alan frost photography

Churches Project no.8 – St Mary Magdalene Chapel, Chichester Cathedral

My Churches Project has been rather quiet of late; in fact it’s nearly 3 months since I posted anything new, but I now have more time on my hands so I can start visiting and photographing the many churches and Cathedrals I wish to visit.

To get things underway here is an image taken this week of St Mary Magdalene Chapel in Chichester Cathedral, West Sussex. The main feature is a painting by Graham Sutherland (1903 -1980) entitled Noli me tangere (Touch me not or Do not hold me). Painted in 1961 it depicts Christ appearing to Mary Magdalene on the first Easter morning.

I like the beautiful and quiet simplicity of this chapel – The polished stone table covered with a pure white cloth. The two candlesticks on each side and the modern painting set against the aged stone of the Cathedral.

Do click on the image to view a larger version and be able to see more detail particularly of the painting itself.

“Sharpness is a bourgeois concept” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

There are many quotes attributed to Henri Cartier-Bresson, one of them being that – “Sharpness is a bourgeois concept”. With this image I have taken his saying quite literally. To an extreme in fact because there is absolutely nothing sharp or in focus anywhere in the frame. As a consequence this picture is sure to divide opinion.

When I took the shot I quite deliberatly adjusted the focus ring to give me an out of focus image. It was also shot with a wide aperture opening to minimise the depth of field, further ensuring a blurred image. The light was reasonably good and with a maximum shutter speed on my camera of 1/4000th of a second, I had to use a 3 stop ND filter to avoid blown highlights. In processing I added grain, a vignette and split toned the image.

Ignoring the complete lack of any sharpness the viewer can still discern a man, virtually a silhouette, standing on the beach watching his dog standing in the water. The ripples of the sea along the foreshore and the distant land mass on the horizon provide a sense of depth, and the placement of the man and his dog on the intersection of the thirds gives balance to the overall composition. There is also a triangle which is formed from the man’s head, out to the dog and back to the man’s feet.

I know this is what might be described as a ‘marmite’ shot – you either love it or hate it. Or perhaps you simply can’t understand why the photographer couldn’t at the very least focus his camera properly!

So does this image appeal to the viewer or is it quickly rejected for being technically poor because nothing is sharp, even though that was my intention at the outset? Does this very soft image portray a mood or feeling which would be non existent if the image had been sharp from front to back? There are so many questions and in my view there are no right or wrong answers. It’s my creative vision of a simple scene – one man and his dog, alone on the shoreline…..and the rest is down to your interpretation and imagination.

As always your comments and thoughts on this post would be most welcome.

Roses by the window – inspired by Josef Sudek

Recently I came across an image I had taken back in 2014 of a bunch of roses in a vase. They were on a window sill with rain drops on the window glass. I remember taking the shot with a large aperture opening to give me a narrow depth of field. Only one rose is truly in focus, so the overall effect is quite soft, but this works for me.

When making this image I was reminded and influenced by the work by Josef Sudek. I particularly enjoy and admire his photography and his creative use of light in an image. A Czech photographer, he was born in 1896 and spent most of his life in Prague. He died in 1976. A year or so ago I was given a book of his work called ‘ Josef Sudek – Legacy of a Deeper Vision’. A beautifully produced book with many fine plates of his photography. (See a picture of the front cover below).

I was first drawn to his work when I saw his pictures of St Vitus Cathedral in Prague and later I enjoyed a series of photographs taken from the inside his studio which he called ‘The Window of my Atelier’. Condensation on the inside of the window or rain drops on the outside would often be a feature of this work. He would also make images of simple objects he had in his studio, an empty glass, an egg or a small vase of flowers. They were sometimes placed on a window sill and making the most of the light he would produce some very effective and almost ‘poetic’ photographs. He unquestionably made the best use of his immediate surroundings.

I have included a pictures of a couple of plates from the book, by way of examples of his work.

