alan frost

Last light on Salthouse Church

St Nicholas, Salthouse
Taken late in the afternoon as the sun was setting. This must be one of the finest locations of any church in the UK.

In my last post, I wrote about the wonderful light to be found inside churches. One of the churches I mentioned was St Nicholas in Salthouse on the North Norfolk coast. A large church for such a small parish, records state that it was completed in 1503. It occupies a wonderful position on rising ground at the top of the village, overlooking the salt marshes and the sea.

The photograph was taken at the end of the day just as the sun was setting. My wife and I had been walking our dog that afternoon and as we drove back towards Weybourne, I took a detour in the hope that we might find a good viewpoint of the church. We found the right road, pulled over, and I grabbed my camera. The light on the church could not have been better, with a glorious cloudscape to match. The opportunity to take this shot lasted just a few minutes as the sun soon disappeared behind low clouds in the West. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

This view would not have changed for five centuries, but now wind turbines can be seen on the far horizon.

The wonderful light of Church interiors

Pews of Light
The interior of Weybourne Church. The low morning light shined through the tall leaded light windows on the far wall and illuminated the church pews and cushions.

There is something rather special, well at least for me anyway, about the light which can be found inside a church. This is particularly true when the sun is shining brightly and it comes through the leaded light windows, making shadows and highlighting certain features inside a place of prayer and contemplation.

This post features three photographs taken recently in Norfolk, which I think capture something of the magical light to be found inside these religious buildings. They are centuries old, yet in many respects are no different to when they were first constructed. The idea that this special light has been witnessed by so many generations is rather humbling.

The horse by the pond

Horse by the pond

During our recent trip to the North Norfolk Coast we regularly drove through the small village of Saltmarsh. In the centre was a pond which attracted ducks, gulls and other birds, including a couple of swans. The muddy field which adjoined the pond was home to a black and white horse with just a small shelter for when the rains fell or the winds blew. It was a bleak and exposed location.

ABC of Camerawork course with Andy Beel in Bath

The Circus, Bath

This time last week my wife and I took part in a photography workshop called the ABC of Camerawork which was run by Andy Beel FRPS, a Bristol based photographer who is renowned for his black and white photography. The course took place in the beautiful city of Bath in Somerset.

As well as my wife and I, there were four other particpants all from Dorchester Camera Club. We met up with Andy in the cafe above Waterstones bookshop in Milsom Street. Over coffee and a croissant he introduced himself and soon established our photographic abilities and what we would like to get out of the day. From my point of view I was keen to use depth of field in a more creative way.

A visit to the North Norfolk Coast

Alone on the shore

My blog has been a little quiet in recent weeks, principally for the reason that we had a two week family holiday in the pretty little village of Weybourne on the North Norfolk Coast in October. We were very fortunate with the weather, it was very relaxing and a great area for some photography. In fact everything you could want from time away from work.

No sooner had we returned from Norfolk and my wife and I went to Bath in Somerset for an ABC of Camerawork course with Andy Beel FRPS. It goes without saying that the combination of these two trips means that I have lot of images to edit and process, some of which will appear on this blog in the weeks ahead. The fact that the clocks have now gone back also means that I can spend a little more time in front of a screen post processing, updating my website – www.alanfrostphotography.co.uk and of course ‘blogging’!

For the time being I hope you like the photograph at the top of this entry, which I have called ‘Alone on the shore’. It was taken late in the day and is an image of the shingle beach at Weybourne. I never did discover the purpose of the trailer hut, but it never moved from the day we arrived to the day we left. I can only assume it is used by the fishermen, who have their boats and tractors on the shingle bank nearby.

I am already working on my next entry which will be about our day in Bath with Andy Beel. I hope to post it in a few days time. Until then, thanks for visiting my blog and your comments are always welcome.