charm of a Antiquarian and Secondhand bookshop which harks back to another era.

Long may shops such as these continue to exist and thrive in the future, helping to preserve a little bit of history in the process.

Looking through the archives – Welsh hillside

Welsh hillside

I always enjoying looking back through photographs that were taken a few years ago, partly because it’s a fun thing to do and secondly to see whether or not a colour image taken before I decided to concentrate on monochrome, would convert well to black and white. This particular shot of three sheep on a Welsh hillside in Ceredigion was taken back in August 2010 – a very typical grey day during a Welsh Summer!

The second shot is of a Welsh track taken on the same walk. The pathway leads the eye to the rain clouds ahead.

Welsh track

Fortunately I will be visiting Wales again later this year. Snowdonia this time. It’s an area I do not know at all but it has great photographic appeal. The combination of mountains, lakes and dramatic skies is right up my street. Yes, I am sure it will rain but that just adds to the atmosphere. I can’t wait!

Both shots were taken with a little Panasonic LX3. A camera I still own although it rarely gets used these days.