I seem to be spending a fair amount of time at the moment considering a variety of projects which I think could prove interesting. I already have my Churches Project underway and this will continue, but there are a number of others that could well occupy my time in the months ahead. As part of this period of consideration and planning, I like to study the work of other artists and photographers. This can be beneficial in a number of ways. It can certainly inspire, influence and be thought provoking; all of which can only aid creativity and help define the path ahead.

From all of this it would appear my approach to photography is going through a contemplative stage. I believe it’s all part of an ongoing process which aids the development of your own style and vision. What might be a good idea today, is often challenged by a counter thought the next – and so the process unfolds until the original concept is either scrapped or possibly pursued to a conclusion. With nothing decided it can be a little frustrating at times, particularly when the outlook is less than clear, but ultimately I think the results of this planning stage will prove rewarding.

You can see more of Sudek’s photographs by clicking on this link to my Pinterest board of his work

Out of the shadow – seizing the moment

Out of the shadow

I don’t regard myself as a street photographer but I do think of myself as an opportunist. With only my iPhone to hand, I was out and about and spotted the stark contrast between what I considered to be an interesting wall, with its mixture of windows and drain pipes, and the deep shadow cast by a building on my side of the road. I found it appealing but the missing ingredient was a person walking in front of the partly obscured window. I didn’t have to wait very long before a woman approached the scene, pulling a shopping trolley and with her head well wrapped in a head scarf. iPhone at the ready and the shot was taken.

The image was processed in Silver Efex Pro. I further accentuated the shadow, added some grain, and a border which I very rarely do, but I felt it suited this particular photograph.

An iPhone is a great street camera. Everyone these days seems to have a mobile phone in their hand on an almost permanent basis and if they aren’t looking at the screen, you know it will not be very long before they next do so. In essence they are totally unobtrusive and nobody knows you are taking a photograph with a smartphone because they are so prolific. They are virtually silent in operation and you could just as easily be texting your best friend and not taking a photograph at all.

So whilst for me a phone will never replace my camera, they do allow you to seize the moment when the opportunity presents itself.

‘If music be the food of love’ – The Hampshire Recorder Sinfonia

Earlier this year I joined a local Art Society as both my wife and I are interested in most forms of art, in fact anything of a creative nature. At the first meeting I attended I was approached by the Secretary of the Society and was asked if I would be willing to photograph a concert by the Hampshire Recorder Sinfonia. She is one of the musicians and had heard I was a photographer. It was to take place at The Church of St Mary the Virgin in Rowner, Gosport on Valentines Day. They needed to update their website with new some new images, so I happily volunteered my services. I had not attempted anything like this before but I am always up for a challenge!

I didn’t quite know what to expect but I was informed that I could take photographs during the rehearsal as well as during the concert itself. I would though need to be very quiet and discreet, so as not to distract the musicians and more importantly the paying audience.

I very much enjoy listening to classical music, particularly when it is heard live in a church building with wonderful acoustics. I do though have to admit that I am rather ignorant of orchestras and their musical instruments, so I was rather surprised to find such a variety of recorders being played. They included, Sopranino – Descants I and II, Trebles I and II, Tenors I and II, Basses I and II, Great Basses and Contrabasses. In total the Sinfonia had thirty two musicians who were all led by Christopher Burgess the Musical Director.

They played music by Gustav Holst, Giovanni Gabrielli, Manning Sherwin, Edvard Greig and other composers. The sound was very special but it was almost impossible to fully appreciate the music and concentrate on taking photographs at the same time.

This is just a small selection of the photographs I took that afternoon. I wanted to capture not just the musicians, but also a sense of the place in which the music was being played. I was asked to provide both colour and black and white versions of each image. However for the purposes of this entry I have processed the photographs slightly differently to those I provided. This is my personal interpretation of the concert, whereas the monochrome images they were given had no toning, and were straight black and white conversions.

I very much enjoyed the experience and trust I have captured something of the musicians, the venue and the event itself. For more information about the Hampshire Recorder Sinfonia please visit their website by clicking here.